What to do when a partner/spouse dies.

appleblossomtime

I'm sorry, I could not find the link back to this page. Don't suppose you're still there but no, she named a firm.

John_Pierpoint

My mother wrote a will like this, fortunately she told me about it in advance, so I was able to check with the firm of solicitors to see if we would be able to share the work.

I got a patronising letter back saying "some families try to do the work themselves only using us for legal advice - this never works............"

So mum & I re-wrote the will leaving them out!

In the event my sister & I did need the support of a solicitor, when HMRC tried to query the life interest my mother had acquired when my father died intestate, many years previously. So we paid a different solicitor a few hundred pounds to help us sort out the tax query (I think the tax man had lost or could not be bothered to get the papers from his archive - fortunately I had kept copies).

In your case, you are in the hands of the solicitor and will have to arrive at the best working relationship that you can.

At least you should not have the tax man on your back about IHT, though you are likely to get involved in Income Tax, even if it is only to claim a refund for the tax year until date of death and later to fill in the R185 to tell the beneficiaries of any interest earned by the funds during the period of administration.

Good luck. Hit the ground running with a simple estate and you should have it buttoned up in 6 - 12 months.

mto

MSE_Martin wrote: »

What help I want?

So I need your help, those who've been through it, please feedback your experience and advice, I'll then combine this with my own notes and make an checklist article everyone can use if they need it.

Thank you

Martin

I've tried searching on the main site, but can't find the checklist article Martin mentions. Can anyone tell me where it is.

Thanks

jack705

No experiance.both should know where the money is saved,where to use and when,both should have insurance policy as well that help his partner when he/she is alone.

skintmumofone

David_Harrison wrote: »

Not sure if anyone has mentioned these yet but a Deed of Variation can be very useful. It allows the will of the deceased to be altered, any time up to two years after their death, so long as all beneficiaries are in agreement. It can be a very useful tool for changing who gets what, especially so far as inheritance tax goes. For example when my father died he left everything to my mum, but in doing so he completely wasted his inheritance tax allowance of £260,000 (approx.). With the deed of variation we were able to distribute some of the estate, meaning that when my mum dies her estate will not be taxed so heavilly.

Little known, but could save, literally, a fortune.

You wouldnt have to do this now as you have the Nil Rate Band allowance which is beneficial on the 2nd death as if in the first death all goes to spouse it is spouse exempt as you know (Scotland Law) and then on the 2nd death you have double the nil rate band which is currently £325,000. I am an Executry Paralegal for Scottish Solicitors and do this on a daily basis. Always always make a will as the implications are so much more complicated if there is not one. Believe me I speak from experience and I think families still believe if they write their children out their will they will not get a penny - on the contrary you CANNOT disinherit your kids from your will as Legal Rights in Scotland entitle the person to 1/2 of the moveables if no surviving spouse and 1/3 if a spouse is surviving.

skintmumofone

appleblossomtime wrote: »

hello, I wonder if anyone can help on this. My Mum passed away in early December. She made a will years ago with her solicitors and named them as one of the executors, and me as the other one. It's not a big estate - less than 200k, and we are a big family. I want to do as much as possible so the solicitors' bill is reduced but they seem to be insisting on doing things, even asking where the deeds to the house are. We, the family, are in agreement that we'll do whatever needs doing ourselves, but how much involvement do the solicitors need to have? I'd appreciate any advice.

I work for scottish solicitors and we go by the familys instructions if the solicitor is sole executor you can appoint a family member to co -act with them that way you will be miore involved. You can do as much as you want and let them do as much as you want them to. You will still have to apply for Confirmation (Scotland) or Probate (England etc) both are not the same entirely different process. They are only to take your instructions I take it they have issued you with a Letter of Engagement which you have signed instructing them to act? If not then by law they shuold not do anything until instructed otherwise.

The forms can be complicated I will admit that but you can get help from any sheriff court if you telephone them. The nil rate band for IHT is currently £325,000 so your mother's estate would be below the threshold sorry I am not sure if you are in scotland as if so you would complete the C1 and C5 which is an inventory of all the assets your mother held at the time of her death.

