Who pays unpaid care home fees after someone dies?

Unpaid care home fees are paid from the estate of the person who died, not by their family. The executor (or administrator, if there is no will) must settle the care home’s bill and any council care debt from the estate before beneficiaries inherit. If the estate is not big enough, the shortfall is normally written off, unless a relative signed as guarantor or agreed a top-up.

In short

• Care home fees owed at death become a debt of the estate. Executors pay them from the estate’s money and property.
• A council deferred payment falls due 90 days after death, and interest keeps running until it is repaid.
• Councils have 6 years from when a care debt became due to start court action (Care Act debts since April 2015).
• For self-funders, CMA guidance says the home can usually charge for up to 3 days after death, or until belongings are cleared, with a 10-day backstop.
• Fees paid in advance for the period after that should be refunded, normally within 28 days.
• Family members are not liable for an insolvent estate’s debts unless they guaranteed them or received assets given away to avoid fees.

What counts as unpaid care home fees

When a resident dies, three kinds of care debt can be outstanding:

• Fees owed to the home for a self-funder: the last invoice, arrears, and a short post-death period.
• Charges owed to the council, where the council arranged care and the resident’s assessed contribution was not paid in full, for example during a dispute or while the house was being sold.
• A deferred payment agreement, where the council paid fees and took a legal charge over the home to be repaid later. See deferred payment agreements explained.

Each is a debt of the person who died. After death, it is a debt of their estate, which is everything they owned in their sole name plus their share of anything held as tenants in common.

The executor’s job

The executor named in the will, or the administrator if there is no will, deals with the estate. In most cases this means applying for probate, collecting in the assets, paying debts and then distributing what is left. Care fees are an ordinary debt and must be paid before beneficiaries receive anything.

1. Tell the care home and the council. Ask each for a final statement. Councils should wait at least two weeks after death before sending a full breakdown of a deferred payment, though you can contact them sooner.
2. Check the bill. Compare it with the contract and the CMA’s guidance on fees after death (below). Query any charge for weeks after the room was cleared.
3. Work out whether the estate is solvent. List assets against debts, including funeral costs and care fees, before paying anyone.
4. Consider a deceased estates notice. A notice under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 in The Gazette gives unknown creditors two months to come forward, protecting you personally if a debt appears after you distribute.
5. Pay debts, then distribute. Executors who hand out the estate before settling known debts can be personally liable for the shortfall.

How long can a care home charge after death?

This is where families most often overpay. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has set out what it considers fair for self-funded residents:

Third-party top-ups should also stop when the council’s payments stop, and NHS-funded nursing care payments end at or shortly after death, so a home should not shift that cost onto the family. If a contract says fees run for four weeks after death, it is likely to be unfair. Point to the CMA guidance, and if the home will not budge, see how to complain about a care home.

Worked example

Margaret paid £1,400 a week, four weeks in advance on the 1st of each month. She died on the 10th. Her family cleared her room on the 12th. Under the 3-day approach the home can charge to the 13th. The advance payment covered to the 28th, so 15 days, about £3,000, should be refunded to her estate within 28 days.

Deferred payment agreements and council debts

If the council has been paying fees under a deferred payment agreement, the debt is secured on the property. Under the Care and Support Statutory Guidance:

• The full amount, including care costs, interest and admin fees, becomes due 90 days after death.
• Interest continues to accrue after death until it is repaid in full.
• Where the house was being sold during the 12-week property disregard, any unpaid contribution is also recovered from the estate.
• The executor can repay from the sale of the house, from other estate assets or a life policy, or a relative can pay it off to keep the house. The council must accept other means of payment if it covers the full amount.
• If, after 90 days, the council thinks no active steps are being taken to repay, it can start legal proceedings.

For other council care debts, the council can sue the estate in the county court. For debts arising since the Care Act 2014 came into force in April 2015, it has 6 years from the date the sum became due to start proceedings.

