Probate Needed?

drlabman

My mother has recently passed away and my elderly dad has asked me to look into the issue of probate. I think their situation is/was very simple - married forever, no previous marriages, etc. They have wills (whether they were technically mirror wills, I'm not sure) but I'm told they were both set to pass on assets to the survivor. I see from the Guide To Probate on this site that in a simple case, probate may not even be necessary. I shall have to confirm some things but I assume their property was jointly owned (as in joint tenants), there may have been bank accounts in individual names (for tax purposes) as well as joint accounts, and I believe there are shares in my mother's name. Does this sound like the simple case referred to in the article? If so, what needs to happen with regards house ownership, shares ownership, individual bank accounts, etc? Does the value of the estate have any bearing? Thanks.

Yorkshireman99

drlabman wrote: »

My mother has recently passed away and my elderly dad has asked me to look into the issue of probate. I think their situation is/was very simple - married forever, no previous marriages, etc. They have wills (whether they were technically mirror wills, I'm not sure) but I'm told they were both set to pass on assets to the survivor. I see from the Guide To Probate on this site that in a simple case, probate may not even be necessary. I shall have to confirm some things but I assume their property was jointly owned (as in joint tenants), there may have been bank accounts in individual names (for tax purposes) as well as joint accounts, and I believe there are shares in my mother's name. Does this sound like the simple case referred to in the article? If so, what needs to happen with regards house ownership, shares ownership, individual bank accounts, etc? Does the value of the estate have any bearing? Thanks.

It depends largely if the banks or shares registrars insist.

Keep_pedalling

Shares are usually problematic as registrars usually require probate. Unless she has very large cash holdings banks will usually release the assets without probate. If those share are held in ISAs then those are transferable, but I do not know if that make much difference as far as requiring probate is concerned.

drlabman

Thanks. I shall have to look into the shares issue then. As far as bank accounts are concerned I believe they were mostly, if not all, in joint names.

davidm_uk

Presumably, if even one "organisation" insists on probate being obtained, then the new probate fees (from April 2019) will apply?
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2018/11/government-announces-probate-fees-hike/

Yorkshireman99

Sadly yes.

drlabman

So, now that I know a bit more, I have another question. It's clear that probate is required in this case.

Given that most of their bank accounts were joint, and they were joint tenants, and my mother's will leaves everything to my father, what exactly comprises "the estate"? Is it only those assets which were solely owned by my mother? She had one savings account and some shares in her own name.

The reason I ask this is, if I decide to have a solicitor handle the probate, and he/she charges a percentage of the estate, it would make a huge difference if the estate only comprises the solely owned assets.

Yorkshireman99

drlabman wrote: »

So, now that I know a bit more, I have another question. It's clear that probate is required in this case.

Given that most of their bank accounts were joint, and they were joint tenants, and my mother's will leaves everything to my father, what exactly comprises "the estate"? Is it only those assets which were solely owned by my mother? She had one savings account and some shares in her own name.

The reason I ask this is, if I decide to have a solicitor handle the probate, and he/she charges a percentage of the estate, it would make a huge difference if the estate only comprises the solely owned assets.

Never ever agre to pay a percentage based fee only on a work done basis. It really is quite straightforward to DIY it.

drlabman

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Never ever agre to pay a percentage based fee only on a work done basis. It really is quite straightforward to DIY it.

Thanks for the advice. Do you know the answer to my question though?

Yorkshireman99

drlabman wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. Do you know the answer to my question though?

Sorry. You need to include half the value of the joint assets. But as assists pass to your father there will be no IHT.

drlabman

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Sorry. You need to include half the value of the joint assets. But as assists pass to your father there will be no IHT.

No worries. So, all the assets which are solely in my mother's name, together with half the value of all assets jointly owned ... including

property?
joint bank accounts?