Do I need to apply for probate, for my husband?

Susan_Frost

So very sorry to hear about your sad loss. Take things one step at a time.

If you dont wish to involve parents/family for whatever reason - do you have a close friend who can help you sort out some of these things, or just to talk them over with. It is a lot to carry alone, but sometimes individuals within a family are not the right people so dont do what you feel would put other pressures on you. But it would be good if you did have someone. It may actually be someone who is not close to you, but is kind and helpful and confidential.

Look after yourself.

DS4215

My condolences.

Nothing I can say will make this time easier, but from a purely practical perspective, you might be in a position to make F&F offers to pay off your debts out of any monies you get from pensions or insurance. At least then you would be able to move on from a financial perspective.

dzug1

From what you've said the only thing I can see that Probate (or Letters of Administration if no will) might be needed for is the house. This is not something you need to sort out urgently - leaving it a few weeks or even months will do no harm.

And it's possible some other organisation might insist on probate - depends what assets there are to transfer. The banks don't seem to want it which is a major hurdle out of the way.

jcr16

sending you bigs hugs hun. i've nothing to add about probate as tbh i don't even know what it is.

i can't imagine what your going through. please accept my sincere condolances and hug's and my thoughts are with you.

Primrose

I am deeply sorry for the situation in which you find yourself.
If your husband had named you as his beneficiary in his pension scheme, and there is no other interested party involved, the trustees should have the power to pay you out very quickly any death benefits. You will, of course, have to produce a death certificate (and a marriage certificate if this was not already supplied when he named you as his beneficiary). The Lump Sum associated with many pension schemes is actually a separate thing, i.e.a life insurance scheme covering for 1, 2, 3 or whatever years' salary in the event of death in service and different companies have different schemes. However, my understanding is that this does not form part of his estate if he has signed a declaration naming you as his beneficiary and therefore probate would not be required. Normally in such cases the Trustees of a pension scheme are directors or senior employees of the company and an ad hoc Trustees meeting can be called very quickly to make the necessary decisions to pay out money in the event of an employee dying.

I realise this will be a horrible time for you but as soon as the worst is over, I recommend that you try and bring yourself to think about making a Will and appointing potential guardians for your child and future baby so that their interests are taken care of.

M.Holloway

Hello, first off I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. I've had friends involved in traffic accidents and I know how hard it is.

You can get a probate quote online now. Its best to use a solicitor as the banks "recommended" ones will just rip you off.

You may also want to contact cica.org.uk or http://www.mib.org.uk/Home/en/default.htm for help with compensation.

You can also get advise here for dealing with your loss http://www.bereavement.co.uk/ not spent a lot of time there my self but it could help.

This site also has useful probate information.

I hope some of that is useful

pearl123

Hi - Speak to the Citizens Advice Bureau. The will give you honest and free advice on whether anything needs to be urgently done. If nothings urgent then it is better to grieve and start probate when you have a clearer head.
Things will slowly improve, but it will take time. I think most people would agree that the CAB is the best place to start for good advice.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

getmore4less

As well as probate you also need to think aout the IHT forms.

AIUI it might be usefull to complete these so it is easier to claim the transfer of the spouce nill rate band in the future should it be required.

dunstonh

But what happens with the pension lump sum? Is that mine or is that part of husbands estate? I dont really want to go through a solicitor at this time as I'm not sure I will trust one!

There is no 100% rule applied to "pensions" as there are many different types of pensions.

A money purchase scheme (one that investments in funds) will usually pay out 100% of the fund value, outside of the estate on any pension that is earmarked as non-protected rights. With Protected rights, it has to be used to buy an income (changing in 2012 but this is the current rule).

If its a final salary scheme (one that is based on years of service) there will usually be a spouses pension. Sometimes there will also be a lump sum payment but not always. Again, this is outside of the estate.

Some of the terminology there may be confusing but a pension statement should be able to clarify the bits (i.e. a statement for xyz insurance company would indicate its a money purchase scheme. It would show what investment funds there are, again confirming money purchase and it would show if its protected rights and/or non protected rights, again confirming that).

I dont follow this forum but was asked by forum member KiKi to pop over from the pensions forum to answer this for you. So, thank you to KiKi. If you need more help, you will find me in the pensions forum near the top of the board. I recognise some of the posters on this thread as well who may give me a shout if needed.