Paying mortgage and council tax after a bereavement

[MelbourneWay]

Asking for a friend who has a three year old daughter. Her partner passed away recently, it was somewhat unexpected. They had a mortgage together. She is on universal credit getting about £600 per month which comprises the standard allowance and support for one child. She can just about live on that but can't pay the mortgage or council tax at the moment. Mortgage and council tax also come to about £600 per month. Is there any help that she can get for the mortgage and council tax whilst she is waiting for probate?

What did he tell her is in the will, then?

There has been lots of good advice on this thread. One thing that may help your friend is joining WAY
It is a charity that supports anyone who has lost a life partner under the age of 50. The membership cost is £25 I think but they have a very good legal helpline and lots of information on their website that may help your friend. They also offer emotional support for those who have been bereaved. I would definitely recommend it.

Sadly if you are not married to your partner when they die then you are very vulnerable. It is quite possible that your friend may have to sell the flat (or it is sold from under her) and she will have to support herself by working. It is a horrible situation to be in and your friend will need lots of support over the coming months and year.

Thanks TheSparking, I had not heard of WAY, I will suggest it. Hi AnotherEmma, he had said that she would be looked after in the will and that he would try to make sure the mortgage was paid off. It’s the solicitor’s refusal to confirm this that is causing all the worry.

www.widowedandyoung.org.uk

he had said that she would be looked after in the will and that he would try to make sure the mortgage was paid off

That doesn't really sound very promising, honestly. "Try to make sure" is not "the life insurance will pay off the mortgage".

She needs to put aside the "asking for help" mentality and try to get into a "time to fix this" frame of mind. I realise that is hard, but ultimately it sounds as if she needs to take some control back.

Can she get in touch with his family?

Communication is the key here.
An important question to ask is the solicitor the sole executor?
She must push to know the terms of the will and the time scale of probate etc.
Has she sent the death certificate to the mortgage company? They may be able to put her account on short term hold until probate is granted.

She needs to pass this on to the solicitor to deal with. Presumably they were not married? Was he working, paying into pension, life insurance against the mortgage etc. Is she named in the mortgage and deeds?

Her child should get extra income because her father is deceased she will get a bigger uc allowance because she has a mortgage so they deduct less off her

She needs to talk to the council about a discretionary payment ultimately they may take her to court but that wont mean they get the money faster

Obviously this is no help to the OP but if there is anyone reading who hasn't done this I hope it will spur them on to get it sorted.
I agree completely with @anotheremma, as a young widow myself.

People always think this sort of thing happens to other people, but sadly that is not the case.

Again, of no use to the OP, unless there is retrospective legislation, but just yesterday the High Court ruled that that the eligibility criteria for Higher Rate Bereavement Support Payment – which is paid to widowed parents when their spouse dies – are incompatible with human rights law.

https://www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/news/landmark-high-court-ruling-in-favour-of-cohabiting-couples/?fbclid=IwAR1T0JD50t60di41rHrFGJj8joPjBrEd2qJtQ4kscnJzqeJ2c3KdeNIhCTs

I think she needs to get to the Citizen's Advice Bureau, who can help her with specifics.

In terms of priority, contacting the council is urgent.
She needs to tell them about her bereavement, get the 25% reduction, and agree a payment plan. It is a high-priority debt, because if the flat ultimately must be sold and she has to go into rented, she cannot afford to have CCJs on her credit record.

Please urge her to go to CAB.

@slipperywhensparticus - sadly this is not true - there is no extra income available if the father of your children dies. The DWP class you as a single parent and that is it.
Sadly I am in this position, the only benefit I get is a Bereavement support allowance which at the moment is only paid to the surviving partner if you were married. And you only receive it for 18 months. There is a recent high court challenge to this so it may change in the future. Whether people will be able to claim retrospectively no one knows.

@TheSparkling - see yesterday's ruling: link is in my previous post.

