Council tax during probate

Keep_pedalling

poseidon1 said:

pjs493 said:

Speak to the council and they’ll likely put the bill on hold until Probate is granted and funds are available to pay it. When I was sorting through my husband’s estate I found an unpaid council tax bill from when a rental property was empty between tenants a couple of years ago. It was under a pile of paperwork and I suspect it was in his to do pile when he was sorting out his taxes and it accidentally got mixed in with some unrelated papers and forgotten. 

I must add that there was only one bill, it hasn’t been chased up as far as I could tell. My husband died suddenly and unexpectedly so I had to sort out all of the finances without any pre-planning as might be the case if someone is ill or elderly. 

I called the council, explained the situation and they said they’d put a note on the account and I could pay it after Probate was granted. In the end I just paid it as money came in from closed bank accounts as it was only for a couple of hundred pounds and it seemed to make more sense to get little things like that out of the way. 

The council didn’t seem in a rush for the money and I suspect they wouldn’t have chased it for a while under the circumstances. I think the key thing is for your husband to call the council and explain the situation. 

Probate was granted 11/01/2022!

So they have not exactly been in too much of a hurry as there is nearly 2 years of outstanding CT that needs paying.

BB.

The council says they have only just been notified by the solicitors. 

In response to Poseidon’s comment re paying bills post Assent. Solicitors got back to my husband saying that the utilities kept issuing bills to the Estate and they have kept paying them, including insurance. They say some companies will not change the account owner until Land Registry has updated their records, which hasn’t happened yet! 

pjs493

poseidon1 said:

pjs493 said:

Speak to the council and they’ll likely put the bill on hold until Probate is granted and funds are available to pay it. When I was sorting through my husband’s estate I found an unpaid council tax bill from when a rental property was empty between tenants a couple of years ago. It was under a pile of paperwork and I suspect it was in his to do pile when he was sorting out his taxes and it accidentally got mixed in with some unrelated papers and forgotten. 

I must add that there was only one bill, it hasn’t been chased up as far as I could tell. My husband died suddenly and unexpectedly so I had to sort out all of the finances without any pre-planning as might be the case if someone is ill or elderly. 

I called the council, explained the situation and they said they’d put a note on the account and I could pay it after Probate was granted. In the end I just paid it as money came in from closed bank accounts as it was only for a couple of hundred pounds and it seemed to make more sense to get little things like that out of the way. 

The council didn’t seem in a rush for the money and I suspect they wouldn’t have chased it for a while under the circumstances. I think the key thing is for your husband to call the council and explain the situation. 

Probate was granted 11/01/2022!

In which case the money needs to be paid from funds from the estate. It the OP lodged a notice with the Gazette and the council didn’t contact the OP in their role of executor during the six months following the notice, then payment can’t be enforced - is my understanding.