Help with inheritance tax matters and in general all of that paperwork after death

walnutters89

Hi folks,can anyone tell me if there is anywhere to go when you need to fill forms after a death,has anyone done this themselves or know of people that can help without it costing a fortune.I'm in a bit of a panic my mother is ill and has been for a long time and I'm her carer I live with my mother and have done for all of my life as we have always been 2 peas in a pod.Because of what's happening at the moment in the world,as well as worrying about mum i'm now worried about all of the complicated forms,I am an executor of mums will.My father that died years ago and didn't use his nil rate balance and so if that's added to my mothers I'm hoping the estate won't have to pay any IHT.My dad died in 1995 so is that 100% of his nil rate band that can be used at todays rate of £325k?

I would rather not be thinking about this now,but I need to be prepared,all that we have is the house mum has little money as she has had to pay for 8 carers coming to the home  every day for years as they do the bit's that I can no longer do as mum lost her mobility,and they have to do the personal care.

It just makes me wonder, as I hope the paperwork is easier than I anticipate as why should people feel they have to go to a solicitor etc if they are beneath the IHT threshold,there should be somebody that can help people through these matters just to make sure they have filled the forms properly?

Bossyboots

The paperwork is not difficult and can be done online.  To make things easier, try to get/keep on top of bills and bank accounts so you know what's what.  Sorting all those bits out is harder than the actual form submissions.  You will get loads of help here when the time comes and you can ask at each stage what to do.

walnutters89

Bossyboots said:

The paperwork is not difficult and can be done online.  To make things easier, try to get/keep on top of bills and bank accounts so you know what's what.  Sorting all those bits out is harder than the actual form submissions.  You will get loads of help here when the time comes and you can ask at each stage what to do.

Hi thanks,you have made me feel so much better with your positive words

xylophone

If your father left the whole of his estate to your mother then you will be able to use the transferable nil rate band as well as her nil rate band.

With regard to your family home, assuming that it passed to your mother as joint tenant or your father's share as a tenant -in-common also passed to her by will and her will leaves the property to you,  then you will be able to use your mother's main residence nil rate band and the transferable RNRB from your father.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inheritance-tax-transfer-of-threshold

naedanger

walnutters89 said:

Hi folks,can anyone tell me if there is anywhere to go when you need to fill forms after a death,has anyone done this themselves or know of people that can help without it costing a fortune.I'm in a bit of a panic my mother is ill and has been for a long time and I'm her carer I live with my mother and have done for all of my life as we have always been 2 peas in a pod.Because of what's happening at the moment in the world,as well as worrying about mum i'm now worried about all of the complicated forms,I am an executor of mums will.My father that died years ago and didn't use his nil rate balance and so if that's added to my mothers I'm hoping the estate won't have to pay any IHT.My dad died in 1995 so is that 100% of his nil rate band that can be used at todays rate of £325k?

I would rather not be thinking about this now,but I need to be prepared,all that we have is the house mum has little money as she has had to pay for 8 carers coming to the home  every day for years as they do the bit's that I can no longer do as mum lost her mobility,and they have to do the personal care.

It just makes me wonder, as I hope the paperwork is easier than I anticipate as why should people feel they have to go to a solicitor etc if they are beneath the IHT threshold,there should be somebody that can help people through these matters just to make sure they have filled the forms properly?

If your father left his total estate to your mother then you are correct. You will be able to use his nil rate band (at current rate) - it will be added to your mother's nil rate band.
Also does your mother own her own house? If so then you can claim an allowance in respect of that as well (up to the lower of the value of the house or £350,000 in your case), assuming the whole estate is worth less than £2 million. (If she recently downsided the allowance may be claimable on the amount of the previous property depending on the circumstances.)

walnutters89

xylophone said:

If your father left the whole of his estate to your mother then you will be able to use the transferable nil rate band as well as her nil rate band.

With regard to your family home, assuming that it passed to your mother as joint tenant or your father's share as a tenant -in-common also passed to her by will and her will leaves the property to you,  then you will be able to use your mother's main residence nil rate band and the transferable RNRB from your father.