I think this thread is a big flashing warning to anyone who either has children with someone or is financially tied in some way eg joint mortgage etc to actually sit down and talk with your partner about wills and financial provision in the case of death of one of you. No one knows what might happen but the it’s something that really needs to be thought about.
We have life insurance, Both of us have in death benefit at work and we have a joint will that gives everything to each other (done before we were married) and now we are married so obviously have the benefits that being married brings eg no inheritance tax etc.

Does she actually need probate ?

"I think this thread is a big flashing warning"

Totally agree. Personally I think it's madness to be an unmarried SAHP, let alone an unmarried SAHP who has no idea if they have insurance on the joint mortgage (you would have had to sign the mortgage paperwork and be part of the conversations at that point!) and has no idea if their partner has life insurance, a death in service policy at work, and no access to the will or indeed confirmation that they are in fact an executor or beneficiary.

I guess some people are just naive or unaware and/or they think these things won't happen to them

Rosielily- it’s a great result, but not translated into govt benefits as yet. I’m sure it has to though
Thesparkling- looks like they changed the benefits around 2017? I get widows parents allowance. I always thought this was quite fair as it’s based on husbands ni contributions, so his pension if you like.

It does sound like your friend is outside of the family and she might be taken care of eventually.
There is something she might be able to do, if she really thinks she won’t get anything, she can lodge an appeal against the will, a variation.
We’re assuming the child was the partners?
Has she even seen the death certificate ?

So they were not married?

Is her name on the mortgage and deeds?

@amaryl, yes it isn't translated into benefits yet. I too got WPA, which stopped when my youngest turned 18. Whilst I was pleased to receive it I still thought it was unfair as it counted as income and therefore taxed. Plus, what happens to the remainder of the NI contributions our deceased partners paid when the payments stop. Still, at least we got/get something which is more than more recent widows/widowers get! 😡

It sounds like a tricky set up. No advice but reading between the lines it sounds like theirs was quite an unconventional arrangement? If so normal advice about life insurance, death on service etc isn't going to work.
I am assuming she isn't close to any of his other family either?

She might want to have an initial conversation with a solicitor, where she can be frank about whatever their set up was and hopefully get some clear advice.

Deed of variation (of the will) is only possible if all beneficiaries agree. Ie where everyone who is a current beneficiary thinks the will has left out someone the grantor would have wished or where circs have changed since will etc.
She needs a bit of advice and may need to put a hold on the will (forgotten the word) a ‘caution’. I’ve a friend who did this as she was challenging the validity of a will which have everything to new young carer and disinherited the family under alleged dodgy circs surrounding the making of the new will.
Op should have an initial appointment with a probate lawyer to ask when/how she will know what the will says / whether she/they can contact the executor prior to probate being granted etc.
Once probate granted distribution should not occur for 6 months as during this time the will can be challenged without leave of the court. Executor is personally liable for anything distributed during this 6 months which is then later found to have been ‘wrong’ for some reason. After this time leave is required.
I am a lawyer but not probate. Have been dealing with my mother’s estate with probate solicitor over the last year. Above is I hope helpful summary subject to proper probate advice.

Feel I should say friend really is a friend. My lovely old ma’s will was straightforward and uncontentious. Still took 6 months to get grant of probate and further 6 month wait to distribute and further 4 months to tie up loose ends and final distributions. Probate stuff takes absolutely forever.

Notify everyone which can be done via the Council bereavement service at the same time when registering the death.

They will ask for a copy of the death certificate and wait for probate.

But you need to ensure you have a reasonable idea of what you are able to afford after everything is settled.

Good morning thanks for all the replies. NeverTwerkNaked is correct, neither my friend or her deceased partner had siblings, and so there is no close family on either side to speak of. The flat was in their joint names, so she will get the flat but she has no way of paying the mortgage unless she gets a substantial sum in the will. She thought things were sorted, it is just the probate solicitor’s attitude and refusal to give any information, or even give her the time of day, that has upset her. And she is not dealing with the grief at all well. She feels that everything is being kept from her. If she knew what was in the will, she could take decisions about her future. I think I will take HeronLanyon’s advice and recommend she consults a specialist probate solicitor. Thank you again for all the replies.