House Bills & Covenants

Spendless

Flugelhorn said:

the savings accounts shouldn't really have been left to the grandchildren as the cash is what was needed to pay some of the costs of the estate. Nothing wrong with leaving something to the grandchildren but this has caused the OP to have some extra bills.

I did think that, there could be £1,000s in the savings accounts which remain untouched by any estate expenses, meanwhile the OP gets the sale of the house which sounds like it's being sold for 'mates rates' so pays for any bills by default anyway

nyermen

For inheritence tax purposes (assuming the estate could hit that threshold), mates rates wouldnt be allowed?   So careful executors aren't hit with a big tax bill later.

It sounds like the person promised the house is trying to get as much value as possible (remove the rentcharge etc). Bills such as standing charges and council tax should be settled by the estate?  And anything special on the house should surely be part of usual house sale value/negotiation.  Otherwise, the "residual beneficiaries" would be losing out.

Spendless

nyermen said:

For inheritence tax purposes (assuming the estate could hit that threshold), mates rates wouldnt be allowed?   So careful executors aren't hit with a big tax bill later.

It sounds like the person promised the house is trying to get as much value as possible (remove the rentcharge etc). Bills such as standing charges and council tax should be settled by the estate?  And anything special on the house should surely be part of usual house sale value/negotiation.  Otherwise, the "residual beneficiaries" would be losing out.

It doesn't sound like it will. OP already said the house is worth 90k-100k (common in certain parts of UK, I have family members who own houses only worth that) though I suspect the relative is getting the house for the lower end. Unless of course there';s a lot of money in the savings account left to grandchildren (which makes it even more unfair on the OP) 

rancid-a

Morning everyone.

@msb1234. Yes all the utility companies were informed when Mum passed in November. Then in April/May, after Probate, I paid all the old bills and those utility accounts were closed. I was wondering if the new bills now arriving marked 'The Occupier' can still to be paid with estate cash. I simply can't afford to keep paying them with my own money over the next months as my own bills will need paying.
I did get a couple of evaluations and then I told my buyers what I would be selling it for. Mum asked me to sell the house to them for a reasonable amount and I took into account some repairs. They seemed happy. Hoping they don't have a change of heart over the price.

Hi @Flugelhorn. Yes Mums saving account was left to the grand children but she had some money in her current account too, there was enough money in the current account to bring her bills up to date (Nov to April).
Although the savings have now been given to the grandchildren, we did leave some in the executors account, just for emergencies, I'm hoping to use this for upcoming bills, but am a bit wary of the grand children thinking I'm using their money.
@Spendless, @nyermen - thank you too for commenting, @user1977 & @Keep_pedalling too!

Spendless

Thanks for the reply. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along to clarify but yes in my view any 'the occupier' bills can come from estate cash, these aren't your bills, they are your late Mums. 

Flugelhorn

Spendless said:

Thanks for the reply. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along to clarify but yes in my view any 'the occupier' bills can come from estate cash, these aren't your bills, they are your late Mums. 

I agree - until the house is sold / debts paid etc then the estate isn't settled so the bills  should come out of the estate money - hope the sale all goes through quickly for you

TripleH

As its being sold to an executor(?) if they kick their heels up and try to delay things, you can always comment about their failure in their duties...