Probate & IHT

Nine_Lives

Sorry if in the wrong forum. Point me in the right direction if this would be better suited elsewhere.

Basically we're wanting an end ASAP to this whole probate malarkey so that we can draw a line under it & move on. My dad died at the end of Sept 2011. We didn't feel comfortable sorting all the probate paperwork ourselves so got the solicitor to sort it out who said my dads was a straightforward case. Nothing complicated, so should bring the waiting time right down (compared to a complex case).

We last had contact on 1st Feb:

"although we were hoping to be in a position to apply for the grant of probate this week, it would appear that we are still awaiting information required to complete the IHT205"

What is the hold up with this IHT205? And how long does this take? Is there anything that can be done to speed things up any?
We've asked the solicitor to only now contact when necessary, as letters like the above cost £10 a time.

To anyone who's gone through this process before i guess perhaps we're being impatient? It just seems to be taking so long.

CLAPTON

quicker to do it yourself

however, the solicitor has to gather information about your dads estate; banks a/cs, pensions, insurance policies, debts etc etc and the info is entered onto the IHT205

he is presumably still waiting for info from somewhere.

Nine_Lives

Hmm, i really can't see what they're waiting on then as they've had all info from us that they can possible have. There's no debts to chase. Fingers crossed this is over soon as we just want to move on from it.

Mikeyorks

K_P83 wrote: »

it would appear that we are still awaiting information required to complete the IHT205"

What is the hold up with this IHT205?

Best to ask them what they're waiting for? As virtually all of the data needed will come from the immediate family. I can't see what they would be waiting for from an external source? Unless they're messing about writing to pension providers etc.

In a non IHT case I would have expected Probate to be well behind you after close to 6 months.

Nine_Lives

Cheers Mike. I'll get on to my mum about this then. We've had no contact since 1st Feb, so i assume they can't be waiting on info from us. It must be a 3rd party, but i can't think what as i'm sure everything has been dealt with.

jimmo

Just in case you haven’t seen one here is a link to a blank IH205.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cto/forms/iht205-2006-2.pdf

I would definitely be unhappy with what your solicitor has said. “
although we were hoping to be in a position to apply for the grant of probate this week, it would appear that we are still awaiting information required to complete the IHT205"
Ask yourself what does “it would appear” mean? Either the solicitor is waiting for information or he isn’t.

If he is waiting for information he should be able to tell you what he is waiting for and who has been asked to provide it. You then may be able to speed up the process.

I suggest that you should print a copy of the blank IHT205 and have it with you when you speak to the solicitor. It should help you to focus on what information is needed and why it is needed.

Nine_Lives

Thanks jimmo.

I told my mum, but she's reluctant to see them as it could cost. She doesn't want to incur unnecessary charges (they sent out a letter something on the lines of "thanks, we have received your letter" <---- that cost £10, twice, as they sent it to both executors). They've since been told to not bother sending letters like that though & to only write to my mum when neccessary.

At the end of the letter dated 1st Feb, they mentioned the deeds to sign over my dads first house to his daughter from his 1st marriage & that my mum would need to be brought in to swear an oath for this. I'm not 100% sure whether she's done this or not. I don't think she has actually (i forgot to ask earlier).

So i wonder whether that is the hold up? Maybe they're working out the value of the house or something? Although they asked my mum for estimates on valuation for each house already.

jimmo

I don’t know how old you and your mum are but you are beginning to sound a bit like me and my mam.(We are Welsh and Grand Slam winners)

At the tender age of 64 I am sceptical about anyone who wants to charge me money and I need to be able to see that I am getting value for my money. I put builders, car mechanics and solicitors in the same category as people who, if they do a good job, will earn my money and I will be happy to pay up.

However I don’t want to be ripped off by anyone.

My 89 y o mother, on the other hand, has what I consider to be an unhealthy faith in the “professions” and that seems to be reflected in your mum’s attitude. It is understandable not to want to incur more and more professional fees unnecessarily but if that means that the solicitor is procrastinating at your expense that is something which should be addressed.

As it happens I have a sneaky suspicion that my mam has appointed her solicitor to be an executor of her estate, possibly jointly with me. I would be perfectly capable of handling her estate myself but in the twenty years since my dad died, I have not yet found the right opportunity to challenge what I fear she has done. It makes financial sense to do so but, for me, I would not risk upsetting my mam.

That, I suspect, is your problem. If the solicitor is ripping you off can you challenge the solicitor without upsetting your mum?

xylophone

I am finding it rather surprising that in this "simple" estate, the will has not yet been proved and administration completed.
With regard to your mother's having to attend the solicitor's office to swear an oath, has she yet been invited to attend or is this a process that awaits the granting of probate?

What exactly is the information that the solicitor requires and who is required to provide it?

Who are the executors?

John_Pierpoint

As getting probate is just a matter of filling in form IHT205, that should be relatively simple.
As it is IHT205, not IHT400, it means that the solicitor thinks it is an "excepted estate" - that means like the majority of estates it has a net worth of less than £325k (or everything has been left to the spouse to the extent that it is stark startlingly obvious that no Inheritance Tax is going to be paid) Nobody is terrible interested in getting the figures accurate to the penny, when there is no tax involved.

This simple task should have been completed by now, unless there is a muddle outstanding or the solicitor is lackadaisical in his approach to his clients. Let us assume there is a muddle.
You seem to suggest that there is some complexity over the ownership of the houses? You say that there is more than one marriage involved - so a possible claim for support from a dependant left out of the will? Any outstanding income tax issues - dying in September half way through the tax year, usually means a tax refund ? Perhaps it is not as "simple" as at first assumed. Do you have a copy of the will?
[In a recent example of my relative - Mr Dog - the last thing I wanted was the other beneficiaries of the dozen named running off to their own advisor to get an opinion on a partially intestate will - definitely time for the mushroom theory of management.......]

It is the executors job to report to the beneficiaries on the current situation - so just ask for an explanation.

The executor cannot do much until probate has been granted - so that should be the focus, tying up the lose ends can be done later..

RetiredInThailand

jimmo wrote: »

I put builders, car mechanics and solicitors in the same category .......

So do I. The category is labelled "probably dishonest". Other occupants include politicians and salesmen of all shapes and sizes.

If you assume that solicitors are only interested in inflating their bill as much as possible in return for doing as little work as possible then you probably wont be far wrong.