DIY Probate

Carmen

I am up to my ears in paperwork (it is taking my mind off the sadness) so just two quickie questions please.
Is it essential to fill this form IHT205 (estate is well below the limit)

The joint mortgage stipulates percentage of benefits are, 40% (first named) 60% (second named) Is it not the norm be be 50/50?
Can anyone please enlighten me?

I also have to add a thank you to SS for starting this thread, I never would have believed I could take this on!

I think it helped when you kind people assured me there wasn't a race to get forms completed.

I must add BiL has not objected to any questions/details I needed from him....now that makes me suspicious
Carmen x

Moretolife

My grants arrived today so that has been almost 3 months to the day since I sent it off.


Now to send to banks and sort out the ownership of the house. I will get to a point where one day dealing with probate isn't constantly on my mind. But I'm so pleased I did it myself without paying a solicitor. But I can imagine some people would not be able to - or want to deal with it. I am finding it part or the grieving process I think.

G6JNS

Moretolife wrote: »

My grants arrived today so that has been almost 3 months to the day since I sent it off.


Now to send to banks and sort out the ownership of the house. I will get to a point where one day dealing with probate isn't constantly on my mind. But I'm so pleased I did it myself without paying a solicitor. But I can imagine some people would not be able to - or want to deal with it. I am finding it part or the grieving process I think.

Well done! A professional counsellor friend of mine says that keeping occupied in this way is one of the best ways of dealing with the inevitable grief.

SandraScarlett

Moretolife wrote: »

My grants arrived today so that has been almost 3 months to the day since I sent it off.


Now to send to banks and sort out the ownership of the house. I will get to a point where one day dealing with probate isn't constantly on my mind. But I'm so pleased I did it myself without paying a solicitor. But I can imagine some people would not be able to - or want to deal with it. I am finding it part or the grieving process I think.

Well done you! I certainly found it quite therapeutic to be able to tick things done, off a list - I'm a very "listy" person! I've sorted out clothes, DVDs, books, all to charity shops, and many neighbours have been the recipients of DH's huge stock of garden and household tools.


However, like so many things, you do need to take your time over Probate, and read everything repeatedly, until you're completely au fait with it all. Managing a DIY job with the Probate has given me a tremendous "oomph", and as all newly-bereaved folk know, you cling to the things that make you feel good. I'm delighted that by starting this thread, I've helped others.


Once again, if anyone needs any help, please post on here, because there's lots of assistance available.


xx

SandraScarlett

Carmen wrote: »

I also have to add a thank you to SS for starting this thread, I never would have believed I could take this on!

I think it helped when you kind people assured me there wasn't a race to get forms completed.

I must add BiL has not objected to any questions/details I needed from him....now that makes me suspicious
Carmen x

I'm so pleased I've been able to help. The reason your BIL hasn't objected is because he's probably delighted that he isn't doing it, and is viewing you with admiration and awe!


And, most important, you know your sister would be so proud of you. Well done!


xx

Rosie1980

Yorkshire bank and the post office are a pain in the neck when it comes to probate. I have sent the same letter and death certificate to every financial institution, and to utilities I have made the same call. But Yorkshire bank are refusing to even give me a valuation without the Will or certified copy of the Will and documents signed by all executors. Which means that I have to unnecessarily, in my opinion, put a Will in the post and send them a death certificate for the other executor. Everyone else has sent me the numbers and told me I can access the money now by doing ... or that they will need probate, fine nothing unusual there. Quite why YB need to do their own version of probate just to tell me how much there is in the bond is beyond me. Nan had a telephone line with the Post Office, firstly the woman on the phone gave me incorrect info, told me she had no authority to speak with me and practically hung up on me, they don't reply to any emails and now they too want a copy of the Will and death certificate. The gas, electric and water just switched it all over to my name, no problem. This is what makes it hard, companies who are a law unto themselves! It is also holding everything up as while all the replies with valuations are rolling in, letters requiring extra documents are not helpful, it'll be another week at least, by the time I've sent it and it's all been returned. I will be complaining to both these companies, I think they should review their policies, given they are the odd ones out.

