How to Probate

hola_3

My mother recently died and I am executor of her will. Her estate will be less than the Inheritance Tax threshold - about £150,000 I guess. I am currently filling in the forms for applying for Grant of Probate eg P1 etc as I am not prepared to spend £350.00 plus VAT and then some (up to £3000 according to the solicitor) to have access to the monies and property which my mother has left to me. She had a variety of holdings in stocks and shares and also three building society accounts. I have sorted out the accounts with the building societies from the point of view of them paying funeral expenses but that is as far as I can get with them. I need some practical advice please about how to find out how many shares my mother had in different companies and also what the sell price was at the date of her death and whether there are dividends due. I also need to work out how much tax she owed. This could be on an occupational pensional, and last year's dividends on building society accounts and ISAs and National savings Bonds. I have looked at the Government guides but they tell you what you need to do rather than the practical side of it.

jos22

hola, firstly sorry for your loss. Yes I tend to agree paying the Lawyers in this case will still leave you doing a lot of the work. They know even less than you about your mothers affairs, so guess who would have to provide them with the info. You will however need their services when it comes to property sales/change of ownership.

It has been a few years since I had to do a similar exercise but the one thing I remember is it takes time. Obtaining the Grant Of Probate is basically a gathering of information and form filling. At some time you will have to go to an interview and I believe swear some oath before they Grant Probate.

Other than the records you have, share certificates, dividend warrants, banking information I know of no organisation that holds details of peoples personal holdings in company shares. If you are unsure if your mother held shares in a particular company you can write to them, or better still their registrars, giving as much info as possible, asking them. As for valuing the shares, I believe you have to use the Stock Exchange Official Prices (published in a book form every day) at a cost. With modern technology it may be available online these days so try the internet first. Any dividends due should come automatically although still payable to your mother. I assume she had a bank account and a word with the bank usually allows you to keep paying these in if in cheque form. They will automatically accept money transfers so it is important that the bank account is kept open until all things have been settled.

Some Building Societies will give full access to the funds they hold on production of a will and death certificate. Others will want to see the Grant of Probate.

On tax worry not about ISA's they are tax free, dividends are paid after tax and although they have to be declared to the basic rate tax payer, no further tax will be payable. National Savings depend on the type, some are free of tax some are not. Building Society Interest is likewise usually paid after deduction of tax so again a basic rate tax payer suffers no further tax, but still reportable on the tax form. Any private pension is again usually taxed at source, but you will need to know the total pension paid gross and the amount of tax deducted. About May the companies usually send a P60 document to all people they have made payments to giving these details. Just make sure they know where to send it. The Tax Offices these days are more user friendly and will give you assistance and advice. If you do get stuck on the tax affairs seek out a good local accountant (not a large UK practice) and for a reasonable fee they will assist you and again you will need to provide the info.

At this stage concentrate on discovering, listing and valuing your mothers assets and of course her liabilities (the money she owes). This information is needed for the Probate Forms.

No doubt other people will give you further advice here, but in the meantime I hope this helps. Just remember be patient.

Ken68

If you are the only benificary, no problem, otherwise take photoes of furniture and jewellery and such, and mark with a special pen. When one of my family died, stuff just 'walked'.