Who pays the bills following bereavement?

[Itsnotthatgrimupnorth]

Following a bereavement my family home is solely occupied by my late father's partner. The house has been left to me in the will and there has been no pressure for the partner to move out.

The issue I need advice with is the bills. The partner seems to assume that because it's my house I pay the bills. My view is the partner is the person living there so the bills are their responsibility.

Can anyone suggest what my next steps are? I want to keep the relationship civil until the estate is settled but I feel their expectations are unreasonable.

Thank you

"I have not magically gained access to my father's bank accounts which she thinks I have."

Just a quick question here, who is the executor of the will?

One of the first things that the executor should do is to provide evidence of death to the banks where your father held accounts.

Depending on the amount held in those accounts, many banks will then close the account and immediately release the cash to the executor. For example, with Barclays bank as long as the deceased had less than £50,000 with them then they do not require probate, just proof of death, and the executor's proof of ID.

If the executor gets a move on with doing that then that will release funds to pay for the burial and also, since:

"... she has been generously gifted items and money in the will"

It will enable her to receive the money left to her and so she will be in a position to pay the bills herself.

Very helpful seeing all the replies and its made me realise I'm not being unreasonable.

To answer some points. I am the executor of the will and it is in my possession. It is not terribly detailed so apart from saying the house is left to me there is nothing written about the partner staying on after my father's death. I have contacted the solicitor who drew up the will because as another poster said this process may not be straight forward.

The ideal solution would be for sheltered housing but the wait is going to be some months if not longer., I hadn't thought that by giving her x number of months notice that would actually help her cause on the waiting list so thank you for highlighting that.CactusSwoonedEnding

Unfortunately I am not aware of how the bills were split when my father was alive so its possible he paid everything and she made a contribution. The bills were all solely in his name. Its also possible she didn't pay anything but I think that's unlikely.

The partner did have her own property before moving in which was sold so there will be a nest egg from there. She would have paid bills there as she was the sole occupant.

Apologies if I've missed any other questions

If your late father paid all the bills and they are all in his name then I think the estate will remain liable for the bills. As PP has pointed out, even if the house were empty there would be utility bills to pay. And you dont want to end up with a tenant either so I'd steer clear of moving the bills into her name.
Personally, I'd just say to his DP that you will be paying all the bills but you are also putting the house on the market forthwith (even if it's not quite true) and so she needs to be making arrangements to move as soon as possible. If you incur a few extra quid in electricity costs for the next month or two that'd probably be worth the lack of hassle in my view. But I dont know what other cash your late father left in the estate that will cover this so if you're really short on cash you may need to ask for a contribution

How long were they together ? I feel for her losing her home as well as her loved partner

equally the house is now yours so you are free to sell

so she has money to buy/rent via her sold house

does she have any children so could move in with them while finds somewhere once you sell ?

and yes she pays the bills so get meter readings for gas water electricity and pay them till now

does she intend to live there till she dies. Shame Will doesn’t stipulate she has life rights or has to leave after 6mths

sorry for your loss

If you charge rent it creates a tenancy and a whole other headache for you trying to evict. By law the occupier pays Council Tax. If she wants utilities it be in her name too. Ridiculous to say she wants you to pay bills whilst she lives rent free. Selling asap best way to wind it all up and likely she will be difficult and no way to salvage good relations.

It might help to know for perspective that we are still paying the following bills on my PIL's empty house nearly two years after the death, and more than a year after grant of probate, as the house is proving slow to sell:

Buildings insurance
Some heating (a condition of insurance, to a minimum level that keeps the house dry)
Water standing charge
Electricity standing charge
Council tax now that it's been so long
Plus odd things like occasional gardening or window cleaning

It all comes to around £400 a month, much of that the council tax.

Why isn’t House selling ?

usual answer is that it’s priced too high

the right priced house will sell

You'd think! No, it's had reasonable offers but the chain has fallen through twice now.

I'm not sure this is correct, unless she has been left a life interest in the property - which she hasn't.
Don't set up a rent agreement, she could dig in and use the new Renters Agreement.
Please speak to a Solicitor - advice on here seems quite conflicting. Don't get emotionally involved. Your dad left you the house, you've said she has also benefited from the Will, she needs to make her own accommodation arrangements - if your dad had wanted her to stay there he could have left her a life interest in the house.
Sorry for your loss.

