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

getmore4less

First post you said he died 1995.

How much is the house worth?
Total estate value? 

walnutters89

getmore4less said:

First post you said he died 1995.

How much is the house worth?
Total estate value? 

getmore4less said:

First post you said he died 1995.

How much is the house worth?
Total estate value? 

Hi that was suopposed to say 1999 sorry,Mum has 30k left in the bank,a similar house sold quite recently but that had a one small single story brick extension which I suppose is their conservatory and that house was in really good decorative order with good newish carpets it was in very good condition,that went for £520 sept 2019. So mine should be a good bit less as it's not in good decorative order and the carpets are bad upstairs so any estate agent seeing it as it is wouldn't have the greatest of impression.I would think it would sell for £450 all day long.I will need a valuation for IHT purposes but it being seen as it is now and not when its been painted etc for sale so it's at a lower valuation,how do you get a valuation in writing without selling?Will an estate agent do a valuation for a fee just for IHT purposes or would it be best to speak to a surveyor?

naedanger

So there will be no inheritance tax to pay. Your mother's estate will have her nil rate band (£325k) plus her residence nil rate band (£175k) which may in itself be more that the value of the total estate. But if it isn't, it is clear your father left his entire estate to your mother, so you can transfer his nil rate band, giving a total of £825k before inheritance tax is payable.

This is quite a difficult question to ask, but has your mother written a will? If you are her only child then I believe everything will come to you if she hasn't, but it would be slightly easier administratively if she has written a will leaving you as her sole beneficiary.

Also could you say which bank holds your mother's money? Most banks say online how much money they will release without probate. If the limit is higher than the amount your mother holds then the bank should release the money to you, following her death without requiring probate. This should mean you can accesss that money quickly. (However you will still need probate assuming the house is in your mother's sole name.)

Regarding getting a valuation, you could pay for a written valuation, but it should not be necessary as your mother's estate is likely to be well below the inheritance tax limits. Get an estate agent to value it (if they don't give it in writing then write down your own note of the conversation and the agent's name immediately after the meeting), or do it yourself. If you do it yourself write down, for your own records, how you have reached the valuation - so if you base it on the value of nearby houses (adjusted to allow for any differences) write down the details and keep evidence. All that said it is unlikely HMRC will question the valuation if it is in line with the area.

walnutters89

naedanger said:

So there will be no inheritance tax to pay. Your mother's estate will have her nil rate band (£325k) plus her residence nil rate band (£175k) which may in itself be more that the value of the total estate. But if it isn't, it is clear your father left his entire estate to your mother, so you can transfer his nil rate band, giving a total of £825k before inheritance tax is payable.

This is quite a difficult question to ask, but has your mother written a will? If you are her only child then I believe everything will come to you if she hasn't, but it would be slightly easier administratively if she has written a will leaving you as her sole beneficiary.

Also could you say which bank holds your mother's money? Most banks say online how much money they will release without probate. If the limit is higher than the amount your mother holds then the bank should release the money to you, following her death without requiring probate. This should mean you can accesss that money quickly. (However you will still need probate assuming the house is in your mother's sole name.)

Regarding getting a valuation, you could pay for a written valuation, but it should not be necessary as your mother's estate is likely to be well below the inheritance tax limits. Get an estate agent to value it (if they don't give it in writing then write down your own note of the conversation and the agent's name immediately after the meeting), or do it yourself. If you do it yourself write down, for your own records, how you have reached the valuation - so if you base it on the value of nearby houses (adjusted to allow for any differences) write down the details and keep evidence. All that said it is unlikely HMRC will question the valuation if it is in line with the area.

Hi thanks,yes my mother has a will and the home is left to me,and she banks at Barclays so I hope she hasn't got too much,I think it's about £32k

naedanger

walnutters89 said:

naedanger said:

So there will be no inheritance tax to pay. Your mother's estate will have her nil rate band (£325k) plus her residence nil rate band (£175k) which may in itself be more that the value of the total estate. But if it isn't, it is clear your father left his entire estate to your mother, so you can transfer his nil rate band, giving a total of £825k before inheritance tax is payable.

This is quite a difficult question to ask, but has your mother written a will? If you are her only child then I believe everything will come to you if she hasn't, but it would be slightly easier administratively if she has written a will leaving you as her sole beneficiary.

