DIY Probate

sharynm

hi .

my stepmum died three months ago and we are ready to apply for probate (we have gathered all the relevant financial information) but aren't sure on a couple of things and I understand how important it is to give the correct information.

It seems to me that we have to complete two documents, the probate and a tax return. We asked a Solicitor for a price and for only applying they have quoted 2k but that is also just a quote and can increase (this doesn't include the upfront legwork that we have done, or distributing any of the estate) my questions are below if anybody can point me in the right direction to tell me if I should be using a professional (I don't think it's a complicated estate)

Dad died in October 2009 and we have the original grant of probate and a copy of his will, so presume we can pass over his IHT of 325,000 to my stepmum? He never made any gifts and everything was left to her.

my stepmum died October 2017. My younger half brother lived with her and my dad for approx 15-20 years so it was his main residence. in 2011 my stepmum gifted him half the house (we are approx 3 months short of the 7 years) 5 years ago she moved into a care home as she had Alzheimers. My half brother then met his partner and in 2016 moved down south to rent and live with her. So my stepmums estate is valued at £373,112 in bonds/cash/investments. and the house is valued at £225,000 (but only half of that will be in her estate) so 483,112 in total for money and half a house. So she is under the 650,000 IHT.

i'm just trying to work out the correct forms to fill in and do I need to mention the gift of half the house, or is that something my younger brother needs to sort out with the tax man? (in the will he has been left also the other half of the house and then the money is divided between the three children.

Does this seem like a straight forward estate? can anybody tell me the correct forms I need to complete as there appear to be different tax ones?

My brother also mention that on two of the investments it states that there are chargeable event certificate received...not idea what this means (and i haven't seen the paperwork on this yet as he has them)

any help greatly received

Keep_pedalling

As your stepmother was living in the property until 5 years ago the 7 year clock did not start ticking until then so her death is well within the 7 year period so the whole house will count as far as IHT calculation is concerned, and as executor you need to declare that gift on the IHT forms, your brother has nothing to declare to the tax man

The estate is still below the IHT and you should be able DIY most of it but you do need to take professional advice re the chargible gains.

sharynm

thanks for that, just shows how wrong you can be. I thought it was 7 years from when she transferred half the house and not from when she moved into a care home.

think I might need advice on this actually so I don't get it wrong!

Keep_pedalling

sharynm wrote: »

thanks for that, just shows how wrong you can be. I thought it was 7 years from when she transferred half the house and not from when she moved into a care home.

think I might need advice on this actually so I don't get it wrong!

If you give away an asset, but continue to benefit from that asset it is known as a gift with reservation.

Savvy_Sue

But rather than instructing a solicitor to handle it, you can visit a solicitor to take advice on what you need to do, and that should be cheaper than them taking instruction and then doing it ...

Tom99

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

As your stepmother was living in the property until 5 years ago the 7 year clock did not start ticking until then so her death is well within the 7 year period so the whole house will count as far as IHT calculation is concerned, and as executor you need to declare that gift on the IHT forms, your brother has nothing to declare to the tax man

The estate is still below the IHT and you should be able DIY most of it but you do need to take professional advice re the chargible gains.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I don't think it counts as a gift with reservation because the brother lived in the house with stepmother and only 50% was gifted.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So it would counts as gift 6.75 years ago at 50% of the then house value.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Since the estate seems well within the total nil rate band I don't think this will make any difference.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It should be possible to DIY probate and the forms can be downloaded here:

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/inheritance-tax-forms[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Most come with notes so they should be easy enough to follow.[/FONT]