Who applies for Grant of Probate?

sunsetboulevard · 12 December 2017 at 10:33PM

Hi, I'm after a bit of advice please.

If a solicitor deals with all the paperwork for a deceased person's estate is it assumed that they would automatically be applying for the Grant of Probate also?

I've had a letter from the solicitor involved today (cousin died February 2016 but solicitor wasn't consulted until probably August 2016). In the letter the solicitor says:-

'We have contacted HMRC in relation to Inheritance tax on this estate but am still waiting to hear from them. We are currently holding the sum of £(amount) on client account. This forms part of the assets of the estate. I can pay this amount to you when you have obtained the Grant of Probate. I would of course need to see an Office Copy Grant of Probate when you have obtained it'.

What does the solicitor mean, 'when you have obtained the Grant of Probate'? This is what I asked him to do as well as filling out all the paperwork. I had paid all IHT myself direct to HMRC. Am I to assume from this that I need to obtain the Grant of Probate?

I am really confused. Please advise.

Keep_pedalling · 12 December 2017 at 10:47PM

Would I be correct in that you are the executor?

I am also puzzled, if you employed them to do the lot why were you the one to pay the IHT?

sunsetboulevard · 12 December 2017 at 11:04PM

Thanks for your reply.

Cousin died intestate, her mother (my aunt) inherited everything as she was the next of kin. The only reason I said I paid the IHT is because I have done all the running around, ringing all companies holding assets, arranging estate agents to sell house, dealing with solicitor because aunt was old, deaf, and had mobility problems. So, in actual fact, it was aunt's money paying the IHT but I sent it off and acted as a go-between for all companies involved in cousin's estate. Aunt just let me get on with it.

I was initially going to sort the estate myself, but did not have enough experience to do it properly. I had more or less all the figures from all the companies so based on those figures and getting all the forms sent to me from Probate office including IHT reference number I worked out the IHT to be paid and sent it off. With the house sale and other financial things I had not dealt with before such as pensions and shares I was worried I would mess up the paperwork and so decided to get a solicitor involved at that stage. I told him exactly how much work I had done and showed him the PA1 form which I had not finished completing at that stage, and he said 'oh, don't worry about that, I won't need you to fill that out'.

Additionally, aunt has now recently died.

EDIT: Sorry, to answer your question, aunt was administrator/executor.

Yorkshireman99 · 13 December 2017 at 12:26AM

Talk too the solicitor. Nobody on here can possibly sort it out. Follow what the solicitor tells you to do.

sunsetboulevard · 13 December 2017 at 12:34AM

Thanks Yorkshireman99, will ring him in the morning. He wasn't in the office today.

konark · 13 December 2017 at 1:01AM

Whose estate are you trying to sort out, your cousin's or your aunt's?

Tom99 · 13 December 2017 at 2:13AM

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Who is dealing with the aunt's estate and will that estate be subject to IHT?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If it is, then the aunt's executors should consider a deed of variation redirecting the aunt's inheritance from your cousin directly to your aunt's beneficiaries. This will remove the aunt's inheritance from the cousin from the aunt's estate for IHT purposes.
They will need to do this before Feb 2018 to be within the 2 year period.
[/FONT]

Crabapple · 13 December 2017 at 2:44AM

Perhaps they are saying they now need to see a Grant for Aunt's estate?

getmore4less · 13 December 2017 at 6:02AM

Quick succession relief(QSR) will probably apply as the deaths were less than 5 years apart.

Tom99 · 13 December 2017 at 10:53AM

getmore4less wrote: »

Quick succession relief(QSR) will probably apply as the deaths were less than 5 years apart.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]True, but assuming the aunt died at least 1 year after the cousin it will not remove all of the inheritance from the aunt's estate. After 1 yr its 80%.[/FONT]

sunsetboulevard · 13 December 2017 at 3:35PM

konark It's my cousin's estate I'm trying to deal with, the estate the solicitor is involved in sorting.

Haven't really started on my aunt's estate yet apart from getting a few figures from banks. I was hoping that cousin's estate would have been finalised by now, not sure I can get my head around dealing with aunt's just yet.

With aunt's estate I am hoping that I will be able to transfer the full unused nil rate band, £325,000, from her husband who died about 25 years ago. That will give her a nil rate band total of £650,000 and her estate is under that amount.

Thanks for your replies.

Who applies for Grant of Probate?

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