Lost Will Saga - how to borrow money until probate?

dchurch24

When I phoned the council to tell them of my uncle's passing, they informed me that it would be exempt for 6 months from the date of his death.

Why would they tell me that?

Turns out it's not just the probate office that has no clue.

I should be able to trust that government agencies know what's going on and what their own rules are.
So far, I've been pulled from pillar to post. I trusted them when they said it would take 8 weeks. I trusted the agent who said that it's usual for a sale to run alongside getting a grant of probate.
I trusted the council when they said the property would be exempt from council tax for the first 6 months.
I don't apply for probate on a weekly basis, and I don't sell houses frequently either. Who else do I trust?

I didn't ask for any of this, and yet so far it's cost me a small fortune for other people's lies and !!!!!! ups.

xylophone

When I phoned the council to tell them of my uncle's passing, they informed me that it would be exempt for 6 months from the date of his death.

You could check on the Council's web site?

There is this general guidance

https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/second-homes-and-empty-properties

When you do not pay Council Tax

If you’re selling a property on behalf of an owner who’s died, you won’t need to pay Council Tax until after you get probate as long as the property remains empty. After probate is granted, you may be able to get a Council Tax exemption for another 6 months if the property is both:

• unoccupied
• still owned and in the name of the person who died

dchurch24

I was already on the phone to them. I had no reason to doubt their answer.
I reiterate; I should be able to trust what a government agency or institution tells me without having to double check it.
If I checked everything every person told me, they'd be very little time left for much else.
However, it seems that my original question has been forgotten in favour of point scoring, and/or some kind of blame laying.
Odd.

pumas

You mention there being 'stuff' in the house. I can't find a definitive answer now, but for council tax exemption, empty used to mean empty of furniture etc., not just the state of being unoccupied.

dchurch24

It's virtually empty now. On the same call (transferred) I arranged for the council to come and get the furniture as it was beyond usable.

xylophone

At least the matter of the CT has been clarified and you/your solicitor seem to be making some progress with probate.

dchurch24

Yeah. Cheers. I'm going to phone the estate agent this morning and let them know the situation. I'll have a better idea of where the seller of the flat sits after that.

greatcrested

It's always wise to educate yourself particularly when undertaking legal or financial matters with which you are unfamiliar. Yes, 'professionals' can guide/advise, but there's is no substitute for confirming for yourself.

Probate is or at least can be quite complex, so reading up is important.

Managing an unoccupied probate property is expensive,so again learning about insurance, utilities, CT etc relevant to those circumstances is wise.

Nowadays there is loads of information on the web, not least(as here)on every council website.

The person you spoke to may havegot it wrong, or misunderstood your precise question, or you mis-heard or misunderstood their answer. the 6 months runs from Grant of Probate.

dchurch24

From my solicitor's website:
>> In many areas, councils decide the exempt six month period starts when a grant of probate is issued by the Probate Registry.
>> Some councils decide the six month period runs from the date of death.

Guess which mine is?
>> The person you spoke to may havegot it wrong, or misunderstood your precise question, or you mis-heard or misunderstood
>> their answer. the 6 months runs from Grant of Probate.

There was no "mis-hearing". I was told that the property becomes liable for council tax again, six months after the date of death. It's a tory council, so money is their only concern. I have and had no reason to doubt her word, and now, despite all the answers here telling me it's incorrect, it appears that it actually *isn't* incorrect, and that the six months, in my council, starts from the date of death.

So, after googling "council tax after death, empty property", the first three results all give conflicting information. One says that the council "may" grant an extension of six months after the grant of probate is issued, another says "will" (both are .gov tld), and a third says that it varies from council to council. "Contact your council to ask about a discount"
Makes sense to phone and ask them, right? That's what I did, that's what I was told.

>>It's always wise to educate yourself particularly when undertaking legal or financial matters with which you are unfamiliar.

Which I did. Hence, I know that this is a very simple case. Or, rather, would have been had the Royal Mail/Probate office not lost the original will. No level of "education" would have prepared me for that.

However, you are quite correct, and as such, I will be instructing my solicitor to stop the work she's been doing on the conveyancing for both the sale of the house, and the purchase of the flat, and will instead be doing it myself from this point onward. It's probably far safer that way these days.

AdrianC

dchurch24 said:

(both are .gov tld)

.gov TLD is US.

I presume you mean gov.uk?
gov.uk is the government. <body>.gov.uk is a local authority.

https://www.google.com/search?q=council+tax+after+death,+empty+property
For me, the first result is the London Borough of Kingston (150 miles from here), a law firm, then gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/second-homes-and-empty-properties), while the rest of the first page is different local authorities interspersed with the Welsh government and a single entry form a death portal website ("Follow Death on Twitter").