Not pay deceased family members bills

[Hound456]

A family member has died and my siblings and I are the only relatives they had.
We have been left a house which has sold but we are waiting for probate to be granted so the sale goes through.
I contacted relatives energy supplier and explained they were deceased , nobody is living at the property but correspondence could be sent to me. I was told outstanding bills had to be settled when probate was granted.
I've since had a quarterly bill but they are asking for payment.
It's not loads of money but I would prefer not to have to pay it from my own money.
I've argued that I was told bills would be issued on probate being granted ,this seems to have changed.
What I suppose I'm asking is can they do this? Or are the company trying it on?They are saying account is in my name but I never agreed to that. When letters come they are addressed to my deceased family members estate c/o me. Can anyone offer any advice ?
TIA

I was the executor when my mother died 6 years ago. One of my first jobs was to contact all her utility companies to let them know. I had no problem at all with any of them regarding waiting for payment until probate was granted. One of them - I think the electricity company - passed the bill to another company that dealt with all these kind of bills and I know I had a polite letter from them to let me know, and I may have had another letter or two from them while we were waiting for probate. These were not demanding money, they were polite letters to remind me of the process. I wonder if the letter you have received is the same, rather than a letter demanding payment? It is very easy to misread something if you are upset or stressed.

The debt does not die with the person. It has to be paid from the estate. In this case there is an estate so has to be paid from the proceeds of the house sale.
If there is no estate then the debt cannot be paid and relatives do not have to pay it.

The bill won't be yours anyway if it's for past usage. Tell them they will need to wait for probate. Also point out that the account is not in your name, you didn't agree to it and it's not your bill. And certainly don't pay it from your own money.

Sadly my Mil died 18 months ago and my DW and her bro and sis have dealt with her flat and finances.

We didn’t close accounts as we stayed over some nights when clearing up, needed to keep power on etc.

Elec company fine. They had a dedicated ‘deceased accounts’ debt. Understanding, letters addressed properly the lot.

BT on the other hand. Lost names, merged our and MIL’s account, spent ages on phone waiting and then re-explaining the problem. We couldn’t access our own account for a while.It wasn’t just the computer says NO it was that ones things had been done the computer said I can’t undo it.

All the best.

When one of our relatives died the funeral director kept sending bills. The solicitor was an executor and they advised not to pay and all bills sent to them as they were dealing with probate.
Yes, you can be an executor without a solicitor but the onus is on you to get it right. My dad was sole executor for an elderly friend and he vowed never to do it again.

My Father died nearly a year ago, the house is in probate too.

We're paying some utilities internet for alarm systems and the monthly pay to the alarm company, the electric and gas will be paid once probate is completed.

No they don’t. 😂

Outstanding debts MUST be paid from any assets the deceased person had including their home, once it’s sold.

The debts will only be written off when there’s no money on the estate left to pay them.

@TightDiamondShoes That is a myth. Debt does not die with the deceased.

You are entitled to wait for the grant of probate and then pay the bill out of the assets of the estate.

The reason the company is hassling you for money is because they have bought the debt from the utility company, doubtless at a lower price than the total amount of the debt. They take the risk of not getting it at all and gamble on getting in more than they paid for most bills. Of course they want to get the money in asap and so they insinuate without quite saying you have to pay before the grant of probate.

We had solicitors for probate who told them to wait till after the grant and they had to.

Most companies have a department that deals specifically with this. In some cases they will request the death certificate. I found most of them quite helpful. Are you the executor?

Debts don't die with a person what a ridiculous and hugely incorrect thing to say. If there is no money in the deceased person's estate then that is different but in this case the person died with a house that has since been sold so of course companies who are owed money can and will legally claim.

OP you shouldn't pay this from your account on principle, keep telling them that probate hasn't yet been granted. Once it is, pay it off.

I'm sorry for your loss by the way.

Why "must" you have a solicitor dealing with it. We never used a solicitor when DM and DMIL died. Both times involved sales of houses and it was relatively simple. I wouldn't waste money on a solicitor!

Do you have a solicitor involved. If so refer them to the solicitor dealing with probate.

why waste money on a solicitor?

This.

Our experience is the that certain organisations will try and get the money as soon as possible and will plead ignorance around probate law. British Gas - I am looking at you!

Unfortunately some companies do try it on. When FIL passed away he had a lot of debt that the family didn’t know about and poor SIL got a lot of hassle from various sources. The debt does not die with the deceased but the companies have no right to claim from you, only from the estate, so you are absolutely within your rights to tell them that they must wait for probate and any further demands will be reported as harassment.

All the utility companies I dealt with after MIL died had a bereavement team who I dealt with as executor. All waited until probate was granted (but there was no house sale that might delay probate).

That’s not true, and part of the probate process is finding out what debts the deceased had.

OP, I am in this situation currently. The energy provider will keep sending you bills, and may pass the debt onto a debt collection agency. They know you are pursuing probate and selling the house so they won’t chase up the debts until the house is actually sold, so don’t worry about that. Once it is sold, all outstanding debts need to be paid from any remaining money.
PS - did you read the meter last week? If no, get it read asap and submit it otherwise when you do pay the final bill it will be calculated on the higher charges!

So much misinformation on this thread.

The bills will be paid from the estate. End of. Do not engage with the energy company, OP.

Rubbish. Honestly why do people post so confidently about things they have no clue about.

That’s odd - I’m dealing with British Gas over my mum’s estate and they’re being really good.

PS - did you read the meter last week? If no, get it read asap and submit it otherwise when you do pay the final bill it will be calculated on the higher charges!

Talk about scaremongering!

If the estate is fairly straightforward, with no complicated investments or debts all over the place, there is no need for the expense of a solicitor.

Obviously that depends on the abilities of those dealing with the estate, but it is perfectly possible for family members to sort it out themselves if they have the time. Time is the key. Just phoning companies can take forever and explaining over and over again is stressful sometimes.

I agree.

Many many people deal with probate without a solicitor, and to get a solicitor to deal with utility bills would probably cost more than the bill in question.

We had an issue with British gas when my dad died 8 years ago. Rang to say he'd died and bill would come out of probate. They were very nice and passed me onto the bereavement department.
4 months later, 2 letters from a debt collection company and a letter from British gas telling me they would be arriving with the police the following week to gain entry to the house, I found they were not so nice.

Had the same issue with virgin.