Help please with Inheritance Tax Form and PA1

Diamond_Orchid

Hi all,
I lost my mum on 5th July, and I am now trying to sort probate out.

My first question is, where do I need to go to 'swear an oath'. Can I just find a local Probate Office to me and book an appointment for this?

Secondly, on the the Inheritance Tax form, it asks if my mum gave any gifts over £3k in the 7 years before she died. She gave me and my future husband £13k in 2012. I cannot remember how she gave this money to us. I have gone through my statements for that time period and cannot find it. My husband will go through his when he gets home from work tonight.
I do have some old statements of hers from her house, but I do not know which bank account she used to send the money or exactly when. What happens if I cannot find these details? Will a rough date and figure suffice?

I am also wondering about the whole declaration of her estate's worth. I have had her house valued, and the estate agents are sending me confirmation in writing. However I do not know the total figures of her bank accounts etc. I cannot get these figures until I am allowed to access her accounts. I know for a FACT her estate is under the £325k inheritance tax threshold though, so will rough figures do?

Do I tick 'I declare the gross value of the estate for inheritance tax is less than or equal to'... 'The excepted estate limit'... if worth under £325k?

Thanks for all your help, this whole thing is a bit confusing

Diamond_Orchid

Oh and now I have the death certificate can I write to companies and her bank to inform them, or do I need to wait for probate?

I did the Tell Us Once service, so some have been notified already.

chesky

Did your mum leave a will?
You should inform the banks a.s.a.p. You may need several originals of the death certificate. Also the The Pensions Office about her state pension and the relevant companies about any occupational pensions she may have.

Diamond_Orchid

Yes she did and named me as her sole executor. Apparently I still need probate though, is that right?

I have several copies of the death cert. Will the banks acknowledge me even without probate?

Keep_pedalling

How close to your wedding was that gift? A parent can gift £5000 on condition of marrage which does not need to be declared. This is addition to the £3000 annual allowence. £3000 can be carried over from the previous year as well, so it is likely that of the £12000 only £1000 needs to be declared.

As for banks and anyone she had a contract with need to be notified now.

If you don't have a local probate office you can get the oath done at any solicitors for a small fee.

Keep_pedalling

Diamond_Orchid wrote: »

Yes she did and named me as her sole executor. Apparently I still need probate though, is that right?

I have several copies of the death cert. Will the banks acknowledge me even without probate?

You only need probate if you mum owned property or if she held assets within an organisation that won't release those without it.

If all her assets are in cash them banks will often release them without probate up to a certain level, in the case of Barclays it is £30,0000.

Diamond_Orchid

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

How close to your wedding was that gift? A parent can gift £5000 on condition of marrage which does not need to be declared. This is addition to the £3000 annual allowence. £3000 can be carried over from the previous year as well, so it is likely that of the £12000 only £1000 needs to be declared.

As for banks and anyone she had a contract with need to be notified now.

If you don't have a local probate office you can get the oath done at any solicitors for a small fee.

Not sure exactly what month the money was gifted, hence the problem, but we bought our house in September and married in the December. Pretty close but not 'that' close I think.

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

You only need probate if you mum owned property or if she held assets within an organisation that won't release those without it.

If all her assets are in cash them banks will often release them without probate up to a certain level, in the case of Barclays it is £30,0000.

Yes she has a property.

Is there a template letter to send to the banks informing them? Or is it just a freehand one I need to write. Will they need the original death certificate then send it back?

Do I need to open a separate bank account for funds or can I use my own account? I am the only benefactor.

Keep_pedalling

As you are the only beneficiary, then you do not need a seperate account.

Rather than write I would make an appointment to go into a local branch of her bank(s). Take in a copy of her death certificate and the original will, which they will photocopy and forward to the bank's bereavement department.

As for the gift, I can see no reason why £5000 of would not be classed as a wedding gift,

poppystar

Diamond_Orchid wrote: »

My first question is, where do I need to go to 'swear an oath'. Can I just find a local Probate Office to me and book an appointment for this?

You will submit the forms along with the necessary documentation to the local probate office - this is step one - then they will contact you regarding swearing the oath. You can then decide to either do this at the probate office (they will give you times for this when they respond) or do it at local solicitors who will charge a small fee.

Wherever you go from now on - banks etc - take your passport with you along with will, death certificate, probate grant (when you h ave that) and anything else they specifically request. You need to prove who you are all the time!!


Don't worry it all gets clearer as you go along. I must admit at first I could not get my head around the order of things like needing bank info to fill the forms in regarding the value of the estate but not having probate to gain access. These institutions deal with this all the time and if you're lucky the deceased will have banked with ones who have bereavement departments.

Keep going and ask for any help as needed.

Diamond_Orchid

How can they even find out what gifts she made, as I am having trouble myself :huh:

getmore4less

you need to do what is called enquiries

when you notify any institution that hold assets you ask for the account balances and the accrued interest to DOD.

for assets that are not cash+interest they will need valuing.

You do not need a grant(probate) to value the estate the asset holders should tell you most will and some may ask for sight of the will which gives the authority to administer the estate.