Confirmation (Scotland)

alicet84

I am looking for a bit of information regarding letter of confirmation in scotland.

My grandfather passed away last week, he didnt have a will and had no property. he did have money amounting to around £72,000 split over bank accounts, saving account, scottish widows ISA.

He divorced in 1957 and never re-married or lived with anyone else, he had one son from this marriage, who was my father but he passed away in 2001. I have one sister.
I live a few miles away from where my grandfather did, my sister lives over 100 miles away so i am trying to deal with his estate but its proving rather difficult.

I have been told that in order to close his accounts i would need to go for a letter of confirmation from the court, and i would require a solicitor to do this as a bond of caution would also be needed and this can only be done through a solicitor. when i contacted a solicitor they said they must see the entire estate sorted through to the end and it would cost me £2900 plus VAT.

I feel this is alot of money to pay for if it is simply a case of filling out a form, i know there is no tax to pay. what worries me is if there is definitely a bond of caution needed and i cant get it.

I wonder if anyone else has been in a similar situation or if anyone knows if my only choice is to go through a solicitor??

sleepless_saver

It's true that you need a solicitor for a bond of caution, there is only one insurance company (RSA Insurance Group) that currently deals with bonds of caution and they require a solicitor to be used for estates of over £36k except in circumstances which don't apply to you (where the applicant was the spouse of the deceased). It does seem to be quite a bit more complicated than just filling out a form, so expect to pay in line with that.

You might end up having to get a solicitor do the whole thing - see extract below - but you can check this out and in any case shop around for best deal.

"2.12 The main problem with bonds of caution is the cost to the estate of obtaining the bond, which can be disproportionate especially when the estate is very small. This is, in part, because insurers may insist as a condition of providing a bond of caution that an executor-dative employs a solicitor to assist with the administration of the estate or to retain part of the estate until a dispute is resolved or a missing beneficiary found.

2.13 Another problem is the very limited market, with only two companies providing bonds of caution. Additionally, a significant amount of administrative work is involved in obtaining a bond ....." source: Scottish Government http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/08/1185/3

(This extract is slightly out of date as there is now only one company providing bonds.)

Yorkshireman99

A quick Google suggests Zurich Insurance provide the bonds as well. Demand £2,900 to administer the estate is outrageous. All the bond does is ensure the executor pays the beneficiaries.

sleepless_saver

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

A quick Google suggests Zurich Insurance provide the bonds as well. Demand £2,900 to administer the estate is outrageous. All the bond does is ensure the executor pays the beneficiaries.

Zurich seem to have pulled out. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/sp/?id=2016-01-28.18.5

Yorkshireman99

Noted. Thanks.

inkygirl1967

Hi can anyone help me. I am trying to complete a Form C1 for my Father. The local Court aren't being much help! I know he doesn't need a Bond of Caution as my mother was his spouse however the Court have only said that I need to refer to the Succession Scotland Act in my declaration. I have googled the Act but have no idea how I word this in the declaration. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks


Karen