How can i deposit a cheque made out to executors?

zzzLazyDaisy

getmore4less wrote: »

£15000

http://www.howto.co.uk/family/probate-wills/winding_up_an_estate_yourself_proving_your_right_to_act/#if-the-gross-estate-is-valued-under-15000

plenty of other links

Agreed. As I understand the situation (and not being an expert):

Any estate worth less than £5000 does not have to go to probate.

An estate worth over £15000 must go to probate.

Estates worth between £5000 and £15000 are in the discretion of the financial institution. Some banks will insist on probate being obtained for relatively small estates over £5000. I am currently helping someone obtain probate on an estate of £12000 at the banks insistence.

madbadrob

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Agreed. As I understand the situation (and not being an expert):

Any estate worth less than £5000 does not have to go to probate.

An estate worth over £15000 must go to probate.

Estates worth between £5000 and £15000 are in the discretion of the financial institution. Some banks will insist on probate being obtained for relatively small estates over £5000. I am currently helping someone obtain probate on an estate of £12000 at the banks insistence.

Getmore4less posted a link however I prefer to use links that come from goverment sites when proving a point. see http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax/intro/probate-process.htm where it says
When a grant of representation is usually needed

You will almost certainly need a grant if the estate includes:

• assets generally worth more than £5,000 in total (though again this figure varies)
• land or property in the sole name of the deceased, or held as 'tenants in common' with someone else
• stocks or shares
• some insurance policies

15k is not mentioned anywhere on the governments site

madbadrob

getmore4less wrote: »

£15000

http://www.howto.co.uk/family/probate-wills/winding_up_an_estate_yourself_proving_your_right_to_act/#if-the-gross-estate-is-valued-under-15000

plenty of other links

Id like to cut and paste from this site but it wont let me but it says providing it is not more than 5000 (sometimes 15000) .........

Ron

zzzLazyDaisy

madbadrob wrote: »

15k is not mentioned anywhere on the governments site

That's true. However it does say that the figure varies and if you google 'probate uk £15000' you will see that in fact £15000 is the upper limit for many financial institutions.

madbadrob

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

That's true. However it does say that the figure varies and if you google 'probate uk £15000' you will see that in fact £15000 is the upper limit for many financial institutions.

Whilst some sites do quote the 15k I would always follow the government site as they set the laws

Rob

zzzLazyDaisy

Then you would be misled in matters of law, by virtue of the fact that you do not understand the context. The HMRC site deals with tax, specifically IHT, and the reference to probate is intended as a guide only and not a full statement of the applicable law. The relevant legislation is The Administration of Estates (Small Payments) Act 1965 which allows certain specific organisations such as National Savings and the Bank of England to pay out the assets of the deceased without sight of a grant of probate, provided the amount does not exceed pounds 5,000. The Act does not apply to banks and building societies which are free to set higher levels. Some do, some don't. The Halifax, for example, allows payments up to £15000, the Yorkshire bank requires probate for the same sum. Of course you might argue that the Halifax and similar institutions are breaking the law, and who knows, you may even be right.

madbadrob

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Then you would be misled in matters of law, by virtue of the fact that you do not understand the context. The HMRC site deals with tax, specifically IHT, and the reference to probate is intended as a guide only and not a full statement of the applicable law. The relevant legislation is The Administration of Estates (Small Payments) Act 1965 which allows certain specific organisations such as National Savings and the Bank of England to pay out the assets of the deceased without sight of a grant of probate, provided the amount does not exceed pounds 5,000. The Act does not apply to banks and building societies which are free to set higher levels. Some do, some don't. The Halifax, for example, allows payments up to £15000, the Yorkshire bank requires probate for the same sum. Of course you might argue that the Halifax and similar institutions are breaking the law, and who knows, you may even be right.

You may well of course be right with your observations and I for one do not know the intracacies of probate law. Having read a number of times the relevant sections they are not the easiest to follow. It is as you say also possible that the banks mentioned may also be stretching the law ( I wouldnt accuse them of breaking the law )

Rob