Probate Granted question

New_Executor

if anyone can answer this query I'd be really grateful.

Do Inland Revenue contact us and confirm no IHT is due ?

Estate well under IHT threshold, we sent of probate and IHT forms and have received back the Grant of probate, DWP have sent letter telling us not to distribute yet.
Just wondering about Inland Revenue and what happens with them.

Many thanks.

Alter_ego

DWP probably investigating whether benefits have been overpaid.
HMRC never contacted me in same circumstances.

New_Executor

Thank you, so providing DWP confirm they happy for us to distribute (as and when) then we don't need to worry about IR?


Many thanks

Alter_ego

New_Executor wrote: »

Thank you, so providing DWP confirm they happy for us to distribute (as and when) then we don't need to worry about IR?


Many thanks

Actually I instructed solicitor to refer all DWP paperwork direct to me as I had no desire to pay the sol £250 per hour to send me the questions. Solicitor did so. I never heard from DWP again (I had distributed small estate before told not to)
HMRC never made contact either.
9 years ago - still nothing.

Yorkshireman99

New_Executor wrote: »

Thank you, so providing DWP confirm they happy for us to distribute (as and when) then we don't need to worry about IR?


Many thanks

Probate is only granted if HMR&C OK it. DWP usuallly only stick their nose in if the deceased was claiming means tested benefits. Beware the DWP can be very long winded and expect all sorts of information. Come back and as here if you need more guidance.

New_Executor

Thank you all.
You guys are brilliant.
Have a good weekend x

ahja

I used the Tell Us Once service when I registered the death of my mum who died after a short stay in hospital. Got a letter from DWP quite quickly saying they knew she had died but wanted to know when she was discharged on their form, wrote straight back, writing in big letters DIED and date.

Heard nothing, but its true they take their sweet time, but I close bank accounts as want to get going. She did owe them, but they didn't contact me, they go to the account where the money goes, so they wrote to the building society who forwarded the letter to me as I had ran off with the money lol So even though they knew I was a named executer they never contacted me till they found nowt in the account!

Once the building society told them to contact me, got a letter within days (go figure!) - just paid it over the phone. I asked if they send a receipt - for my executer records and was told me, that I could get that info from my bank statement - 3 weeks later got a receipt........

So don't worry if you go forward on this, so long as DWP get their money back, they ain't bothered

Sort of reminds me of the year IR chased my partner for 1p......

Shelldean

Dwp usually send letters out if the deceased claimed a means tested benefit as Yorkshireman states.
Pension credit seems to be the main one as recipients can have protected savings, meaning their savings can rise and not affect their benefit. So when they claim they declared their savings. However due to protected savings when they die the figures differ.

This causes DWP to investigate.
In our case, they contacted us and advised us not to distribute.
Then they asked for bank statements for ten and six yrs ago.
We obviously couldn't provide the ten yrs ago a st he bank.No longer held them. They were just time for the six yrs.

So we sent them all off. And they eventually wrote back requesting an overpayment back. Which we sent. That was the end of it.
BUT the whole DWP process took almost a yr in our case. The wheels of DWP turn slowly.

Shelldean

Just to add, no idea why they asked for ten yrs ago bank statements as they knew we'd not be able to get them. Something they confirmed when we.called them to tell them the bank couldn't supply they already knew!!!

Yorkshireman99

Shelldean wrote: »

Just to add, no idea why they asked for ten yrs ago bank statements as they knew we'd not be able to get them. Something they confirmed when we.called them to tell them the bank couldn't supply they already knew!!!

Creditors can only, AFAIK, claim up to six years ago. It is also worth remembering that the creditor has to prove the debt rather than the executor having to disprove it. The DWP are notorious for trying to be a law unto themselves.

Shelldean

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Creditors can only, AFAIK, claim up to six years ago. It is also worth remembering that the creditor has to prove the debt rather than the executor having to disprove it. The DWP are notorious for trying to be a law unto themselves.

To be fair they was fine with us. Just very very VERY slow.