Please: Some questions regarding making a will

Shylock_249

naedanger said:

 Ultimately I think you need to find someone you totally trust to look out for your best interests should such an unfortunate circumstance arise. 

This is our problem, we don't  know anyone whom we can trust who would be capable of acting as executor or attorney!
I've almost completed my Doomsday Letter and trying to compile a list of questions to put to the solicitor.
Yesterday I phoned my sister (more stress) to try to clarify matters regarding probate and IHT. She just confuses me and goes off at tangents, she won't keep to the script.
I copied this from a website:

"If there’s tax to pay, you normally have to pay at least some of it before you’ll get probate. You can claim the tax back from the estate or the beneficiaries, if you pay it out of your own bank account.

You cannot apply for probate until you have a notice from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) saying that you’ve either paid inheritance tax or have no tax to pay."

My question was: How could you pay the IHT from the deceased's estate if the "bank" won't hand over the money because you haven't got probate?

I just can't get my head around it.

Any advice please?  Thank you

elsien

Whoever acts as executor/administrator opens up an executor account and has the money transferred to there?  Plus there are some bills that the bank will pay, funeral expenses being one. Not sure if tax etc. would fall into that. 

JGB1955

Banks often DO pay out, just on sight of a death certificate and signing of an indemnity.  Barclays will transfer up to £50,000 with no problem at all - no need for probate.

Shylock_249

JGB1955 said:

Banks often DO pay out, just on sight of a death certificate and signing of an indemnity.  Barclays will transfer up to £50,000 with no problem at all - no need for probate.

Thanks. I think I read yesterday that NS&I won't cough-up without probate.  We have 36 different accounts within 11 different banks/building societies, some joint, the remainder individual.

Shylock_249

sammyjammy said:

Don't worry, you're not likely to see them this year either 

That made me laugh .  They still think that Lenin was a founding member of The Beatles, Trotsky is another name for the runs and The Sicilian Defence is Godfather IV.