Long Distance Probate

Out_of_ideas

My father recently passed away without leaving a will. His estate includes a house and will be subject to IHT. The rest of the estate is straightforward bank accounts and bonds. I am his only child and am the sole beneficiary by the rules of intestacy as I understand it. A major complication is I am not a UK resident and with Covid and other considerations I can't feasibly travel to the UK right now. There are also no remaining family members in the UK to assist. I know little to nothing of UK laws and procedures i doubt there is anyway to do this by myself even if I could get to the UK.

I have done a bit of research and it's overwhelming. I don't even know what questions to really ask at this point but off the top of my head:

1) Does the nil rate band apply even in intestacy cases and a non-resident child?

2) Can HMRC tax be paid from the estate if funds are available before Letters of Administration are granted? If not, how is it expected to be paid?

3) What are the complications given that I am not a resident of the UK?

4) Are there any probate agencies or specialist solicitors that handle all of the estate administration for overseas families, i.e. informing utility companies, ISP's, etc. and settling bills, doing not just the paper work but also the leg work for preparing probate like arranging house valuation by a surveyor unattended.

5) What other questions should I be asking?

Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

Keep_pedalling

1- Yes, the NRB still applies as does the residential NRB. If your father was a widower then the transferable NRBs will also apply, so up to £1M could be tax free.

2 - if IHT is due but the estate is mainly tied up in property them it can be paid in instalments (10 years max)

3, 4 & 5 You are going to need a local solicitor to act for you. I would ring round a few to see what charges they would apply to act as your attorney in this matter. You really need someone local to organise the funeral, and looking after the property while probate is going on.

Flugelhorn

agree with @Keep_pedalling post above answering points 1-5 , just to add when policyholder dies , the house insurance needs promptly renewing  / reviewing as I think some become invalid. The empty house insurance requires someone to check the property on a weekly basis (or similar) - you might ask a neighbour or there is the option of paying estate agent on the basis that the house will go on sale with them at some point 

xylophone

There are also no remaining family members in the UK to assist. 

Who is dealing with your father's funeral?

Keep_pedalling

p00hsticks said:

Keep_pedalling said:

You might like to delete your post before it is reported for breaking forum rules. 

The post's now been deleted but I suggest you edit out the part of your post quoting the website address originally posted 

I did not quote the website, it was replaced with a series of xxxx. Deleted anyway as no longer relevant.

p00hsticks

Keep_pedalling said:

p00hsticks said:

Keep_pedalling said:

You might like to delete your post before it is reported for breaking forum rules. 

The post's now been deleted but I suggest you edit out the part of your post quoting the website address originally posted 

I did not quote the website, it was replaced with a series of xxxx. Deleted anyway as no longer relevant.

You replaced the name with a series of xxxxs but the website address was still shown on the line below - I had to remove it when I quoted your post in mine (which I've now also deleted)