Council Tax after death,

lanigan

Hi,
long story short. my father died in 2012, my brother was the executor of the will, fathers house to be divided equally between us. We had a few problems with the house before we could sell it.
My brother then died during covid before he could execute my fathers wishes as probate was delayed. It was then left to me to be the executor of my fathers will in conjunction with my brothers wish that his half of the property sale went to his daughters. I  then had to get a probate non bono which took forever because the probate office were working from home. Will we still be liable for 13 years council tax on the empty property, also standing charges on gas and electric even though everything was turned off, thank you, 

Brie

I do believe the council give a certain amount of time where they don't charge tax as they know a property will be sold following a death.  But it's maybe 6 months or a year, but certainly not the full 11 since he died.

The utility companies may be more forgiving but in general just because no electric or gas is being used the standing charges still accrue.  Some companies may decide to write it off but others will stand by their billing and expect to be paid upon the sale of the property.  

Obviously either way the money comes from the estate prior to distribution.  

p00hsticks

Assuming a) in England b) the property was owned soley by your father and c) it remained unoccupied after your fathers death, then there is a Class F council tax exemption that should be applied from death until probate is granted. 

HOWEVER, I think we have had at least one post on this board where the council did try to charge council tax after a certain amount of time had elapsed even though probate had not as yet been obtained - I can't recall if we ever heard the outcome of that.

I imagine it would depend on why there was such a long delay in your brother obtaining probate - although I can see that his subsequent death and the pandemic have subsequently made things a lot more complicated for you, I can't see from your post any reason you give as to why your brother failed to obtain probate in the 8 years between your fathers death in 2012 and your brothers death presumably in 2020 ?. 

lincroft1710

Have the council not been sending any CT bills since your father died? If not and as this is not straight forward (it is very rare for probate to take as long as 11 years) I would suggest you contact the council and give them a timeline of events. Do not distribute the estate until this matter is sorted 

jlfrs01

Councils seem treat Tax due after death in different ways. My late father had 2 properties when he passed away - a self-contained flat attached to a care home in West Oxfordshire District Council's jurisdiction and a private flat under Cherwell District Council.

WODC were happy not to charge anything upon being informed of his passing but Cherwell still wanted money, albeit at a non-occupancy rate until it was sold and transferred to new ownership.

Both properties were vacant and in both cases, the utility companies continued to collect their standing charges and usage (the thermostats were left on low to avoid burst pipes in winter). My father had spent nearly a year in hospital before passing away and it was 18 months after he died before the flats were sold so the Estate had to provision for these payments.

So, in the OP's scenario I think it highly likely the Council will want their pound of flesh along with the utility companies backdated so the Estate will have to provision for this accordingly before any monies are distributed. As Executors are personally liable for any shortfalls it is very important any debts are settled because once the money's been distributed, getting anything back from Beneficiaries can be very tricky indeed.

lanigan

Thank you all for your comments.