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First of all ... apologies if this isn't the most appropriate place on the forum for this topic.
My Mother passed away 3 years ago and I am the sole executor/beneficiary of her Will. Her entire estate consisted of the flat which she was purchasing with a mortgage loan (ie: she had no savings/investments or valuable property.)
After years of struggling, I have just found a buyer for the flat and the conveyancing is in progress. However, once I have the funds from the sale and the mortgage debt has been repaid, there will not be enough to pay all the organisations who have a monetary claim on the estate.
The main claim on the estate is from 'the management team' of the block of flats ... they are insisting upon full payment of 'services charges' despite the fact that the flat has been uninhabited for several years (Mum was moved to a Nursing Home some years prior to her death, due to severe health problems). The service charge is a whopping £450/month (that's not a typo!) ... so the charges have accrued over the years to a colossal amount. (The whopping service charge is the reason why it has taken me so long to find a buyer for the flat!)
Other organisations with a financial claim are 'ScottishPower' (a small outstanding electricity charge, approx. £25) and an amount owed to the DWP (to recoup an overpayment of 'benefit' when Mum first went to the Nursing Home, approx. £100).
So what do I do please? Do I pay each organisation a proportion of what they're owed ... or is there a list of 'priorities' with regard to who gets 'first dibs' of the money?
Incidentally, I have sought advice about challenging the service charge ("unfair terms in contracts") as it includes things like 'water rates' and 'domestic services' which of course Mum didn't benefit from during the latter part of her life ... but I have been advised that it would be a very costly process, and there is no certainty that I would 'win'.
My Mother passed away 3 years ago and I am the sole executor/beneficiary of her Will. Her entire estate consisted of the flat which she was purchasing with a mortgage loan (ie: she had no savings/investments or valuable property.)
After years of struggling, I have just found a buyer for the flat and the conveyancing is in progress. However, once I have the funds from the sale and the mortgage debt has been repaid, there will not be enough to pay all the organisations who have a monetary claim on the estate.
The main claim on the estate is from 'the management team' of the block of flats ... they are insisting upon full payment of 'services charges' despite the fact that the flat has been uninhabited for several years (Mum was moved to a Nursing Home some years prior to her death, due to severe health problems). The service charge is a whopping £450/month (that's not a typo!) ... so the charges have accrued over the years to a colossal amount. (The whopping service charge is the reason why it has taken me so long to find a buyer for the flat!)
Other organisations with a financial claim are 'ScottishPower' (a small outstanding electricity charge, approx. £25) and an amount owed to the DWP (to recoup an overpayment of 'benefit' when Mum first went to the Nursing Home, approx. £100).
So what do I do please? Do I pay each organisation a proportion of what they're owed ... or is there a list of 'priorities' with regard to who gets 'first dibs' of the money?
Incidentally, I have sought advice about challenging the service charge ("unfair terms in contracts") as it includes things like 'water rates' and 'domestic services' which of course Mum didn't benefit from during the latter part of her life ... but I have been advised that it would be a very costly process, and there is no certainty that I would 'win'.
and Thank you.
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