Requests / demands for bills to be paid

Linton

When I was an executor the gas and electricity companies were happy to wait until the house was sold.  Talk to their bereavement team. Do not switch to another supplier otherwise you could become responsible for standing charges. The water company simply gave a final statement with no further money owed, and said that there would be no charges even if water was used.

You need to talk to First Port and tell them there is no cash available from the estate at the moment, if that is the case.

As others have said, the estate is responsible for paying the bills in accordance with the Ts&Cs of the agreement with Mum but there is no responsibility for you personally to pay anything.

badger09

beavere38 said:

The only zero standing charge company I can find is Ebico and they have a minimum annual overall spend of £52 (if you use no electricity then they charge you the minimum £52 annual charge). I guess this may be my best bet as it would only be £4.33 per month.

I understand the property will be difficult to sell. I don't think I can start marketing it until I have probate. I will also settle the ground rent but the service charge will have to wait. I will send them the death certificate as requested and hope they are sympathetic. They must be very used to this scenario as by the nature of the properties being retirement flats this must happen a lot.

There is nothing to stop you marketing the property for sale before you receive Grant of Probate - unless McCarthy & Stone have their own rules on this. You won't be able to complete on any sale, but given the difficulty in selling these homes, I doubt that will be an issue for you. 

Mojisola

beavere38 said:

I understand the property will be difficult to sell. I don't think I can start marketing it until I have probate.

You can - just make it clear to the EA that you are waiting for probate.  As these flats aren't quick to sell, it would be worth getting the process started.

The EA wanted to see Dad's death certificate and the will and evidence that I was who I said and had the right to put the house on the market.

Flugelhorn

 I was rather green at all this and assumed I would have to pay so offered SevernTrent the stated amount and it was them who said they would just wait until probate was granted, ended up being the same for all bills / utilities - strictly speaking until probate is granted, there is no access to the money ( though of course many banks may release the contents of current accounts etc)
yes get on with selling the property, the market is more buoyant than it has been and it may flop later so make the most of it. 

AnotherJoe

Just to reiterate what others have said, these places can take ages to sell (my mums retirement flat was one month off two years) so get on with that process now but just make it clear that probate hasn't yet been granted.