‘I’m really at a loss’: Son worried as father with stage 4 cancer leaves behind unpaid loans and bills

SINGAPORE: A son took to Reddit to share that his father is in the final stages of stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and to make matters worse, there are several unpaid bills piling up.

Posting on the r/askSingapore forum on Tuesday (Jul 1), the son explained that his father has been warded and bedbound in the hospital since early June. He is heavily sedated with painkillers like fentanyl and morphine, and has become increasingly delirious, with little awareness of what is happening around him.

Despite being a high earner with access to CPF funds and having comprehensive insurance that covers most medical expenses, the father has left behind a number of outstanding financial obligations.

The son revealed that two months ago, his father bought a COE-renewed car and took a loan of around S$1,500 a month, despite his mother suggesting that he pay in full. More recently, he also insisted on renovating their home, pushing through with the works against his wife’s objections. The renovation cost is in the low five figures, and he is now refusing to pay the contractors.

The son added that his mother, who earns less and has limited liquidity, has been covering all household expenses in recent months. When she asked her husband to contribute his share, he got “angry, accused the family of trying to steal his money, and went to sleep.”

“Realistically what can we even do? If borrowing money is not an option, what then? The family car gets repo-ed? Contractors come to tear down our renovation? Ride it out as long as possible and wait for the inheritance?” the son wrote.

“DO NOT get me wrong, we are not fighting for his money; my entire family loves each other genuinely, but liddat dont pay bills also cannot right? Really at a loss.”

“You’re going to have to offload whatever you can.”

In the comments, one Singaporean Redditor advised, “Do you guys need the car? If not, sell it. Otherwise, reach out to the finance company and explain to them the situation. If need be, your mum needs to at least pay the outstanding amount for now. Do not let it get re-po. There will be additional costs involved.”

Another wrote, “Hope he has done his nomination for cpf and has done a will. If not, do arrange quickly otherwise you’re going to incur lawyer fees to get the monies under his name.”

A third added, “You’re going to have to offload whatever you can. Sell the car today. If he has stocks, sell it and use it to pay off the debt. Things like the house, rent it out and collect cash flow to use to pay for the loans. If there’s credit card debt, settle as much as you can or move them to a personal loan structure.”

In other news, a 20-year-old woman shared on Reddit that her mum forced her to start working right after polytechnic.

In her post on the r/SGExams forum, she shared that her mum believed further education wasn’t necessary for girls and insisted she skip university to jump straight into a full-time job. Although she admitted she was never particularly passionate about studying, the fact that she had no say in the matter made work feel more like a punishment than a personal choice.

Read more: 20 y/o woman says her mum forced her to start working right after polytechnic

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