Dad Died, what is Mum entitled to?

dshawz

Hi everyone,

Apologies if this is posted in the wrong part of the forum.

My Dad died on Saturday and I am starting to sort through Dads finances and help my Mum. Some things were in joint names, others such as his ISA and some savings were just in his name.

He didn't have a will. How easy is it to transfer things into Mums name and also find out what benefits she is entitled too.

Any help would be very much appreciated

zzzLazyDaisy

Sorry for your loss.

Have you registered the death yet?

Joint accounts can be transferred to her sole name by producing the death certificate.

Is she in rented accommodation or do they own their own house?

Is there more than £5000 in savings or other assets in your father's sole name? If so is the figure under £15000?

Sorry for the questions, it will help us to point you in the right direction as different steps need to be taken depending on the answers

xylophone

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cto/customerguide/page14-1.htm
https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/overview and see relevant links on right of page.
https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/further-information
http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate

mania112

Pension Related:

If he had a personal pension (not taking income from it) - Assuming they were married, your mum would get 100% of it tax free. It's outside the 'estate' so it's irrelevant that he hadn't made a will.

If he had a company final salary - your mum would likely be entitled to a % of it, paid in the same way, more than likely monthly.

If your dad had an Annuity it would depend if it was single life or joint life as to your mum receiving any (obvious which one's which)

If he had Income Drawdown this can also be passed to your mum tax free.

- in any instance, contact the provider and they'll help you through the process.

My condolences.

jamesd

When death certificates are arranged, get a few, not just one. That'll make it a bit easier, though a fair number of places will accept photocopies rather than originals.

It'll probably be necessary to find out how the home is owned, if it is. This will be significant to whether half of it forms part of his estate or not. If it's a joint tenancy then she will inherit it all. If it is as tenants in common, she will keep her portion, often half, and the remainder will become part of his estate and be distributed according to the rules of intestacy.

Money in joint accounts is hers.

Beyond that, in general, if in England or Wales, she's entitled to inherit all of his chattels (personal property like clothing, furniture and such), £250,000 of the value of the estate and a life interest in half of the rest. The remainder is split evenly between his children. A life interest would mean things like living in a property or getting the income from investments, but not actually owning those things, which instead would be held in trust for the children and would pass completely to their ownership after her death.

She is likely to be executor but if the estate has a value approaching £250,000 she should probably get help from a solicitor to ensure that she doesn't accidentally misappropriate value that should be inherited by children based on a possibly mistaken belief that the wife gets it all.

If the funeral hasn't been paid for yet, one option to pay for that is to check the places with the savings accounts in his name to see if they will pay a funeral director if presented with a death certificate and funeral director's invoice. It's common for institutions to do this, sending a cheque directly to the funeral director. This can help to avoid draining the funds in the joint accounts that she may need for immediate living expenses.

Best wishes at a tough time.

dshawz

Thanks everyone for your help and kind words.

Yes, we have got the death certificate.

They own their own house in both names. Should it just be transferred to Mums name?

Dad had more than 5000 but less than 15000 in savings.

Can the funeral directors be paid from a ISA?

Goldenyears

dshawz wrote: »

They own their own house in both names. Should it just be transferred to Mums name?

You could but I don't think it's essential. If the property was to be sold it could be done at the same time as the transfer of title.

dshawz wrote: »

Can the funeral directors be paid from a ISA?

I believe so although each provider could have their own rules. The Nationwide offered this for my mother's ISA when she died a few years ago. In any case after a death certificate is produced it's no longer an ISA.

margaretclare

dshawz wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your help and kind words.

Yes, we have got the death certificate.

They own their own house in both names. Should it just be transferred to Mums name?

Dad had more than 5000 but less than 15000 in savings.

Can the funeral directors be paid from a ISA?

If the house was owned as 'joint tenants' the title passes 100% to your Mum, no need to do anything AFAIK. They both owned 100% of the title whichever of them died first.

xylophone

Was the house owned as "joint tenants" or tenants in common?
http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate/gor

" Is a grant needed in all cases?


No.
It may not be necessary to obtain a grant where a home is held in joint names and is passing by survivorship to the other joint owner.
Where a joint bank or building society account is held, production of a death certificate may be sufficient for the monies to be transferred to the joint holder.
Certain institutions may release monies without a grant being produced if the amount held by the deceased was small. Apply to the institutions to see if they will release monies without a grant."

zzzLazyDaisy

dshawz wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your help and kind words.

Yes, we have got the death certificate.

That's a pity because you would have been better off getting several copies at the same time. If you are dealing with several organisations you might want to go back to the registry office and see if you can get some more copies now as this is cheaper than obtaining notarised copies, which some organisations need, not all will accept a photocopy and trust me, you do not want to let the original out of you hands, as banks and others can - and do - lose the paperwork. If the original does get lost it isn't the end of the world, you can obtain a copy, but it will be more stress and fuss and delay at a time when you can do without it.

They own their own house in both names. Should it just be transferred to Mums name?

If she is going to continue living there, then yes, it should be put into her name. Most houses are registered land these days - unless the house has been in the family for a long time - and it is simple to do this, just contact the land registry and they will guide you through it. There is no rush now, but if (heaven forbid) something happens to your mum, and you come to sell the house after her death, you will have to prove your dad's death then anyway, and it will just be another complication at a difficult time.

Dad had more than 5000 but less than 15000 in savings.

Okay, anything under £5000 means that the estate falls under the limits required for probate. Anything up to £15000 is in the discretion on the individual bank/financial institution. Many will close the account on the production of the will, and filling in a form. If you can get to the branch in person, you should not have to leave the original death certificate as they will normally take a copy there and then while you wait. Your mother may need to do this herself as his next of kin, but you will be able to go with her. So you need to contact each organisation and ask them what their procedure is.

When my mum died she left various small insurances and small amounts of savings in different accounts. All but one closed the account quickly and without fuss. Unfortunately one of the smaller ones refused as the full amount of the estate was over £5000, so in the end we had to get probate. If that happens don't worry, it isn't difficult, just an additional step. If you do need to go to probate, come back to us, but hopefully the banks will cooperate

Can the funeral directors be paid from a ISA?

I don't know about payment of funerals from an ISA, but I see that question has already been answered. Contact the ISA provider and ask what their procedure is - but hopefully you will be able to get the money released fairly quickly anyway.

Hope this helps and keep posting if you have any more questions

Dx

Land_Registry

They own their own house in both names. Should it just be transferred to Mums name?

Take a look at our Public Guide as to what to do in such circumstances at least with regards the property.

As others have mentioned a lot will depend on whether it is registered or not but just check the circumstances against the relevant section of the guide as to what to do.

As zzzLazyDaisy says it is often best to complete the formalities now, when sorting everything else out as well and if the property is registered in joint names updating the register is relatively simple.

If, after reading the guide, you have any further questions re the property registration aspects or completion of the forms then simply Contact Us by email or phone