death and shares

Biggles

Seawolf wrote: »

It could take six months to obtain probate, the shares could drop markedly in that time.

Unless there's a house to sell or the estate is large and/or complex, probate should take less than six weeks. And, as pointed out, the shares are as likely to go up as down (statistically, slightly more likely to go up, in fact).

DavidHayton wrote: »

Alternatively, if the shares are held directly (outside an ISA or pension scheme) you could consider adding your children as joint account holders to your sharedealing account. Then, should you die, the shares will pass to them as surviving joint account holders. In the meantime, you can tell HMRC that the money in the joint account belongs to you.

I don't think it would work like a joint bank account.

I think it would count as a disposal for HMRC's purposes, and the relevant % of the assets would be deemed to have been given to the children, as well as making the change potentially liable for CGT at that point.

Seawolf

TheMatrix wrote: »

How did he do that, shares can only be sold or brought, the only way they can be frozen is if the market is closed. Then you are liable to gaping once the markets open back up again

I don't know how he did it. I think he was in a state of shock.

Seawolf

lisyloo wrote: »

Just wondering but could the share holder put a stop loss system in place
e.g. an advance order to sell at a certain price, so if they fell they'd get sold.

I think I had this facility on interactive investor website although I don't know how long the advance orders could be valid for.

Could he/she prepare instructions for a broker in advance.

Yes, I think this is the way to go. Thanks very much. I think I have heard mention of a 'floating stop loss'. :j

noh

Originally Posted by lisyloo
Just wondering but could the share holder put a stop loss system in place
e.g. an advance order to sell at a certain price, so if they fell they'd get sold.

I think I had this facility on interactive investor website although I don't know how long the advance orders could be valid for.

Could he/she prepare instructions for a broker in advance.

Seawolf wrote: »

Yes, I think this is the way to go. Thanks very much. I think I have heard mention of a 'floating stop loss'. :j

No that wont work.

Once the death of the holder has been notified no more transactions can take place without probate /letters of administration.

JamesU

noh wrote: »

No that wont work.

Once the death of the holder has been notified no more transactions can take place without probate /letters of administration.

As NOH pointed out, financial POA is ineffective upon death. Stop losses/stop triggers can easily be set for up for e.g. 12 mths in advance but it not always wise to use them for various reasons, and guaranteed stop losses on the spreadbetting account, but that costs more.

Feel administering shares at probate is one of the most time consuming and bureocratic aspects of the whole probate process as executor. Much slower than dealing with other aspects of finances based on my experience. Nothing can be done with shares without probate of course but once this is granted, at that point the executor does have authority to transact in the same manner as the original shareholder. So in effect maintain the account(s) and do what ever is considered appropriate to maintain things prior to distribution to beneficiaries according to will instructions. Examples of this were corportate actions/share take ups with payments through executor bank account before estate was distributed to the beneficiaries.

Also worth bearing in mind costs. With some providers there are various charges for probate valuations, although if the excutor is sufficiently familiar with dealing, not too difficult to provide correct valuation for probate purposes based on date of passing away. Similarly, with providers such as Equiniti and Computerhare, after filling in a multitude of paperwork one still has to jump though numerous hoops and misinformation when phoning for advice before arriving at a situation where shares can be transferred by the executor to beneficiaries without incurring charges.

JamesU

thenudeone

If the value of the shares drops between the date of death and the date of sale, it used to be possible for IHT purposes to legally replace the value at death with the value actually realised, and probably still is now. It doesn't stop the loss at all, but it could reduce the IHT payable (if any).

System

If you are talking about a really significant amount then you could consider putting the shares into a trust. Then the trust, with appropriate trustees of course, would have a life independent of yours.

There are tax implications, but it would be a way. Depends on your circumstances.

Or make an in specie contribution to a SIPP pension.

IronWolf

Could you not instruct HSBC to sell all your shares in the event of your death?

Biggles

IronWolf wrote: »

Could you not instruct HSBC to sell all your shares in the event of your death?

As per noh's post above, the event of the death is what means the shares can't be sold.

You need a buzzer by the bedside, so you can, with a single press, send an instruction to your broker just before you cough your last.

IronWolf

Biggles wrote: »

As per noh's post above, the event of the death is what means the shares can't be sold.

You need a buzzer by the bedside, so you can, with a single press, send an instruction to your broker just before you cough your last.

That sounds like a best solution, or alternatively a mobile device linked to your heart rate, and when it stops it sends a message to your broker to sell. It also shocks your heart so your technically not dead when the instruction is sent.