Some of our clients do all the investigatory work and I do the forms and then they deal with the rest - we do priced packages and this has been proven to be very successful no other firm in the area has done this yet. I think if you want to do as much as you can to reduce the fee you are well within your right to do so. You are an Executor as well as a beneficiary so the other solicitors would have to act on your instructions too. They cannot demand that they do everything so dont take their word for anything. An Executor's duty is to administer the estate as per the terms of the deceased's will nothing else. They have to seek advice re selling of shares, houses etc.

If you have any questions please feel free to pm me.

skintmumofone

In Scotland the funeral is seen as a debt that can be paid from the deceased's bank account if there are sufficient funds available and this is the only allowable debt the banks will release the cash for. In the case of a joint account the sole survivor has the account automatically transferred to him/her I have found that irregardless of whether the person acted as a Power of Attorney they still transfer this they are not interested in the fact that the person who has died maybe put all the money into the account they just transfer it and believe me its very frustrating. On the joint accounts one half would go into their estate.

If anyone wants any guidance on Confirmation and how to deal with a death in Scotland let me know. I have been qualified in this line of work for over 10 yrs.

supermomof5

Having experienced the sudden, unexpected death of my husband two years ago, I have learned some of the most valuable things to do that even though they may be difficult to do, you will be glad you did!
1. Have life insurance. Make sure you have enough to pay off your debt should something happen to one of you. Make sure you also have the insurance on your mortgage that will pay off your home should one person die.
2. Make a will! Specify what your wishes are for your belongings and money. Without one you will have to pay a lawyer to say you are able to keep your things.
3. Discuss your wishes for funeral arrangements. This isn't an easy conversatioin, but thankfully my husband had expressed his wishes 2 weeks before he passed. From the suit he wanted to wear and the place he wanted to be buried. It sure did help when I was making the many difficult decisions regarding is funeral. It was a peaceful feeling to know I was doing exactly what he wanted.
4. Make sure your accounts, computer passwords, bill information, life insurance information, etc is kept in a safe place. You will come accross so much you didn't realize that your spouse took care of and will drive yourself crazy trying to figure out passwords etc. if they aren't written down for you.
5. Cherish every moment! You never know when it will be the last

Middle_Sister

My dad died in Apr and he had some shares. We have been asked to produce a certified death certificate. We have 2 death certificates, one long one and one short one. Where can we get a "certified" death certificate for the sole purpose of selling his shares to the proceeds can be shared?

John_Pierpoint

Ouch - when you registered the death you should have bought about 10 copies of the death certificate.
You can buy them now, probably by going on line to the local authority and ordering them.
They now cost 7 GBP each and take about a week.
As viewers of "Heir Hunt" (daytime BBC1) will know, there is usually a "while you wait" service costing about 10 GBP per certificate.
The alternative is to take a photocopy and the original to a solicitor, who will put his firms official seal on the photocopy to certify it as a true copy. Then then you can use that copy; however I would expect any self respecting solicitor to charge at least 10 GBP per copy.

Have you obtained "Probate" yet??!? as I would have expected you to be supplying a copy of the grant of probate certificate. These are available "cheap" if you pay for extra copies at the time. Here again you need half a dozen copies of this embossed piece of paper.

Perhaps the shares were in joint names? You could wait for the grant of probate and then use that as the authority to transfer the shares.

I find that most organisations will do as they are told when your covering letter says "please take a copy for your own use and return the original to me", but it does work with the share registrar. The registrar may well write to your late father to check that he is really dead.

Do you have a stockbroker lined up to sell the shares when they have been transferred into the name of the survivor or the executor?
The broker will want an official copy of the certificate too.
If there are only one or two share holdings, you might find dealing in paper share certificates easier.
Some companies, who find personal small share holders a pain in the backside, what ever their propaganda might say, have a captive broker who will do cheap periodic deals for small share holders; ask the office of the company secretary..