Lost Will Saga - how to borrow money until probate?

dchurch24

Yes. We're in the UK, talking about probate in this country - for some odd reason. My question had nothing to do with getting probate or council tax, but the TLD is ".gov", the country code tld is ".uk"

Yes, your results in Google will be different based on location, browsing history etc...however, the first three I get give conflicting information - purely due to the fact that each council decides when to start charging council tax on empty properties. Mine is 6 months after the date of death. They told me that on the phone, and the government website confirms that some councils will choose to do that. My solicitor's website says the same.

I think it's fair to say that we've established that my council charge council tax 6 months after the date of death, as confirmed by them on the phone, and that given that some councils choose to do that as outlined on the government and solicitor's websites, that accepting that answer is the prudent thing to do.

Now, if anyone actually wants to discuss my original question, it would be greatly appreciated.

AdrianC

T in TLD is Top. Top Level Domain - the rightmost portion of the domain. The TLD for .gov.uk is .uk

And you miss my point. Ask the relevant local authority.

dchurch24

Again. We're in the UK. On a website concerned primarily with UK issues. I'm not going to point you at articles concerning the naming of TLDs as it yet further detracts from the point, but country codes are known as "country code TLDs (ccTLD)", and are not solely known as top level domains in their own right. The TLD in this instance was ".gov" with a ccTLD of .uk, as you're well aware. If I'd said they were all ".uk" top level domains, it would have been as pointless as your attempt at pedantry.
If it confused you, then I apologise. I don't know of many countries where their local tax is called "council tax", and thought it obvious that we were talking about the UK.

>> And you miss my point. Ask the relevant local authority.

I'm afraid that you have missed mine. I HAVE contacted my local authority (as mentioned in this thread multiple times - the same local authority as mine) - hence people on here telling me that I either misheard the woman, or she was wrong.

Here: 
>> 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

I was told that the property/estate becomes liable for council tax 6 months after the date of death. Others on here disputed that, telling me that I must educate myself, presumably by searching the Internet. Which I then did. I then got three differing answers, due to the fact that it varies from local authority to local authority. Mine decide to charge 6 months after the date of death.

All of which is irrelevant to the initial discussion/question, but hey, at least I'm being slowly reminded why I haven't visited this forum for a few years.

greatcrested

Well I based my advice on central government advice:

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

The council discretion appears to apply after Probate - nothing to do with date of death.

Having said that, the government may be wrong of course!

Looking at several council websites, all say the exemption is until Probate, and may be longer, though Lewisham is somewhat less clear:

If the deceased owned their home will it be sold? You may need to apply for probate before any sale can take place.

• Any property left empty following the death of the owner is exempt from paying council tax for six months from the date of death.

• If it is still empty after six months, a further four-week exemption may be given if it remains unfurnished.

• If the property is left furnished it will still qualify for a six-month exemption from the date of death, but after that time council tax will become payable in full.

• If probate or letters of administration are applied for, the deceased’s home will be exempt from paying council tax from the date of death until the date probate is granted.

• Once probate is granted the same exemption entitlement applies as above.

Which council is this property in?

dchurch24

I appreciate the effort, truly, but it's really distracting from my original point/question.
The fact is that this council, as verified twice on the phone now, and on the central government website (stating that local authorities have the final say on it), starts charging council tax from 6 months after the date of death, so it's in my interests to get this done as fast as possible, and as such the estate agent, in the first instance, probably wasn't wrong.

What I was really trying to ascertain was whether or not it was worth me finding some kind of short term mortgage/loan to purchase the flat while the probate office faff about losing stuff, and taking 3 weeks to answer emails. It's been nearly 2 months since my offer was accepted, so it probably isn't - given that these things can take several months. Nobody at that end is chasing me for anything, so I've decided it was probably worth just forging for patience.

xylophone

Does your Council have its own web site? It takes a bit of searching on mine but I eventually found
the pdf of exemptions

Unoccupied dwelling where the person who was liable to pay council tax has died. The property had remained unoccupied and a grant of probate or letters of administration has not been made. The exemption continues for six months after the grant of probate if the property remains unoccupied.

Jude57

I worked in Council Tax for over a decade and Class F exemption certainly used to be applicable up to grant of probate, however I know that my knowledge is out of date and that individual local authorities do have discretion in areas where previously they didn't. If anyone here can give a definitive answer on that point, it's @CIS who is an expert. Hopefully they'll see this thread and reply. That said, the OP could seek the help of the Councillor for the ward where the property is. It's their job to help constituents with this type of query. As to sources of funding, there are bridging loans but these are very expensive and I'm not sure banks would lend in the OP's current situation, as surely until probate is granted, technically the will could be contested. Sorry not to be more helpful OP.

CIS

The Class F is a very funny thing and cases over the last few years have been contradictory - the usual view is that until probate is sorted there shouldn't be an issue but not all cases have found that (and that has been at least one High Court case suggesting they may be right). Ift can apply for 6 months from probate but that depends on the circumstances.

Annisele

I'm not sure the probate stuff is strictly relevant to the original question.

OP wants to know whether they can borrow money to complete the purchase before waiting for probate. But I think that depends on whether OP could borrow the money if they weren't a beneficiary of the estate - I think it's unlikely a lender would pay any attention to OP's rights under the will until everybody has agreed that OP does have those rights (i.e. probate has been granted).

However - I don't think the probate stuff counts as a derail of the thread. OP says in fact they can't borrow the money from the estate; they can't use their position as potential/probable beneficiary to borrow more; so the quickest way for the OP to get what they want is for probate to get sorted. Hence the comments about that.

greatcrested

So which council are we talking about?