Grant of Confirmation

cruyff89

@buddy9 thanks for your input, much appreciated.

The will was indeed produced and witnessed by a solicitor. I was similarly surprised they never picked up on this and had it corrected at the time. I believe the witness should also have dated the will but again that doesn't appear to be present.  

Probably best they're not involved in applying for confirmation!

crusty_dread

Hi 

I'm in a similar position to many on here, trying to find out exactly how to correctly complete the C1 form.


On the surface, my particular circumstances appear to be straightforward. Dad passed away last December. He left a will naming me as sole executor. Mum passed away some years ago, leaving her estate to dad so I believe her IHT allowance will also pass to him. I am the the sole beneficiary, I have no siblings or any other relatives who have any form of claim to the estate. The estate consists of his bank accounts, which have already been settled and his house. The total value of the estate is well below the threshold for even a single person's allowance. 

Reading through the posts on here, it seems much more complex to complete the C1 than is indicated in the government's guidance notes. 

I'm confused over how to correctly value the house. Does it need to be a "conveyancing value" or is a market valuation from an estate agent acceptable. What is the difference? 

Similarly, when valuing the contents, how specific does it need to be? Dad was disabled for many years and lived in one room so despite the house having four bedrooms, three were empty. I think I could list each individual item but is it absolutely necessary? 

Probably the most confusing part is the legal language it appears you have to use to complete the form. I have no experience of this whatsoever but it seems the form will be rejected if it's not used.

The cheapest quote for having this done by a lawyer was £3,500+ vat minimum. There's no way I can afford this, not even from the inheritance so I really have to find a way to do this myself.  

If anyone has any advice on this or ideally, an anonymised copy of a form that was accepted, I'd be extremely grateful. 

Earls_waistcoat

Crusty-dread please see my post on page 41 of this thread. To value my fathers property I looked up Zoopla and S1 homes to check the price of recently sold houses in that area and then took that figure as the value. It was accepted. I also gave a brief description of the property and it was accepted. I did not need to use land register or title deed references.

buddy9

crusty_dread

If the total estate value is well within IHT allowances then the property value will have no IHT impact, but you will want to be mindful of CGT liability and therefore avoid underestimating the house value.

You can estimate the house contents value as a single entry. Again, being well within IHT allowance, it won't be scrutinised.

You will get help on the forum if you need it, to complete the C1.

GhibliFan

Hi crusty_dread

Condolences on the loss of your Dad.  This form seems overwhelming at first doesn't it?  And this thread is about the only decent help on the net!  No need to pay a fat fee to someone else.  Just take it slow and ask on here if you're not sure.

As already said above, you can value the house yourself based on local comparable properties or get an estate agent to do it.  Same with the personal possessions.  No need to list each item for general household goods/furniture, just give your best estimate (on mine I put on the line below "valued by Executor" or ".....by Estate Agent" as applicable).  I overvalued my Mum's stuff out of caution but most of it went to a local charity and wasn't worth anything.

The property value will be market value. I think you're confusing two separate things; there isn't a conveyancing value but there is a "conveyance type description" when listing the property on the C1 Inventory.  This was brought up early on in this thread and someone said if you don't use a conveyancing type description of the property, it can cause a problem when selling. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I used the description of the property from the last conveyance on the Sasines  Register (when it was sold to my Mum), just in case.  

Have you got the will? The original will need to be sent with the completed C1.  You have to write on the front of it, at the top:  

[Name of town/city and date.]
This is the will referred to in my declaration of this date relative to the Inventory of the estate of the late [name of deceased].  Then add your signature.

I'll try to do an anonymous copy of mine if I get time.  It's not as bad as it first seems, so don't worry.

crusty_dread

Thanks so much everyone, I didn't expect replies so quickly, what a brilliant forum..!

GhibliFan, thanks for the kind words.

Now you mention it, I think you're right about it being a conveyancing description rather than valuation. The house is too recent to be on the Sasines register but I have the original description and paperwork from when my parents bought it from the housing association back in the 1980's. Hopefully, that will be sufficient. 

I do have the will but I'll need to confirm it's the original. It was the one dad had at home but I believe the solicitor who drew it up also has a copy, I'm not sure which one counts as the original.  Thanks for the advice on what to write on it, I'd picked up on that from reading other posts here but I wasn't 100% sure what was required.

If you can find time to create a copy of yours, that would be extremely helpful, thanks so much. 

Thanks for all the replies here, I'm already feeling much more confident about the process..! 

GhibliFan

@crusty_dread. I'm glad you're feeling better about it.  I did make an anonymous copy this afternoon but I'm not sure how to put it on here.  It's five pages and I'm a bit of a techno dunce.

RAS

GhibliFan said:

@crusty_dread. I'm glad you're feeling better about it.  I did make an anonymous copy this afternoon but I'm not sure how to put it on here.  It's five pages and I'm a bit of a techno dunce.

When you hit the reply button, there's a little icon like a mountain in the middle of the task bar? Hit that and it asks you to choose an image. If you've got a scan of the confirmation on your computer or linked media device, you can "choose files" and upload it.

I'd suggest trying page 1 to see if it works? And only load a max of two at a time.

GhibliFan

That's the first 3 pages.   Bank accounts, names, figures etc are fake and just for demonstration purposes.

NB, This is based on the one I did in late 2022,  which was accepted but please note I have no legal training or knowledge and you use it at your own risk. Also rules change from time to time, so please satisfy yourself that you're filling it in correctly before you send it in!

GhibliFan

Next two pages.  Note each item is numbered, when sending to Sheriff's Court include a covering letter saying which items you need a Confirmation Certificate for. 

NB, This was accepted by the Court in late 2022.  I have no legal training or knowledge and you use it at your own risk. Also rules change from time to time, so please satisfy yourself that you're filling it in correctly before you send it in!