Stamp duty: FTB but inheritance in probate

isef20

Dear all

My partner and I are buying our first house, which will also be our only residence, for under £300k, so hope to be exempt from stamp duty under the new rules.

Unfortunately, my partners father recently passed away, and we understand that my partner will inherit property, jointly with their sister, under the will. The estate is currently going into probate, and the complexity of his estate means that it may not resolve for many months, and possibly years: while we are looking to exchange and complete in a matter of weeks.

I think my partner, at this stage, has a beneficial interest in property through the will, meaning we lose our entitlement to the new stamp duty exemption. Can anyone clarify our situation?

I think that the fact that the estate is just going into probate, and the fact that my partner has a ‘beneficial interest under the will’ are nuances that I can’t see brought out in other threads. Our solicitor is unsure!

Many thanks

Lulu0110

Apologies in case I sound trite, but would you pay and put your trust in a professional who is unable to answer a legitimate question? Unless you are using a conveyancing firm rather than a solicitor I would expect them to know and advise me on the law. Your best interests are not being served by "don't know" Late in day but you need a better solicitor, I would recommend mine as he has advised me well over 5 house and land purchases and steered me away from a plot with access issues. Ask around your circle of friends or colleagues for a recommendation. Sorry not to be able to help your query.

Hoploz

I'd say that he doesn't yet own the other property and as such this purchase will be his first and only property. He would only own it after it has been through probate and ownership has been registered to him and his sister.

Are they keeping the house, or are they going to sell it and split the proceeds ... In which case he will never own the house?

But I feel sure your solicitor would be able to make a simple phone call to find out the facts. They will need to do this at some point if they are unsure.

SDLT_Geek

Your partner does not have a beneficial interest whilst the estate is in the course of administration. The beneficial interest passes when the property is assented, or an appropriation is made or when the administration of the estate is complete.

davidmcn

isef20 wrote: »

Our solicitor is unsure!

Lulu0110 wrote: »

Apologies in case I sound trite, but would you pay and put your trust in a professional who is unable to answer a legitimate question?

I suspect that was more a "I'm not sure, I'll have a think about and get back to you", rather than a "I have no idea and don't know how to find out in order to answer your question".

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Your fine. As SDLT Geek says both the legal and beneficial interests are with the estate at the moment and you can go ahead as FTB's.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The fact that the legal and/or beneficial interest might be transferred to you at some point in the future does not alter that.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Normally if a house is to be sold then the estate sells the house and it does not transfer to the beneficiaries at all.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]However in your case where you envisage a period of time between date of death and sale, if the property is to be sold at more that probate value then a CGT bill might arise. This can often be reduced by 1st transferring the beneficial interest to the beneficiaries before exchanging contracts. That way each beneficiary gets the annual CGT allowance on their share and may only pay tax at 18% rather than just the one allowance for the estate and tax at 28%[/FONT]