Probate & council tax

michaeln2

My Mother passed away early November 2018. There is no will and myself and older brother are the only next of kin. There were some overpayments made to her from the DWP which i have refunded. Also all remaining debts, of which all were minimal, have been settled.


I started to apply for probate, but found i was out of my depth going through the process & have more or less decided to employ the services of a professional.


The council has placed her house in "band F".
I am concerned regarding the council tax position for her property & not sure how long i will have before council tax is payable?

Keep_pedalling

The council give you 6 months exemption from the date probate is granted.

This sounds a simple estate, so the application for letters of administration should be very straight forward and not require the use of solicitors. Before you take that step post the issues you have here we may be able to help.

michaeln2

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. Yes, even to my limited knowledge it appears to be on the straight forward end of the spectrum. She had modest savings & was under insured. Her insurance policy did not even cover the cost of the funeral. But as mentioned in my original post, all outstanding debts/bills have been paid. I should have added that the whole estate including her house will not be anywhere near the threshhold for IHT. Many thanks again, will be back with more queries.

CIS

The council has placed her house in "band F".

The valuation office band the property, not the council.

I am concerned regarding the council tax position for her property & not sure how long i will have before council tax is payable?

The Class F exemption can last indefinitely in the first instance. It will come to an end once probate has been granted and then in the second instance, following probate, it can be re-awarded for up to 6 months.


This is assuming that no-one is resident in the property or has become the legal owner- at that point the Class F exemption will cease. The issue regarding at what point someone becomes the legal owner is not entirely settled for the purposes of council tax where there is an inheritance.

Tom99

michaeln2 wrote: »

My Mother passed away early November 2018. There is no will and myself and older brother are the only next of kin. There were some overpayments made to her from the DWP which i have refunded. Also all remaining debts, of which all were minimal, have been settled.

I started to apply for probate, but found i was out of my depth going through the process & have more or less decided to employ the services of a professional.

The council has placed her house in "band F".
I am concerned regarding the council tax position for her property & not sure how long i will have before council tax is payable?

The forms are pretty straight-forward and as suggested by KP post any questions you have here.
I think you need Form PA1A since there was not a will:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-pa1a-apply-for-probate-deceased-did-not-leave-a-will

And Form IHT205:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-return-of-estate-information-iht205-2011

If the estate has a value over £325,000 then you will need to look at and transferable Nil Rate Band from a deceased spouse or the Residential Nil Rate Band currently £125k which require further forms.