Example: Bill’s deferred debt is £62,000 when he dies. His bungalow sells eight months later for £240,000. The council is repaid £62,000 plus interest that built up after his death, and the rest passes under his will.

What if there is not enough money in the estate?

An estate is insolvent when its debts exceed its assets. In that case:

• The executor must not pay creditors in any order they choose. Debts are paid in a set legal order of priority, and funeral and reasonable administration costs come first.
• Unsecured care fees owed to a home rank alongside other ordinary debts, and may only be partly paid.
• A deferred payment is secured on the house, so it is repaid from the sale before unsecured creditors.
• Whatever cannot be paid is written off. Children, spouses and other relatives do not inherit the debt.

Take advice before paying anything from an estate that may be insolvent. An executor who pays the wrong creditor first can be personally liable.

What the family is not liable for

Being next of kin, executor or a beneficiary does not make you personally liable for a parent’s care fees. Executors are liable only if they mishandle the estate. The exceptions are the same as during life: if you signed the contract as guarantor, agreed a third-party top-up, or received money or property given away to avoid fees (deprivation of assets). In the last case section 70 of the Care Act 2014 allows the council to recover lost charges from you, capped at the value you received. Our guide can I be made to pay my parent’s care home fees? explains each one.

Jointly owned property needs care. A home held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner and usually falls outside the estate, while a tenants-in-common share forms part of it. See jointly owned property and care home fees and tenants in common.

Mistakes to avoid

• Paying a post-death invoice without checking it against the CMA’s 3-day and 10-day reference points.
• Distributing money to beneficiaries before the council has confirmed the final care debt.
• Using your own money to clear the care home bill out of a sense of duty, when the estate may be insolvent.
• Forgetting to claim refunds of advance fees and the security deposit.
• Not telling the DWP via Tell Us Once, so benefits overpaid after death become another estate debt.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The principle that care debts fall on the estate, not on relatives, applies across the UK. Scotland uses confirmation rather than probate, Northern Ireland has its own probate system, and Wales follows English probate law but has its own care charging rules. The CMA’s consumer law advice covers care homes across the UK.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay my mum’s care home fees after she dies?

No. Unpaid fees are a debt of her estate, paid by the executor from her money and property before anything is inherited. If the estate cannot cover them, the debt is written off. You are only personally liable if you signed as guarantor, agreed a top-up, or received assets she gave away to avoid fees.

How long can a care home charge fees after death?

For self-funded residents, the CMA says charging for up to 3 days after the day of death is unlikely to be challenged. Alternatively, a home can charge until belongings are cleared, with a 10-day maximum. Contracts requiring weeks of fees after death are likely to be unfair.

When does a deferred payment have to be repaid after death?

The full amount, including interest and fees, falls due 90 days after death. Interest continues until it is paid. The executor can repay it from the house sale or other assets, or family can pay it off. The council can start legal action if no steps are taken to repay after 90 days.

Can the council chase family for care home debts?

Not simply because you are family. The council can recover care debts from the estate, and has 6 years from when a debt fell due to go to court. It can pursue a relative only where they agreed to pay a top-up, or received assets transferred to avoid care charges (up to the value received).

Do care homes refund fees paid in advance when someone dies?

They should. CMA guidance says advance payments covering time after the short post-death period should be refunded to the estate, and it is concerned about refunds taking longer than 28 days. Security deposits should also be returned promptly once the final account is agreed.

What happens to care home fees if the estate is insolvent?

The executor pays debts in the legal order of priority, starting with funeral and administration costs. Secured debts such as a deferred payment are repaid from the property. Unpaid ordinary debts, including care home fees, are then written off. Relatives do not inherit them.

Sources

• Care and Support Statutory Guidance, chapter 9 and Annex D
• CMA: charging fees after a resident’s death
• CMA: care homes consumer rights for residents and their families
• Care Act 2014, section 70
• GOV.UK: applying for probate
• GOV.UK: what to do after someone dies

General information, not legal or financial advice. Figures for 2026/27, checked October 2026.

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 29 October 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.