what can excutor pay?

squibbs25

My husband grandma past away on Wednesday, my mother in law is the excutor as well as the sole benifecery (only child).
Grandma had a joint account with my mum in law that only has a few pound in it but grandma has another account that mum in law had POA, the gas and elec bill have come in the post this morning can mum in law pay these with the money from the account that she had POA on, the funeral payment will also be made from this account.
She has appointments at the banks concerned next week, i gather the single account will be frozen (this is where the bulk of the money is) but the joint account will just have grandma's name removed and still be useable.
Can mum in law move any money from the single account to the joint account to pay any relevent bills as they come in or can the bank make cheques payable to whoever from the single account?
Will mum in law get in trouble if she uses grandma's money for grandma's bills?
There is no way she would use the money for anything other than anything for her mother.
Or can the money only be released after probate?
Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

squibbs25

Sorry one more thing,
Will the bank allow payment for the funeral tea at a local hotel or will mum in law have to pay it out and claim it back later?

TonyMMM

POA (Power of Attorney) ends on death, so that no longer applies.

Cash in joint accounts automatically belongs to the surviving party.

For the other accounts - they will be frozen, but the bank will usually release funds for funeral costs -just take the funeral directors bill in to them - they will probably pay it direct.

How much is "the bulk of the money" (roughly) ? If it is a small amount, then probate may not be required for it to be released to the executor.

Your mum in law should phone the gas/electric people, and anyone else (water, phone, council tax, pensions etc.) and advise them of her mother's death and that she is the executor and will deal with the accounts as part of the estate. There is no hurry - the utilities are very used to this situation.

Torry_Quine

POA ends when the person dies so she can't access the account purely in your grandmother's sole name and should inform the bank who will freeze the account. The bank should release the funds for the funeral or may pay the funeral director direct.She then can't use the account even if she wants to. She should also contact the utility providers to let them know there will be a delay in paying the bills. Presuming she lived alone the home insurer will need to be told as if the house is now empty they need t know that.

When the death is registered then they will often contact people such as DWP, council for blue badge, voter registration which saves having so many to contact.

Finally so sorry for your loss.

squibbs25

Probate will definatley have to be applied for (property, shares and savings)
I did offer to phone utilites and council tax but mum in law said she would phone those today.
If money has been taken out of the account today (i dont know either way just asking really) will the person drawing it get in any trouble?
Mum in law did mention about paying the gas and elec by grandmas card yesterday jsut before i left but i dont know whether she did or not. I did say i didnt think she could do that but want 100 percent sure.

Thank you both for replying so quickly.

TonyMMM

She isn't going to get into trouble - but she should not be using her mothers cards ... but it is a good idea to keep records of anything she does spend in dealing with the estate.

It is normal to get fixated on the practicalities when someone dies because it helps take your mind off the grieving ....but tell her to take a step back and put the bills to one side for now.

troubleinparadise

squibbs25 wrote: »

Sorry one more thing,
Will the bank allow payment for the funeral tea at a local hotel or will mum in law have to pay it out and claim it back later?

Only the funeral costs from the funeral directors' with their bill can be paid from the bank funds before probate.

The funeral tea will need to be paid by MIL and reclaimed later from the estate as part of the funeral expenses.

getmore4less

squibbs25 wrote: »

My husband grandma past away on Wednesday, my mother in law is the excutor as well as the sole benifecery (only child).
Grandma had a joint account with my mum in law that only has a few pound in it but grandma has another account that mum in law had POA, the gas and elec bill have come in the post this morning can mum in law pay these with the money from the account that she had POA on, the funeral payment will also be made from this account.
She has appointments at the banks concerned next week, i gather the single account will be frozen (this is where the bulk of the money is) but the joint account will just have grandma's name removed and still be useable.
Can mum in law move any money from the single account to the joint account to pay any relevent bills as they come in or can the bank make cheques payable to whoever from the single account?
Will mum in law get in trouble if she uses grandma's money for grandma's bills?
There is no way she would use the money for anything other than anything for her mother.
Or can the money only be released after probate?
Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Bottom line is no one can care**, the MIL is entitled to everything so there is no one to raise an issue(unless they come out of the woodwork later).

The utilities will happily suspend* the accounts if needed till the money is available.

For the funeral it is possible to have all the bills(incl the wake tea) directed through the funeral directors so can be paid from the account direct.


The key question is she going to do the admin herself(or with family help) or pass it over to solicitors(costly)?

Will there be inheritence tax?

If there are shares then value these yourselves the charges for this is high

* depending on the situation with the proprety it can make sense to have these in estate limbo or transfer them to people living in the property.

Councill tax can be suspended till 6 month after probate.

** moving the money so it is available is an option since there is a will and that makes the money MIL unless there is a better claim.

Mojisola

Is the total estate quite small? https://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ihtmanual/ihtm05113.htm