Grant of Confirmation

Pansygarden21

buddy9 said:

Pansygarden21 said:

I have another few questions on the inventory section. 

1 I needed to use two pages to detail the inventory and summary. As to the carried forward box at the bottom of each page do I enter the total inventory value so far?
2 I only needed two pages of inventory but there are seven pages. Should I leave the blank pages in the form?
3 If I leave the Unique Taxpayer reference blank as there is none, will that be accepted?
4 For place of death, I entered ’Home, town name, Scotland’ would that be a rejection point? Should I have just stated the town name and country?
Thanks in advance of an answer to the above.

Thoughts:
1.If completed online, the ‘carried forward’ total on the first inventory page should self calculate from the fourth column entries, and self populate the ‘brought forward’ total on the second inventory page. The second inventory page then self calculates an overall ‘carried forward’ total.         
If the self calculation is not working or you are not completing an online form, enter the relevant totals manually.

2. Leave out the blank pages and manually renumber pages 10 and 11.

3.Show UTR  as ‘not known’.

4. Place of death. Either entry seems ok  (assuming that for ‘home’ you actually entered the address).

Thanks very much for your reply. I had used the online form but it did not make the calculations and I didn’t think to add the totals in the inventory carried forward boxes. I’ve now added ‘not known’ to the UTR rather than leaving it blank. I had renumbered the pages but wasn’t sure if they’d be happy with that. Hopefully I’ve got it right this time thanks to your help 🤞 

Itshouldntbethishard

Hi, I'm trying to get my Certificate of Confirmation through the Sheriff court and it is proving to be way harder than it should be as they will only tell you there are errors but no indication of how many or where the errors are. 

One of my middle names was spelt incorrectly in the will.   

On page 2, 2 "That I am".  I have completed the box with

Sole Executor nominate, wife and sole beneficiary of the deceased conform to the Will of the deceased dated 4th August 2005 wherein I am designed as <my full name>  residing at <my address>  which said will is produced, docketed and signed by me as relative hereto.


Does this look correct?

buddy9

Itshouldntbethishard said:

Hi, I'm trying to get my Certificate of Confirmation through the Sheriff court and it is proving to be way harder than it should be as they will only tell you there are errors but no indication of how many or where the errors are. 

One of my middle names was spelt incorrectly in the will.   

On page 2, 2 "That I am".  I have completed the box with

Sole Executor nominate, wife and sole beneficiary of the deceased conform to the Will of the deceased dated 4th August 2005 wherein I am designed as <my full name>  residing at <my address>  which said will is produced, docketed and signed by me as relative hereto.


Does this look correct?

Apart from the spellng error, are there any other name or address differences in the will that have since changed?

Itshouldntbethishard

This is the letter I received on my 2nd attempt to get my certificate of confirmation approved.   
It says any amendments must be signed by the executor where I had initialled my changes.  
I've changed to my full signature for the bits I changed manually as the online form wasn't carrying of bringing forward the inventory totals
I also struck through 'along with the said' on page 2 section 3 of the form and had initialled this but have now added my full signature too.

Any idea why I need to return this letter when returning the document to Falkirk Sheriff Court?  

They refused to say how many errors were in the form or give any indication of where the errors are.  I can see from other posts that other Sheriff courts are asterisking bits or telling you which bits need looked at in the letter.   

There is a clear note on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website saying "Please note: The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service is prohibited from assisting applicants for confirmation to large estates and we would therefore recommend that you seek legal advice."          I wasn't asking for assistance but surely they can point out where the errors are? 

I've been reading everything I can find online to try to get the confirmation approved.  I noticed that the court costs in Scotland for an estate over £250,000 is £684.   The cost in England for probate would be only £300.   You also appear to be able to submit probate on line in England.

buddy9

It is a typical unhelpful response. Not the high quality customer service that the SCTS aspires to in its glossy documents.

Your application is for a Grant of Confirmation rather than a Certificate. A Certificate of Confirmation can be issued additionally on request and relates only to a single item of estate. (Yes I know that the HMRC guidance uses the wrong terminology, but you would not expect the court to do so).

