is spouse liable for dead partners credit card debt?

My husband died suddenly in mid january and already the bank are hassling me to repay his debt, writing threatening letters and saying my credit rating will be affected. All our bank accounts and everything my husband and i owned were in joint names apart from his credit card. I have already transferred them into my name and so I feel no responsibility for his credit card.
Am I right in assuming that if all his assets were jointly owned by me then they cannot be part of his estate?
Is the bank entitled to demand repayment by me if there is no estate to speak of?
And finally, although my husband left a Wlll leaving everything to me, is the bank entitled to a copy of his Will as they demanded in today's letter?
Any ideas on how best to handle this situation?

Sorry for your loss.

Why don't you hand these matters to your solicitor to deal with. Until probate is granted the will doesn't become public knowledge. And if the Bank want to hassle you tell them to get lost.

I echo mercman's message of sympathy. It's a bit early for you to be burdened with such correspondence from the bank.

In general, assets that were jointly owned pass directly to the survivor, and are not part of the estate. I think there might be exceptions, and one of our legal experts might happen by and tell you more.

While you say that there is no estate to speak of, it is possible that you are overlooking some things, such as saleable personal effects. Was there a car in his name, or a set of golf clubs, stuff like that?

It's not unreasonable for the bank to want sight of the will. After all, they have an interest in the estate. They are at least entitled to know who the executor is to be, so that they can lodge a claim.

It is, however, quite unreasonable for them to chase you in your personal capacity for a debt of the estate as they do not have any basis for holding you responsible. If you are the executrix, then it is reasonable for them to take things up with you in due course. It is important that they (and you) treat your legal capacity as executrix as separate from your personal capacity.

It is quite improper to link any problem they have in pursuing a liability of your husband's estate with your personal credit rating. In my opinion, that is so egregious that you should make a formal complaint to the bank about that, and seek to escalate it to the Financial Services Ombudsman.

I would like to think that your problem is due to some under-trained and clueless junior rather than the bank as an institution deciding to treat you so badly.

When I read the OP post I wondered too why the bank were looking for the will, now it makes sense of course, they need to know who is executor to pursue their claim for the outstanding credit card debt.

I also can't see how it should impact on your credit rating, that's a bit misleading of them I hope. Was it just a standard sort of warning on the end of a letter or something more specific to your case?

It's a difficult time for you without having to deal with this sort of hassle.

gubsy said:

Is the bank entitled to demand repayment by me if there is no estate to speak of?

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Sorry for your sad circumstances. No the bank is not entitled to see the Will, but eventually it will be a public document. What they want to know is who is the executor, the executor has a responsibility to pay all the debts of the estate. These get paid first, before any entitlements under the will. I would not assume that all assets jointly owned do not form part of the estate. I presume you are the executor and you have to deal with the bank. And I also presume you paid his funeral expenses, out of his estate etc.