Will I Have to Pay My Dead Father’s Debts in Dubai?

Question:

Dear Jon,

My Father just died and I found out that he have a pending balance (a debt to be paid) in HSBC Dubai. I have no access to any information apart of his emails where i found out, and I live in europe.

Should I pay the debt? How can I know what kind of debt it is?

Rose

Answer:

Rose,

My condolences to you and your family on the loss of your father.

The area of questioning you may be headed, may be more of a legal matter, and as such you may wish to seek legal advice, and/or estate advice.

Regarding the debt in Dubai, my advice would be to do nothing at this stage. You are not responsible for his accounts or debts, from a liability standpoint. Much of what can and will happen will depend on your father’s estate, if he has one, if he had a Will, and who is the Executor or who is handling your father’s final wishes and estate.

It will also depend on what the bank in Dubai wants to do. If the account is just in your father’s name, it is up to them if they wish to pursue collection of the account from the estate, again, if there is one.

Any monies left to you or anyone in a Will, or through any life insurance policies, is yours, or whomever it was left to. It does not have to be used to pay off any outstanding accounts.

Again, you may want to speak to a legal or estate professional, but to my knowledge and experience, many times these debts and accounts, pass or are written off by the banks. If there is an estate to attach, that has funds to pay off any outstanding accounts, it is the creditor’s responsibility to do so. In some countries a notice is posted for a set period of time advising all who read it that a person has died and if there are any claims to their estate, the time frame and who to notify.

If you are contacted, or do wish to inform the banks your father may owe that he has died, they may request a certified copy of a death certificate to close their books, or act in whatever manner they chose.

Unless you are on any of the accounts, you are not responsible for the accounts.

These matters can be complicated and complex. And with many questions you may have, as I do about how your father’s estate may have been set-up. .

Please feel free to contact us with any additional information, and I will help as I can.

Regards,

Jon

Sincerely,


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