Hi thanks,that's one of the things that worries me,I have no idea whose name the house was in when my dad died,it could have been a joint ownership or just my dad or maybe just my mums name,and I have no idea what happened when dad dies in terms of anything being done with the land registry after he died or if that matters I have no idea.I'm hoing in at the least I could use my mothers nil rate band and then their is another allowance and I'm not sure what it's called but it's to do with a child being left a home and I believe that's not £175k so that could be added to the £325k,although it would be obviuosly better to use both of the allowances of nil rate bands if possible as that would surpass the value of our home and mums savings by a big degree.

walnutters89

naedanger said:

walnutters89 said:

Hi folks,can anyone tell me if there is anywhere to go when you need to fill forms after a death,has anyone done this themselves or know of people that can help without it costing a fortune.I'm in a bit of a panic my mother is ill and has been for a long time and I'm her carer I live with my mother and have done for all of my life as we have always been 2 peas in a pod.Because of what's happening at the moment in the world,as well as worrying about mum i'm now worried about all of the complicated forms,I am an executor of mums will.My father that died years ago and didn't use his nil rate balance and so if that's added to my mothers I'm hoping the estate won't have to pay any IHT.My dad died in 1995 so is that 100% of his nil rate band that can be used at todays rate of £325k?

I would rather not be thinking about this now,but I need to be prepared,all that we have is the house mum has little money as she has had to pay for 8 carers coming to the home  every day for years as they do the bit's that I can no longer do as mum lost her mobility,and they have to do the personal care.

It just makes me wonder, as I hope the paperwork is easier than I anticipate as why should people feel they have to go to a solicitor etc if they are beneath the IHT threshold,there should be somebody that can help people through these matters just to make sure they have filled the forms properly?

If your father left his total estate to your mother then you are correct. You will be able to use his nil rate band (at current rate) - it will be added to your mother's nil rate band.
Also does your mother own her own house? If so then you can claim an allowance in respect of that as well (up to the lower of the value of the house or £350,000 in your case), assuming the whole estate is worth less than £2 million. (If she recently downsided the allowance may be claimable on the amount of the previous property depending on the circumstances.)

I have my dads will here and  although I don't know what names where on the house deeds,his will says "I give all of my real and personal property whatsoever and wheresoever(including any property of which I have general power of appointment or disposition by will) etc etc   to be left to my wife

walnutters89

I'm going to send for a copy of the property title deeds tomorrow,they will e mail me a history of names that have been listed as owners of the home

Savvy_Sue

You can find out whose name the house is registered in by going to the land registry site.
https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/ (It doesn't always 'work' in the middle of the night.) There's a £3 fee to download the deeds. If it's still your Dad, and mum's not well enough to deal with changing it into her name, don't panic, you can deal with that later. 

You say your mother is ill, and has been for a long time. Have you checked that she is receiving all the benefits to which she is entitled? How old is she, and how old are you? Do you work outside the home? You don't have to answer those questions, but it may help if you do. Also has your mother granted Power of Attorney to you, enabling you to deal with her affairs? Is she capable of arranging one now? come to that, do YOU have Power of Attorney in place, in case anything happens to you and she's left alone? 

Also you say that basically there's little money, but a house. Is the house suitable for your mother's needs, or would it be better to downsize to somewhere more suitable? 

walnutters89

It is in my mums name as I have just been sent the details it says (31.07.1995) The Transfer to the proprietor MUMS NAME and that was the year of dads death

Further down it says  
Charges Register     This register contains any charges and other matters that affect the land.1A Conveyance of the land in this title dated 25 June 1973 made between previous owner and then mentions my DADS NAME

I hope that will be ok,I was hoping it would have in given more detail about the dynamics of the ownership before the transfer to mum,does it matter if it was only in my dad's name before that?I don't know if that's the case though but my mum's name was only mentioned on the email in 1995

walnutters89

Could be a problem,I think the house was in my dads name but he transfered it to my mum a few years before his death the transfer being in 1995 he died in 1999,I suppose he was just thinking of mum and he wouldn't have thought about the future of the property and problems that would occur to me today.So it wasnt left to mum in a will