IHT205 - Please can anyone help with a few sections I am unsure about?

Tunstallstoven

Hi all

My mum sadly passed away in March and I am helping my dad save money by applying for probate.  It's the first time I've done it.  I've read through the IHT206 Notes and have got my head round most of it, but there's a few bit I remain unclear on and I wondered if anyone could lend a hand please?  

1.  Assets passing to a spouse or civil partner...  I thought I was clear on this, but then I noticed in the notes that is says (p.6.):  “Where assets pass to the deceased's spouse or civil partner, both the deceased and their spouse or civil partner must have been domiciled (had their permanent home) in the UK throughout their lives.”  They have both been in the UK since the 1960s but were born and bred in Italy.  What are the implications of this?  

2.  My mum had a small savings account in her name only (around £2,000).  Her Will states this (and other parts of the residual estate) are to pass to my dad.  In fact, the bank have already closed the account and transferred the funds to my dad, and as such I thought this wold go into Section 9 as no probate is needed to access funds.  That's what the helpline said too.  But then p.19 of the notes says:  "Section 11 - These are the assets which are included in the value of the estate for the grant of probate...even if you do not need to produce a copy of the grant to get access to these assets.”.  So now I'm not so sure which section to put it in...?

3.  11.2.  My mum did not have any valuable or anything.  Obviously there will be normal household items like irons, clothes, etc.  What do I need to declare here? 

4.  11.11.  I really can't think of anything, especially as my dad still lives in the house.  But do I need to check EVERYTHING to be certain, or is it ok to put nil here? 

5.  Section 14 of the form.  I'm a bit confused by what needs to go in here, so any pointer would be great.

Sorry for the long thread!  And thanks in advance to anyone who reads it or is able to offer assistance.  

Ta
     

MD_1992

Sorry for your loss.
Answers as follows:

1. Did your mother live in the UK continuously since the 1960s? I.e. not working or living overseas for notable periods of time. If so I’d say it’s safe to assume that she’s UK domiciled, and the same would apply to your father. Page 5 of the HMRC guidance notes says as much.

2. Section 11 is for the one to use for your mother’s own assets such as this savings account.

3. Sounds like you should include nil value. Irons and clothes are trivial in the scheme of an estate valuation (unless the iron is an antique, or valuable collectible item say).

4. I’d say it’s safe to include nil.

5. This is the total value of your mother’s estate that passes to either your father (assuming they are married), or charity. E.g. if everything goes to your father, simply include the box G value.

Robert_McGeddon

Is there a property involved? If so, was it held jointly or as tennants in common?

You may not need to get probate.

Tunstallstoven

Robert_McGeddon said:

Is there a property involved? If so, was it held jointly or as tennants in common?

There is, yes, and it is held as Tenants in Common with my mum's share to be held in Trust.  So Probate definitely needed.  

Thanks for the idea though, would have been nice!

Tunstallstoven

MD_1992 said:

Sorry for your loss.
Answers as follows:

1. Did your mother live in the UK continuously since the 1960s? I.e. not working or living overseas for notable periods of time. If so I’d say it’s safe to assume that she’s UK domiciled, and the same would apply to your father. Page 5 of the HMRC guidance notes says as much.

2. Section 11 is for the one to use for your mother’s own assets such as this savings account.

3. Sounds like you should include nil value. Irons and clothes are trivial in the scheme of an estate valuation (unless the iron is an antique, or valuable collectible item say).

4. I’d say it’s safe to include nil.

5. This is the total value of your mother’s estate that passes to either your father (assuming they are married), or charity. E.g. if everything goes to your father, simply include the box G value.

Many thanks for your answers and condolences.  I have some follow up questions if you wouldn't mind but must dash now so it will be a little later.  

Cheers

Tunstallstoven

Oops.  Time got the better of me and so I've only got round to replying more fully now...  

1. Yes, both my parents have lived continuously in the UK since the 1960s.  And yes, I see what you mean RE the notes on p.5. - "The fact that someone...had moved to the UK permanently many years ago, gives a good indication that they might be domiciled in the UK".  It's just a little at odds with the part I've quoted where it says "throughout their lives".  

2. Great, thanks for confirming. That makes sense.  

3. That's good and will make life easier.  

4. As per 3  

5. OK, thanks.  And box J will be NIL presumably because he estate is under the IHT threshold?  P.24 of the notes says:  "If the value in box H (page 5) is less than or equal to the excepted estate limit...write ‘0’ in box J and copy the value in box G (page 5) to box K.  You do not need to read the rest of this section – go to ‘Net qualifying value for excepted estates’ in the next column.".  On account of the part I have highlighted, I wondered if due to the fact the estate is below the threshold I should ignore box 14.  But is that not the case?  Does it need completing regardless?  

Any pointers very much appreciated.  

Cheers

Tunstallstoven

If anyone knows of any other forums where I can ask these questions, that too would be helpful...  

I will try the helpline tomorrow but last time I called them they were not overly helpful.  The webchat I had was even worse!  I was given the wrong information when I used that!  So I'm hoping some of the knowledgeable and helpful folk here or on other appropriate forums may be able to guide me through the bits I'm unsure about.  

Many thanks

Tunstallstoven

Seagull27 said:

If anyone knows of any other forums where I can ask these questions, that too would be helpful...  

For anyone coming across this in the future, I got some good advice on the forum here:  

https://www.taxationweb.co.uk/

Many thanks