Probate

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alisonm7772 wrote: »

hi everyone,
This is my first time posting,My father recently passed away i have applied for probate myself,opened an executors' account,and have a date for probate,my father's case is straight forward there was no property,shares or stocks only monies,His insurance policy has already been paid into the executors account which i have paid for part of the funeral out of,there is a small amount left in the account,i am being pressurised by family members to give this money to another family member,I know its a bit of a long winded question but here we go,Can i release this money before probate??

Was there a will?
What were the terms of the insurance, estate or trust.

You need to follow the will or intestste rules and/or the terms of the trust of the insurance

it may be that the insurance if put in trust for someone should not have been used for the funeral.

If any benifitiary wants their share to go somewhere else then they need to give it away as a gift.

fidododo

Mojisola wrote: »

Don't give in the family pressure. You are the one with the legal responsibilities, not them.

Don't pay out until you have checked that there are no debts, particularly the DWP or DMRC.

I agree. You are the one with the responsability, follow the will to the letter. See my posting just before yours with reference to what happens AFTER you recieve the grant of probate.

Tuesday_Tenor

I understand your question to be about paying a genuine beneficiary 'early' rather than paying anything to anyone contrary to the will's instructions.

But the answer's 'No' anyway ...

No: Until probate is granted, you don't yet have either the right or the responsibility to distribute the estate, as you have not yet been legally confirmed as Executor.

No: Because your first duty as Executor is to gather in the assets and deal with any debts. Only when you are satisfied that this is completed/fully in hand should you think about distributung the Estate.

No. Because only YOU as Executor have the discretion when to start paying out, and whether to issue interim payments. (For example: If it's a sizeable estate, with plenty of 'surplus' to cover the costs of managing the property and dealing with the Estate in the meantime, then initial part-payments might be made to beneficiaries early, with the bulk to follow when the house is sold).

No. Because if you judge it wrong as Executor and there are unforeseen debts or costs AFTER you have distributed all the Estate, then YOU personally will be liable for paying them.

No. Because if you 'bend the rules' on this issue (which you might be tempted to do if the beneficiary is in real need and you don't anticipate any future debts or problems with the Estate) then you could find yourself under pressure to 'bend the rules' for other reasons in future, as you will be seen as a soft touch. And you don't need that sort of hassle.

So, no, don't do it.

Tuesday_Tenor

Not sure where that exclamation mark thingy at the start of last post came from .... Looks like I slelected it by accident - can't seem to delete it!

But I suppose it's a warning message anyway!

Kore_Arabin

Daniel_Elkington wrote: »

When you pay a registered and licensed professional to provide a service for you, you are paying for their expertise and the professional indemnity they provide.

If you get it wrong and the beneficiaries sue, then they are suing you. If you take advice then they are suing the solicitor.

Again, high risk, high reward - paying a professional is a low risk approach.

I don't care either way and kudos and congratulations if you managed to handle it yourself. Just be aware that whilst it does save money short term it may not long-term.

Spot on. And, always bear in mind that it is possible to get a solicitor to do the bits you don't want to do/can't do - for example, completing the longer, more complicated, IHT400 - whilst leaving you to do the rest yourself.

It's not an 'all or nothing' situation.

interstellaflyer

My father died a few days ago, I am named as both executor and sole beneficiary (confirmed by solicitor) I guess in my case it should be simple and it would be fine to do the Probate myself, as a guide how long do these things take? the solicitor seems to be talking several months, I notice that my mothers took nearly a year and her will was pretty simple. I can't understand why this should take so long, I thought the idea of making a will was to make things quicker and easier.

diamond_dave

Just finished probate/estate etc house sold and money ready to send to beneficiaries. All in all pretty straight forward and it only took 5 months from the death. Cost: £107 for probate + £7 to swear in front of solicitor plus a bit of admin exes. better than paying a solicitor several thousand pounds.

fidododo

interstellaflyer wrote: »

My father died a few days ago, I am named as both executor and sole beneficiary (confirmed by solicitor) I guess in my case it should be simple and it would be fine to do the Probate myself, as a guide how long do these things take? the solicitor seems to be talking several months, I notice that my mothers took nearly a year and her will was pretty simple. I can't understand why this should take so long, I thought the idea of making a will was to make things quicker and easier.

In My case from recieving the probate papers to fill in, to actualy recieving the grant of probate it took 30 days. HOWEVER if you look at my first posting in this thread you will see that HMRC will make contact after the grant is issued with regard to claiming back any tax paid to hmrc after death . This may not be worth bothering with if it's for a very small amount i prefered to save me the time and bother and put the money into the pot myself ,knowing how long winded hmrc are! BUT of coarce if a solicitor was involved they would have to put in a claim . DWP MAY contact you as executor if the deceast was claiming any income related benefits.In my case mum was claiming Pension Credit so it is now a full month since i recieved the grant of probate and i have am now told this morning that mum MAY have been overpaid.On phoning them today i can only say there IDIOTS :mad:and i fear it may be months before i can pay out anything.All this on a estate that was straight forward. It's no wonder that solicitors get a bad name for dragging matters on when they have to deal with DWP.

pattycake

My father passed away in October. His will names my brother and I as sole beneficiaries and we are the executors.

We have downloaded all the forms and completed them, including the tax one. Phew! It all actually looked more complicated that it actually was.

The total estate after deducting the cost of the funeral is just under £200K.

I have read several references on this site saying that we can swear the probate document at a local solicitor. I am slightly confused as to when this happens. Do we swear before submitting or after they are approved and therefore do not need to attend an interview.

Sorry, if I am being a bit thick here but I cannot seem to find this information.

TonyMMM

I believe you submit the application, stating you wish to swear at a solicitors/Commissioners for Oaths and the Probate service then send you the necessary Oath/paperwork to take with you. You then go along to your chosen solicitor, pay them a fee and send the sworn document back to Probate service.

I would recommend just arranging to swear at your nearest probate venue - usually your local county court. It doesn't cost anything extra (unlike going to a solicitor) and it took less than 5 minutes when I last did it.