How to deceased relatives money back from water company

mustangboy3

How do I get my deceased Aunts money back from a water company for my mother ???.
They would only send a cheque made out to the Executors of

---

unless we get a grant of Administration or Probate which the cost would out way the £68 they owe us . any ideas would be great

footyguy

mustangboy3 wrote: »

How do I get my deceased Aunts money back from a water company for my mother ???.
They would only send a cheque made out to the Executors of

---

unless we get a grant of Administration or Probate which the cost would out way the £68 they owe us . any ideas would be great

Won't someone need to do this anyway in order to deal with the deceased's whole estate?

What sort of value do you think the estate is worth?

Cardew

How do the water company know your mother is entitled to the refund?

JJ_Egan

If the water company owe your mother money then the procedure is to supply them with the grant of probate .

That will be the same for any moneys to be refunded including bank accounts insurance etc . Though some bank accounts may only require a death certificate and copy of the will to release funds .
If you distribute your mother assets without a grant of probate then you may well be liable for any come back .

Grant of probate requires a will and an executer is usually named in the will .Fairly easy for an executer to do all the paperwork and avoid solicitors fees . Time scale is about 3 months and costs about £400 .

JJ_Egan

If the water company owe your Aunt money then the procedure is to supply them with the grant of probate .

That will be the same for any moneys to be refunded including bank accounts insurance etc . Though some bank accounts may only require a death certificate and copy of the will to release funds .
If you distribute your Aunts assets without a grant of probate then you may well be liable for any come back .

Grant of probate requires a will and an executer is usually named in the will .Fairly easy for an executer to do all the paperwork and avoid solicitors fees . Time scale is about 3 months and costs about £400 .

mustangboy3

Thank you all for your replies.
firstly the value of the estate is just £128.00, 68.00 that is owed from the water company and another £60.00 owed by EDF.

As regards to the reply about how the water company know my mother is entitled to the refund I contacted them to let them know that she was the next of kin.


I understand that we could get Grant of probate but the cost involved would be prohibitive for a small amount

matelodave

I suggest that if there's no will then your mother writes to them explaining the situation and enclosing a copy of the death certificate and a copy of both hers and her sister's birth certificates to prove her relationship.

I assume that your aunt hasn't got any children or other relatives that are closer than your mum.

The letter should come from her and she should sign it even if you do the writing unless you've got power of attorney

footyguy

mustangboy3 wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies.
firstly the value of the estate is just £128.00, 68.00 that is owed from the water company and another £60.00 owed by EDF.

As regards to the reply about how the water company know my mother is entitled to the refund I contacted them to let them know that she was the next of kin.


I understand that we could get Grant of probate but the cost involved would be prohibitive for a small amount

So presumably if there is a credit on the electricity/gas account of £60, she was either paying by direct debit or had vastly overpaid her energy bill/loaded a PPM with credit, despite not appearing to otherwise have 2 pennies to rub together/anything in the bank.
Or indeed, any appliances of her own to use that energy :cool:

Anyway, whilst the cost is normally £215, the fee is nothing for estates worth less than £5k

footyguy

matelodave wrote: »

I suggest that if there's no will then your mother writes to them explaining the situation and enclosing a copy of the death certificate and a copy of both hers and her sister's birth certificates to prove her relationship.

I assume that your aunt hasn't got any children or other relatives that are closer than your mum.

The letter should come from her and she should sign it even if you do the writing unless you've got power of attorney

PoA ends on the death of the person it was made to support.
(unless you meant the OP having PoA for her mother)

Whilst some people will pay out without proper authorisation where the estate is small, there is no obligation for them to do so.
Based on what the OP has written, the water authority will not (other than to 'The executors of...')

Wouldn't be surprised if EDF end up demanding something similar too. I know nPower do, otherwise they will only send a cheque in the name of the account holder.

So I suggest proper authority is obtained.