I'd come over, arrange to meet with her and her family, tell them you will be putting the house of the market. Take meter readings and copies of all the bills and your late dads finances, she has family who need to step up and help her find somewhere else to live, she has her own money. Do not rent the house to her, I'd pay the final bills, anything after that I'd ask her to pay once she's moved out by way of a payment to you or a reduction in her inheritance. If all the bills are in his name you need to inform all the companies, especially the insurance as she won't be namedor covered, it all needs to be in your name as the executor now.

If you rtt
i have already commented they should pay rent and bills and that OP is within their rights to sell the property as its theirs

My post above related to an older persons ability to look after themselves. They don’t all belong in a care home just because they are old

I certainly wouldn’t be paying the bills. You can tell her politely but firmly that they are now her sole responsibility.

IMO it would not be unreasonable, either, to expect some sort of rent payment.

TBH I’m surprised that there was nothing in the will to say that the surviving partner had the right to stay there for X period. This was the case when my paternal GM died - house was left to my DF - but her 2nd husband was allowed to stay for as long as he wanted. He was already late 80s though and died just a very few years later.

The deceased estate pay the bills. Unless somebody is already living there then they will also have pay their share.

You pay building insurance. They pay for council tax, gas, electric and water. You are entitled to charge rent but if you do you must comply with LL responsibilities. How to Rent booklets, EPC certificate, gas certificate and electricity certificate and give them a rental contract. If you don't charge them rent you won't have to give contract or other stuff. You could ask EA to rent it out for you and they will do all the legal requirements for you. I suppose it depends on your relationship with your Dad's partner, how long their relationship was and what you want to do with the house. You might want to give the partner 3 months notice then put house up for sale or move in there yourself.

You need to send a formal letter with conditions on her staying and a review date. My suggestion would be one year on condition she covers all bills, alternatively you are giving her 3 months notice to leave and will be getting the legal paperwork to this effect, which option does she want? I would definitely recommend consulting a solicitor if she doesn’t readily agree to paying all bills

(I’m assuming you have private, if not his estate pays)

Probate!

Noooo! This is madness OP.

As hard as it seems, I think you need to take steps to sell the property asap.

As soon as they start paying bills, you risk becoming a default landlord with a sitting tenant and having to take on the legal responsibilities that come with being a landlord.

Seriously, you must speak to a solicitor who specialises in this area of law as you don’t want to sleepwalk into a situation where you own the house but end up paying out £xxxx annually to keep it maintained.

I am sure that you are trying to find a balance between the letter of the law and the need to recognise that this woman has just list her partner and will be grieving.
Get legal advice from a solicitor and then work on how this might be applied in a humane kind way.

Well of course, but absolutely follow the legal route and don’t be guilt tripped!!

Assuming this is a problem caused by an elderly person suddenly having responsibilites they're not used to, and an amicable solution is desired, rather than anyone trying to exploit, could you speak to one of her relatives?

Any reasonable person with any experience of running their own home, would understand the the occupier needs to pay bills.

Is the will settled and the house in your ownership?

Or is the will not settled yet?

It would be unusual for the house to be in your ownership but for the bank accounts not to have been resolved.

If your father has died, but the will not yet been settled then it’s likely that the house actually still belongs to him and ‘he’ should be paying the bills for it.

Him dying doesn’t immediately make the house yours.

If you’re the executor then you can usually arrange access to the accounts to manage payments for the estate.

would she buy you out just for ease and convenience all round?

she and her family can then dispose of the house should she want to move to sheltered accommodation im future.

I would advise against doing anything that gives her the rights of a tenant as there are legal responsibilities for a landlord which you don’t want, even short term.

assuming you still plan to sell the property, you as Executor need to give her official notice, so she has a deadline to find somewhere else to live. Three months? Six months?

If three months notice, the estate could take on the bills. This will result in a bit less inheritance for the residuary beneficiaries, so if that is just you( with others receiving named amounts) you could opt to pay them yourself if that is easier. You say you do not have access to your father’s bank accounts but surely you do, as executor, know what is in them. Have they not been transferred to an account for the estate or are they still frozen and in limbo? You have Probate so can deal with that. Who has been paying the bills so far since the death?
I’m a bit puzzled by the time lines here.
What is the partner expecting to happen? Has there been no conversation about where she will live?

She is liable for Council Tax and there is no way out of it.

Water, electricity and gas ditto