Death and continuing to pay DD from deceased bank account

JJ_Egan

Briefly deceased was home owner all utilities paid by Direct Debit .
DWP etc informed so no further payments into the account . Enough in the account to continue paying utilities for at least two years .
Neither bank nor utilities are as of yet informed .Paperwork bills will etc yet to be sorted . Probate and informing bank and utilities i know will have to be done .
Question is how much leeway is their in this process or how long have i got before the bank will have to be told and therefore stop payments .
Intention is if possible to let it all run for a few months until alternative payment for utilities is sorted as the house will be lived in .
Lot of info found but on this question i am not 100% clear so grateful for any links or info .

dzug1

The bank and utilities will not get told until you tell them

Crabapple

Hopefully you are very sure that there are more than enough funds to settle all debts because you can't prioritise the utilities over anything else that might be owed.

The utility companies will have to wait for money. They will want to close the pre-death account and put ones into the estate going forward. If no-one is living in the house right now then bills will be minimal.

I would suggest they get told and you sort out probate, then get the accounts paid up once the grant is issued and the funds can be accessed. That's the proper way to do it. The utility companies are used to this kind of situation arising. They will still chase but do wait.

getmore4less

Make sure you have DOD readings.

Best to have the accounts closed up to DOD then an Estate administration account, then new occupants take over.

easier to do the inventory and account as the bill upto DOD come off the asset value of the estate for IHT forms, the post death don't.

Mojisola

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Intention is if possible to let it all run for a few months until alternative payment for utilities is sorted as the house will be lived in

Whoever is living in the house should be paying the utilities and other bills.

JJ_Egan

Mojisola wrote: »

Whoever is living in the house should be paying the utilities and other bills.

Even if they are relatives who are trying to arrange the funeral etc .Or just popping in for an hour at a time to arrange all this ??

dzug1

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Even if they are relatives who are trying to arrange the funeral etc .Or just popping in for an hour at a time to arrange all this ??

If that's the case the house isn't 'lived in'

butterflymum

Check the house insurance situation too, if property is going to be 'empty' for a prolonged period (and prolonged can be classed, with some, as even from 4 weeks or so of being 'empty').

Some companies offer 'unoccupied insurance' to cover situations such as during probate and/or between tenants.

butterflymum

Quoted from elsewhere on MSE:

After someone dies, if their home insurance was only in their name, sadly the cover becomes void. But if the policy was in joint names, it will still cover the surviving policyholder (though the names on the policy will need to be updated).

If the policyholder has died, you may be able to get an extension or grace period for cover to continue, perhaps for a week or so, while new arrangements are made.

This is at the discretion of the insurer, so if you're concerned about the property being left empty without cover, speak to the home insurance provider as soon as you can. See the Home Insurance guide.

JJ_Egan

Essence will be after next weeks funeral the eldest son will live in the property . But will not have any money to pay bills until ISA etc are transferred to his bank account .


Just spotted insurance due for renewal end June so that should not be a problem and looks like water next bill six months to go .
TV licence sorted as over 75 free licence is valid until expires .

getmore4less

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Essence will be after next weeks funeral the eldest son will live in the property . But will not have any money to pay bills until ISA etc are transferred to his bank account .


Just spotted insurance due for renewal end June so that should not be a problem and looks like water next bill six months to go .
TV licence sorted as over 75 free licence is valid until expires .

You need to have the meters read bills sorted.

You need to tell the insurers and arrange new cover.

[STRIKE]The TV licence will not be valid.[/STRIKE]

got that wrong learn something new every day

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/what-to-do-if-the-licence-holder-dies-top4

does this apply
Anyone who was living with the deceased