Probate & IHT

Savvy_Sue

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

I think this is what you have in mind:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/personal-finance-how-to-tax-your-lawyer-about-the-bill-1141839.html

Yes, I think that is the kind of thing I had in mind. Although I don't remember that exact description, so it could be that things have changed since I was last aware of the possibility of querying the bill.

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Does a beneficiary have a right to do this? Logically, the beneficiary of the residuary is picking up the tab but it is not he/she who appointed such an expensive firm of lawyers?

I'd say it was whoever was responsible for paying the bill who could query it!

Nine_Lives

£7,000 doesn't make good reading that's for sure!!! We were told (i know, only verbally) that it wouldn't come to over £1,000. I sure hope it doesn't as that's the only reason my mum said yes. If she was quoted £7,000 i'm sure she'd have rather had a bash ourselves, even though we wouldn't know what we're doing.


Anyway, she got on the phone to them. I'm still no clearer as to why there has been a hold up. I think they were blaming the banks (i say banks, but he only eve rbanked with Yorkshire bank & had a CA with them & a savings account with AXA which was through Yorkshire bank) for the hold up. I thought this sounded a bit odd to me.

Anyway, they say we should just be a few weeks off now. It's still dragging out a bit.

Nine_Lives

Here's something which has just cropped up today....

Without going into the details of why, because people just love to sit at a monitor & judge your life, what do you do if the other executor wont get in touch with you?

Everything was fine, but something has happened & my uncle (the other executor with my mum) is now not getting back in touch with any family members. It's not a fall out, he's just not getting in touch apparently.

So when they're both required to swear an oath ... if he's not forthcoming, then my mum is a bit knackered.

Savvy_Sue

Get in touch with the probate office. They'll have met this situation before and will be able to advise you.

It's also possible that when it IS all sorted out, if your mum writes (recorded maybe?) to say "here's all the information, if you're happy please sign and return and if you're not happy please GET IN TOUCH" that he'll re-surface? I haven't skimmed back through the thread so forgive me if I've missed some crucial detail in all this ...

Nine_Lives

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Get in touch with the probate office. They'll have met this situation before and will be able to advise you.

It's also possible that when it IS all sorted out, if your mum writes (recorded maybe?) to say "here's all the information, if you're happy please sign and return and if you're not happy please GET IN TOUCH" that he'll re-surface? I haven't skimmed back through the thread so forgive me if I've missed some crucial detail in all this ...

You haven't, so no worries there.

Basically their dad, my granddad, died recently & since that he has apparently become detached from the family according to my mum & aunt - not returning calls/texts etc. Up until this point everything was fine, they would talk regular.

Thanks for the advice.

xylophone

Re savings account with AXA - one of these?http://www.ybonline.co.uk/personal/savings/advantage-combination-plan
I can't see any reason why getting a valuation on this should cause a six month holdup?
Your uncle seems to have been in touch with the solicitor (your post 12) "Her brother has told the solicitors not to send any paperwork to him whatsoever (as it costs)."

Presumably, though, the solicitors could phone your uncle to sort out the date for the swearing of the oath?

Nine_Lives

Xylophone - sorry, the only thing i know about this account is that it's an "AXA Elevate". He was advised at the time of taking it out (a couple of years ago perhaps), that cash ISAs are really quite poor right now & that instead of having his money in ISAs, he should lump his ISA money into this AXA Elevate.

Whether that was good or bad advice at the time, i really don't know (i don't even know the specific time he was advised, but i think around 2010), but it was advice that he took up.

As for my uncle & post 12 - that'd be before he stopped getting in touch with family members.
As it stands, he got back in touch yesterday saying that he's not received any texts or voicemails. At least he's got back in touch though.

xylophone

This? http://www.axawealth.co.uk/adviser/elevate-platform/product-wrappers/Elevate-Stocks-and-Shares-ISA

I still can't see that it would take six months to get a valuation for probate?

There'll be no problem now about getting Uncle along to the solicitor (if that blessed day ever dawns.....:)

Nine_Lives

xylophone wrote: »

This? http://www.axawealth.co.uk/adviser/elevate-platform/product-wrappers/Elevate-Stocks-and-Shares-ISA

Possibly, i don't know for 100%. I remember him showing me progress figures of one portfolio that looked extremely appealing over something like a 30 year period.

But then these types of figures shown to clients (or potential ones) always do look appealing don't they.

diamond_dave

Can anyone clarify a IHT 205 question? I am executor of a simple estate well under the limit for IHT and the deceased was a widow who had no works pension only a state pension but benefited from her late husbands works pension. I am trying to understand sections 7 & 8 where it asks "Did the deceased have any kind of pension arrangement other than State Pension?" Yes or no? It's not an ASP so I think that the answers to section 8 would be No. Can anyone confirm this?