Tuesday_Tenor

Rosie1980 wrote: »

Yorkshire bank and the post office are a pain in the neck when it comes to probate. I have sent the same letter and death certificate to every financial institution, and to utilities I have made the same call. But Yorkshire bank are refusing to even give me a valuation without the Will or certified copy of the Will and documents signed by all executors. Which means that I have to unnecessarily, in my opinion, put a Will in the post and send them a death certificate for the other executor. Everyone else has sent me the numbers and told me I can access the money now by doing ... or that they will need probate, fine nothing unusual there. Quite why YB need to do their own version of probate just to tell me how much there is in the bond is beyond me. Nan had a telephone line with the Post Office, firstly the woman on the phone gave me incorrect info, told me she had no authority to speak with me and practically hung up on me, they don't reply to any emails and now they too want a copy of the Will and death certificate. The gas, electric and water just switched it all over to my name, no problem. This is what makes it hard, companies who are a law unto themselves! It is also holding everything up as while all the replies with valuations are rolling in, letters requiring extra documents are not helpful, it'll be another week at least, by the time I've sent it and it's all been returned. I will be complaining to both these companies, I think they should review their policies, given they are the odd ones out.

I sympathise with the confusion over different institutions having different processes. For me, three years ago, it was the utilities that all handled death/probate differently. Some insisted that the service was transferred to 'estate of X', some refused to let 'estate of X' hold the account and insisted it be held in my personal name. This meant that payments and refunds over the 6 months of clearing and selling the house were made in a variety of names. All were accounted for, of course, but made more of a pain by all being different.

However, I do think that sight of the death certificate and will is standard practice for an institution to establish who the executors are so I wouldn't be complaining to YB and PO.

More worrying to me, and more a cause for complaint, are those institutions who release info without such checks. Presumably those that did so have asked you to sign that you are the executor and possibly also sign some sort of indemnity. This approach is so much more open to abuse, as other threads on this board have shown.

You will also find that different institutions vary their requirement of proof of identity according to the balance held by the deceased. So some of those who didn't ask for proof to discuss a balance of £XXX would have done so for a balance of £XX,XXX. Again I find the different thresholds and approaches to this very confusing for a first-time executor.

You seem to be working your way through things steadily, so well done! An extra week in the overall process of obtaining probate isn't much, believe me!

Rosie1980

The entire probate for my Dad I didn't have to send a Will to anyone except the Probate Office, I didn't have to deal with any utilities as they just transferred them to my Mum. But for my Nan, YB is the only bank requesting one. Some companies who hold less than 15k, including NS&I are allowing me to have the money on production of the Will without probate, which is fine. But given that I'm supplying these companies with account numbers and all the details, I just want a number to put on a form I feel a death certificate is adequate as do most other companies. It's not like I'm asking for a transfer or closure just the value which to be honest if I have found a statement with an account number on I can make a pretty good guess as to the amount I just need the bit of paper for probate and tax return. It wouldn't be such a problem if they accepted just a photocopy of the a Will. And if The Post Office are going to be so strict they should at least allow me to go into a Post Office to provide the documents they need. I'm just nervous about putting the a Will in the post I only have one certified copy. Like you say though it's just the differing standards if everyone knew what was required at the outset then we would be properly prepared and could have all the copies of everything sent first time.

Mojisola

SeniorSam wrote: »

Not least being called Sailor Sam. The nickname is SeniorSam, as I'm mid 70's now,but used to be a specialist in IHT planning and gave lectures on the subject before retiring a few years back.

There is a SailorSam who posts on other boards - I thought he was branching out when I saw your post.

Savvy_Sue

Tuesday_Tenor wrote: »

More worrying to me, and more a cause for complaint, are those institutions who release info without such checks. Presumably those that did so have asked you to sign that you are the executor and possibly also sign some sort of indemnity. This approach is so much more open to abuse, as other threads on this board have shown.

I am still astonished that the phone company my late mother was with required nothing more than a telephone conversation to close her account and send a refund. And it was all done the same day.

As I said to my co-executor, if you wanted to mess with someone's head ...