Wondering if anybody can help me with some advice.
My father bought a small villa close to Alicante, it was in his sole name but he lived there for a while with his partner, he passed away in 2004 and she rented this out until she passed away 2012. I visited the property summer 2018 having been given the keys and documents from his partner's family a year or so previously, I carried out some work on the property, (Gutted kitchen and bathroom) and was looking to renovate this on retirement.
I left contact details with a neighbour in case any problems and was then contacted by e mail by a gentleman who sent me a bill for several thousand euros in unpaid SUMA (Spanish council tax/rates), I have sort of come to terms with the fact that I will have to pay this, however part of the bill is for the vehicle that my father used to own and that, despite his having passed away and was sold in 2003, appears to have still been charged as part of the SUMA for the last 17 years, is there any appeal process/point in complaining, cannot imagine anybody in Spain particularly keen to help from my last visit, where my phone stolen and had the joy of trying to get some help from the local police. I would appreciate any advice anyone could offer.
Many thanks

I think you should take professional advice to clear up these (and possibly other?) issues. But yes these tax liabilities can carry over.

I can recommend Pellicer and Heredia who have their main office in Alicante (and several others see their www) they will be open but on skeleton staff during the holiday season.

https://www.pellicerheredia.com/en/

The proverb tells us "If you want bread, go to the baker.". I think this can be applied to legal advice too. Go and see a Spanish lawyer.

The car tax issue is not unusual . I transfered my car out of Spain and forgot to fill out the right forms so the annual tax was then debited to my account . When I phoned and complained I was told to fill out the correct form and return it, which I did and the direct debit was duly cancelled.

You haven't mentioned anything about your father's will, probate, or reregistraion of the property, only that it was "in his sole name", and subsequently occupied by his "partner", so if the property has not been transferred persuant to a will, (did your father leave a will?) you may have a much bigger problem of proving that you have legal rights to even access the property, much less to lease or sell it or otherwise leave it in your own will. In short I recommend consulting a lawyer local to the property as soon as possible,

Exactly what I was thinking when I said 'other issues' you need professional legal advice. Spanish law is different to UK in these issues.