Maintaining household utilities after the death of the home owner

[RockingMyFiftiesNot]

Our remaining parent is terminally ill. I am trying to sort out what I can now while I am here away from home caring for them. I can't go out much, have the time, and quite frankly it's good to do something productive.

We will need to keep the house on for quite a few months to clear it, prepare for selling etc None of us siblings live nearby so will stay in the house whenever we're able to be here and we will need to continue gas, electric. Wifi, water etc for the duration. I know I will have to ring round all the providers eventually but just wondered what generally happens in that situation? Will we need to move the utilities accounts into one of our names? Or will they allow us to keep the accounts in Mum's name for a while?
What will they need other than a copy of the death certificate if they need to change the account name when the time comes?

I'm talking to the bank soon to arrange to make the bank accounts joint in my name (already have PoA so can access and manage the account, but PoA ceases upon their death). Joint access needed mainly so that the existing direct debits for payment can be honoured and that I can legitimately use that account to pay eg funeral expenses (I think anyway, will double check that directly with the bank).

Sorry if all of the above sounds callous but it will need sorting eventually and think I'm in a better frame of mind to do it now rather than when I'm dealing with grief and funeral arrangements.
Thank you

@Willowkins

Not sure if this is relevant but the bank will release funds to pay for the funeral.

Thank you. We could cover the costs if necessary but that's worth knowing

Thank you @Whitefire very useful

I was on a joint account with my Mum. When she died I took the death certificate in and they just took her off the account and it became my sole account with the funds still in it to do with it as I pleased.

I'm on my Dads current accounts for when he dies, so I can deal with the house, his funeral etc. My parents did this with their last surviving parent and the accounts were transferred to them just as my Mums was to me. What you've been told is correct in my experience.

Thanks @PieonaBarm, that's what I was led to believe but PP has suggested I won't be able to set that up even with PoA and that the account holder will have to do it, Will see what the bank says, annoyingly it has taken weeks to get an appointment and the account holder won't be able to attend with me.

Please could someone tell me why you need lots of copies of the will? Many thanks. I have also found this advice very helpful.

@Sonata13

Please could someone tell me why you need lots of copies of the will? Many thanks. I have also found this advice very helpful.

I think a pp meant the death certificate. In the end we only needed the one, a couple of places it was actually a copy of the probate that we needed.

We used the same firm of solicitors for the probate and house sale, you can do probate yourself but for us it was better to hand it over to the solicitors. Be careful of funeral companies offering their probate services, we were absolutely screwed over with FIL.

[quote RockingMyFiftiesNot]@bigbluebus thank you - I was just wondering about insurance. I will speak to the insurance company about that as I think there will probably be someone in the house most of the time. Draining. Central heating would be a pain as we'd be there too long to be cold. All depends when it happens but a really important point to make sure is covered, thank you [/quote]
Terms of insurance vary, so check out what is most suitable for your particular circumstances. We chose to keep the heating and water on, so the proviso was that we should check on the house every 2-3 weeks and you aren’t insured for any losses due to a leak. Sounds like you would be there regularly anyway.

Several copies of the death certificate can be useful as if you have to send one away to confirm the death it means everything doesn’t grind to a halt while you wait for it to come back.

Water isn’t charged for following death provided only “minimal amounts” are used. Once the house passes to a new owner the bill should be put in their name.

Gas and electricity should be paid up to the date of death. Any used after that will be rolled up and a final bill will be due once the house passes to a new owner.

It seems relentless at first. We had deaths of three parents in just over a year.

@Whitefire.
So kind of you to respond. What is a copy of the probate? Thanks in advance for your help. I'm writing all this down?

Once probate goes through you get an official record of this, (Grant of Probate) it is this that finalises the estate.

www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/probate/probate-guide

The website I linked to earlier has lots of useful advice, MIL was on end of life care (she wasn't suitable for the necessary life saving surgery) so I used this time to get things a little bit clearer.

We kept all the paperwork for everything (FIL was very particular about this) and have only just now got rid of most of it (bills, bank statements - even for dominant accounts) If they have Premium Bonds then you can keep them active for a year, we did this but haven't won anything - they never did in life either.

for anyone going through this at the moment. If I am honest I probably found it a little easier to deal with as I was a little more detached - not in a bad way, just how it is.

Thank you @Whitefire

I have been through this before with the other parent but was simpler as most things were in joint names (that was where the multiple copies of death certificate came in).

In this care, as it will not be a spouse inheriting, we will need probate before most things can be sorted.

Everyone has been so kind and helpful, thank you so much. Received way more advice than asked for which is brilliant .

@Whitefire thanks so much for your kindness in this matter. @RockingMyFiftiesNot I
I really hope that you get through this difficult time .
Thanks for starting this thread. I feel so overwhelmed by all the information that I feel I should know. I definitely feel wiser now. Best wishes to all going through this.

Work out roughly if there will be a surplus or not.

Inform all the suppliers and everything should continue until you can sell the house and pay off the bills.

Solicitors may be in contact for the debt but just keep them in the picture and they will accept an update every 6 months or so. Do not worry about this. They will wait for sale.

Don't put anything in your name. It will continue in their name until paid off. You are not responsible if the bills eventually can not be covered. If in your name then you are.

Speak to the house insurers as they will likely cancel the insurance and pay any outstanding refund. Then look at empty house insurance which can be set up on a monthly basis or 6/12 months.

Community charge often stops until probate is granted but each Council has its own rules.

Don't get worried about any demands. Just keep everyone updated

You don't need lots copies of wills. No one needs to see it. Death certificates should be sent back to you once utilities/ other have taken a photocopy. They just need to see the original.

If there is enough money in the account to pay for the funeral you could just pay for it this week.
Then it's one less thing to think about when you will be more upset.

You might start with this www.gov.uk/government/publications/tell-us-once-easy-read-guide

Thank you for even more great advice everyone. @Sonata13 I'm sorry you are in need of this advice but I'm glad you are finding this helpful, I know I am .

Regarding the bank, you will not be able to make it a joint account in the true sense as your dm would need to do this herself even though you have POA. Even if you did, the account would still be frozen upon her death. However, they will keep the account ‘live’ so to speak for. Length of time (my MILs was like this for 6 months) so that any payments from or to the estate could be paid in / out. The undertakers sent their invoices directly to the bank, who paid them promptly.

Update: so the bank has confirmed that the account holder has to be present to set up joint account, even though my siblings and I have PoA. They have also said the account. will be frozen upon the account holder's death and nothing can be paid from it?

The much better news is that the worst did not happen . Seems the sudden decline was due to an untreated chest infection and a UTI - some questions need answering on why it took so long to work that out. She's much brighter now. I don't want to go into too many details about her condition., but whilst ultimately terminal, it was a shock to all including her GP & practice nurses that she seemed to be declining so rapidly. As it turned out it wasn't connected. Just a shame it took so long to be diagnosed and treated for the infections.

Thank you again for all the advice, it won't go to waste, sadly it will still be needed, thankfully not just yet. And to those reading this because they need similar advice right now, i send my condolences and wish you strength to face the tough time ahead x