Payment on the death of the person entitled
80.—(1) Where the person entitled to any council tax benefit has died and it is not possible to award any council tax benefit which is due in the form of a reduction of the council tax for which he was liable, the relevant authority shall make payment either to his personal representative or, where there is none, his next of kin aged 16 or over.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), “next of kin” means in England and Wales the persons who would take beneficially on an intestacy and in Scotland the person entitled to the moveable estate on intestacy.
(3) A payment under paragraph (1) may not be made unless the personal representative or the next of kin, as the case may be, makes written application for the payment of any sum of benefit to which the deceased was entitled, and such written application is sent to or delivered to the relevant authority at its designated office within 12 months of the deceased’s death or such longer period as the authority may allow in any particular case.
(4) The authority may dispense with strict proof of title of any person claiming under paragraph (3) and the receipt of such a person shall be a good discharge to the authority for any sum so paid.