I would interpret the comment about signing amendments to refer to the potential to make corrections to an existing copy of the C1. I cannot see how the completion of non calculating parts in pen is an amendment, after all you could complete the whole form in pen.

Here is a suggestion for para 2 of page 2. You did not answer my question so I have assumed that there are no other will changes that need to be referenced. It also assumes that you hold the original will.

That I am

The wife and executor nominate of the deceased conform to will dated 4th August 2005 which is produced herewith, docquetted and signed by me as relative hereto. In said will my name is per incuriam written [full name as in will] instead of [full name].

Itshouldntbethishard

"Apart from the spellng error, are there any other name or address differences in the will that have since changed?"

No, the address is the same and the only difference is my middle name should have been MacDonald rather than McDonald

Itshouldntbethishard

"That I am

The wife and executor nominate of the deceased conform to will dated 4th August 2005 which is produced herewith, docquetted and signed by me as relative hereto. In said will my name is per incuriam written [full name as in will] instead of [full name]."

thank you.  I will try that if the current submission gets rejected.

When questioning SCTS about the process and whether the statement added to the will was correct, the clerk just kept saying I have already told you I cannot tell you anything and you are now harassing me.     When I suggested that other courts are asterisking or indicating where the form has mistakes, the clerks answer was they weren't prepared to lose their job and they turned and walked away

buddy9

Itshouldntbethishard said:

"That I am

The wife and executor nominate of the deceased conform to will dated 4th August 2005 which is produced herewith, docquetted and signed by me as relative hereto. In said will my name is per incuriam written [full name as in will] instead of [full name]."

thank you.  I will try that if the current submission gets rejected.

When questioning SCTS about the process and whether the statement added to the will was correct, the clerk just kept saying I have already told you I cannot tell you anything and you are now harassing me.     When I suggested that other courts are asterisking or indicating where the form has mistakes, the clerks answer was they weren't prepared to lose their job and they turned and walked away

Your text might get accepted, but my example is based on the normal sused tyle and I would suggest you use it.

Itshouldntbethishard

This was the first rejection letter which was addressed to Dear Sirs which is somewhat outdated in this current age (and from googling stems back to when legal practices were run largely by men).

So, I took their advice and went to my local council library and the adjacent council library and neither have this book which is not a surprise as it seems to cost £344.    When handing in the form for the second time, the more helpful clerk said that the letter used to direct you to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.  So, I took a trip to Glasgow at the weekend but due to works in the library to do with asbestos, they can't access the area where the book is and said to come back in a week or two.   I was directed to the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh and they have said they don't have it but they have a reciprocal arrangement and can borrow from the Faculty of Advocates once I join the library.  

Although this letter is signed, the signature is illegible and the last line just says  Commissary Department.   The second letter is just initialled.

I decided yesterday to get help from my solicitor who we did our wills with but they are busy until mid December.

I thought I would share my journey for others who find themselves in the same predicament.

buddy9

Itshouldntbethishard said:

This was the first rejection letter which was addressed to Dear Sirs which is somewhat outdated in this current age (and from googling stems back to when legal practices were run largely by men).

So, I took their advice and went to my local council library and the adjacent council library and neither have this book which is not a surprise as it seems to cost £344.    When handing in the form for the second time, the more helpful clerk said that the letter used to direct you to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.  So, I took a trip to Glasgow at the weekend but due to works in the library to do with asbestos, they can't access the area where the book is and said to come back in a week or two.   I was directed to the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh and they have said they don't have it but they have a reciprocal arrangement and can borrow from the Faculty of Advocates once I join the library.  

Although this letter is signed, the signature is illegible and the last line just says  Commissary Department.   The second letter is just initialled.

I decided yesterday to get help from my solicitor who we did our wills with but they are busy until mid December.

I thought I would share my journey for others who find themselves in the same predicament.

I have a copy of Currie on Confirmation of Executors. It is not a lay person’s guide. It also needs to be used by persons who are aware of the changes that have been introduced since its publication in 2011. It is ridiculous that the SCTS continues to point lay applicants in its direction.