Also could you say which bank holds your mother's money? Most banks say online how much money they will release without probate. If the limit is higher than the amount your mother holds then the bank should release the money to you, following her death without requiring probate. This should mean you can accesss that money quickly. (However you will still need probate assuming the house is in your mother's sole name.)

Regarding getting a valuation, you could pay for a written valuation, but it should not be necessary as your mother's estate is likely to be well below the inheritance tax limits. Get an estate agent to value it (if they don't give it in writing then write down your own note of the conversation and the agent's name immediately after the meeting), or do it yourself. If you do it yourself write down, for your own records, how you have reached the valuation - so if you base it on the value of nearby houses (adjusted to allow for any differences) write down the details and keep evidence. All that said it is unlikely HMRC will question the valuation if it is in line with the area.

Hi thanks,yes my mother has a will and the home is left to me,and she banks at Barclays so I hope she hasn't got too much,I think it's about £32k

Barclays probate limit is £50,000 according to this website:
https://farewill.com/articles/when-is-probate-required#:~:text=The%20probate%20threshold%20in%20England,seeing%20a%20grant%20of%20probate.

So everything should be fairly straightforward. I don't think there is anything more you need to think about now. 

walnutters89

Hi @naedanger that's good thanks for the link, I'm feeling a bit better today,I just need some sunshine.

getmore4less

Looks fairly straightforward, below nil rate bands available, no IHT.
If you plan to stay living in the property even if short term to tart it up a bit there should be be no CGT if you increase its value.
if you plan to sell even if quite a few months EA  valuation and preliminary discussions  will get a valuation probably close enough.

A little research will give you a decent idea, probably not far from where you are now.

walnutters89

getmore4less said:

Looks fairly straightforward, below nil rate bands available, no IHT.
If you plan to stay living in the property even if short term to tart it up a bit there should be be no CGT if you increase its value.
if you plan to sell even if quite a few months EA  valuation and preliminary discussions  will get a valuation probably close enough.

A little research will give you a decent idea, probably not far from where you are now.

Thanks,it's that house over the road with the same amount of bedrooms that on face value looks just like the same 3 bedroom house as mine so I'm worried about an EA or Surveyor using that as a price guide,before it was bought in 2019 the previous owners brought it up to scratch and it had fresh carpers,decor a lovely kitchen,new windows,new radiators and it had a brick built single story extension with sliding doors on one side at the rear.My place has old carpets,poor decor,double glazing where the rubber gaskets that form the seal when you close the windows have gone so draughts come in,our radiators are 60 years old too so I'm hoping we get a low valuation.

naedanger

walnutters89 said:

getmore4less said:

Looks fairly straightforward, below nil rate bands available, no IHT.
If you plan to stay living in the property even if short term to tart it up a bit there should be be no CGT if you increase its value.
if you plan to sell even if quite a few months EA  valuation and preliminary discussions  will get a valuation probably close enough.

A little research will give you a decent idea, probably not far from where you are now.

Thanks,it's that house over the road with the same amount of bedrooms that on face value looks just like the same 3 bedroom house as mine so I'm worried about an EA or Surveyor using that as a price guide,before it was bought in 2019 the previous owners brought it up to scratch and it had fresh carpers,decor a lovely kitchen,new windows,new radiators and it had a brick built single story extension with sliding doors on one side at the rear.My place has old carpets,poor decor,double glazing where the rubber gaskets that form the seal when you close the windows have gone so draughts come in,our radiators are 60 years old too so I'm hoping we get a low valuation.

If the house was wrongly valued in line with the house across the road would the total estate be worth more than £825,000? If not then (based on information you have supplied previously) even if they over valued the house it would make no difference as the estate would still be below the IHT threshold.

In any event your concern is unjustified. Every estate agent and surveyor will of course take account of the condition of a property when valuing it. 

walnutters89

Hi to be honest I don't know how much mums house is worth I just thought in my mind it would be £450k but I'm a layman add to that £30k in money in the bank that's quite tight to the £500k limit to be IHT tax free,that was why that one over the road at £520k concerned me.I've looked after my mum  for years so my savings have gone,and I've always lived here and so has my son part time,it's made me feel a little jittery.

In our situation I can only use mums £325k nil rate balance and the £175 residential nil rate balance as after I found paperwork my dad had transferred the home to my mother a few years before his death and so I haven't got dad's nil rate balance to use as well as i first thought