Surviving spouse struggling to pay bills before probate granted

[BerthaAntoinetteMason]

Hi all

My dad sadly died recently after living with Alzheimer's for a long time. He leaves my mum and me and the will is a bit complicated but essentially leaves everything to my mum. She doesn't have that much free cash and my dad paid all the bills out of his personal account. My mum is worried about covering the bills until probate is granted.

Has anyone been in this situation? Can an 'advance' be made from my dad's estate such that she has enough to live on in the meantime? Can probate be expedited if the legatee is in financial hardship?

Me and my mum are executors of the will if that makes any difference.

All experience and suggestions gratefully received!

ThanksXX

As far as I know you don’t have to tell the bank when someone dies, so standing orders, direct debits etc can keep being paid while probate is being sorted.

With most banks, if there is less than 50k in it you don’t need probate. You can get all the funds transferred to you with a death certificate. This is def the case with Barclays and Santander.

If that’s not the case then it’s worth speaking to the bank anyway, they can be very helpful and will be used to this situation.

I think you do have to tell the bank! But they may help with access for executors, which may cover essential payments.

Speak to the bank, most of them have a bereavement team who are helpful and knowledgeable.

Look into whether she is entitled to the Bereavement support allowance

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/benefits-entitlements/bereavement-benefits/

Ageuk also have this helpful guide and a support line that you can contact

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/siteassets/documents/information-guides/ageukig03whennsomeonedies.inf.pdf

I'm sorry for your loss

If she gets pension credits then she may be eligible for help towards funeral costs also

www.gov.uk/funeral-payments/eligibility

Yes my mum had this. Everything was left to her and she was the executor, but the solicitor gave her an advance before the estate was settled. This was in Scotland so not sure if it differs elsewhere.

Edited for typo.

Isn’t the money automatically transferred to your mother if you have a joint account?

Thanks everyone for your help. She won't be eligible for bereavement benefit unfortunately.

She is actually not poor but locked her money away into an account that doesn't pay without penulty until September! I may have to lend her some of my cash even though I'm much poorer and need it for buying a house! I love them but sometimes they make me cross....

You'll need to tell the bank as they will release money to the undertakers

Where did dad get his income from ? If he had a private pension have you been in touch with the pension company to see if they will now pay your mother spouses pension (if it was a Defined Benefit scheme) or if they can pass the remaining put to your mother (if a Defined contribution scheme) ?

If the account was in his sole name then I'm afraid you do need to tell the bank of his death, but if you can show (by letting them see a copy of the will) that his estate is left to your mum and that she is also an executor the bank may release the funds to her without waiting for probate (depending on how much is in there).

What’s the size of his estate? As someone else said, under a certain amount then you wont need probate. Also, if he has money in different accounts, some of them wont need probate either. Did they not have joint accounts?

Sometimes the penalty on fixed term investments is not that high - worth checking out what are the actual consequences of accessing her own money.

You absolutely do have to tell the bank! You’d effectively be using a dead persons account to pay someone else’s bills without their consent.

they will however arrange for funeral costs to be paid, and may allow essential bills to be paid. Unless there’s a large amount in there likely they will allow the executor to close the account and withdraw the money.

contact the bank, take in will and death cert and see what they can do.

I didn’t tell the bank immediately when my second parent died suddenly and unexpectedly.

They lived by themselves and there were payments due that I couldn’t have covered (house insurance - an empty property still needs insurance, gas bill - the insurance stipulated that the heating had to stay on at a certain temperature, car payments etc) so I took a short time to sort those before informing his bank otherwise it would have got tricky of those payments had just defaulted. I was able to stop some payments such as his newspaper subscription, charity donations, phone contract etc.

@BerthaAntoinetteMason This is going to sound harsh but you should not be paying your Mum’s bills.

You can contact suppliers, they all have bereavement departments, and let them know your Dad has died and you can’t access funds until probate is sorted. They are very used to this.

You can also help your Mum work out what income she will have and whether or not she will need to claim benefits. Things like pensions are often sorted quite quickly.

That’s a little different as it’s his estate costs, and would be paid by his estate. It’s not paying someone else’s bills out of the deceased account.

if there is someone else living in the house the bills aren’t part of the estate costs, they are of anyone still living in the house, and bills need transferring into their name.

Surely your DM using her savings and paying the penalty for early withdrawal is the simplest solution?

As others have said, the bank will pay funeral costs directly (just give them the invoices), and (depending on bank and size of account) will be able to release at least some funds with just a will and death cert. That should be enough to tide her over until probate is granted (we've just done my stepdad's, and it took 2 months).

Take your mum to the bank and ask them if she can get Letter of Administration. This is granted to access money before Probate is granted. Also a lot of Financial Institutions will wave penalty in the case of the spouse death. It is worth speaking to the Probate department where your mum holds her notice account. It is quite common to wave the penalty in these circumstances.

Aren’t letters of administration the equivalent of probate when there is no will?

if there’s a will you apply for probate. If there’s no will you apply for letters of administration.

Speak to the bank - this is just everyday stuff to them. My bank was brilliant when my OH died. I went in to see them, had a cup of tea and a long chat and lots and lots of support, even though they had nothing to gain by it. They will be able to explain everything to you.

This isnt correct. Letters of administration is what is granted if the deceased didn't have a will.

However to echo previous posters.
1 how much is the penalty for accessing her savings. Its likely to be a cut in interest/no interest on the sum. It should be easy to access this account in the short term.
2 who is executor? If she is a beneficiary she can ask for an advance or interim distribution before probate is granted. This is quite standard.

Perhaps it would be better for your Mum to access the account and pay the penalty. If she approaches the bank, they may reduce or wave the penalty.

Take her to the bank - they will help sort it out. They were very helpful when my husband died.

What is the penalty though? A few months interest? She has money, she needs to access it.