Recovery from estates is how we recover Funeral Support Payments if the person who died was aged 18 or over and had money or assets in their estate.
The debt team deals with all recovery from estate cases. But first, we need to get some information from the client.
Funeral costs have a special legal status as a ‘priority debt’. This means money from the estate of the person who died may be used to pay for funeral costs before other debts are settled or inheritance is paid to anyone.
Funeral Support Payments are treated as a funeral cost. If the person who died had money or assets in their estate, they may need to be used to repay any Funeral Support Payment.
The debt team will consider if the available estate allows for:
The debt team considers this on a case-by-case basis.
Any money already considered in the application process for Funeral Support Payment would not be taken into account for recovery purposes.
For example, if the person who died had £200 in their bank account (that was available to be used for funeral costs and accessible) when the application was made and this had been deducted from their Funeral Support Payment, it would not count for recovery purposes.
The client should not attempt to repay using their own money. This is because they may not have known about the value of the estate when they claimed Funeral Support Payment.
We need to know who is managing the estate of the person who died. This person is known as the executor or administrator.
To help the client identify who is managing the estate, you could ask them if someone has applied to the courts for permission to:
Once you know who is managing the estate of the person who died, ask for their:
We also need to know about any assets that the person who died had. This includes money, savings and property.
If the client has not already provided this information, ask them to supply any relevant information about the deceased's:
In some situations, life insurance money might not form part of the estate. If it’s ‘written in trust’, then it’s not counted as part of the estate and would not go towards the funeral expenses.
This may also apply to death-in-service benefits or pension lump sum benefits, which are often paid to one or more nominated people.
It is the role of the executor to confirm whether such policies form part of the estate. You must clarify this with the executor.
You should also ask the client about the deceased’s “Movable estate”. It includes all property that can move, unlike buildings and land, owned at the time of death.
Please note that funeral expenses should always be paid from the deceased’s moveable estate first.
Examples of movable estate include, but are not limited to:
If the person who died had any cash or assets, you’ll have to refer the case to the debt team.
If the client needs more information or wants to talk about the details of the estate of the person who died, they can either:
If the client does not contact us within 90 days of the date on the first letter, civil action may be taken against them in the Sheriff court. The client may end up with extra costs and penalties.
For more information on civil action, visit the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website.