Reclaiming overpaid IHT?

turquoisespiff

Hi
My mother-in-law's cousin died recently and she's throwing herself enthusiastically into dealing with the estate. It's split between 3 cousins and complicated by trying to clear the house (cousin was a hoarder with mental health problems and had amassed a lot of stuff, but some of it is very bad condition). 
They've completed the valuation process, applied for probate and paid IHT based on the value of the estate, but MIL is finding that some of the things that had value assigned to them (such as piano, cabinets that fall apart when moved) aren't actually saleable. She says that means they've paid tax on income they're not going to get but they can't get it back. Is this true? 
We were fortunate when dealing with Dad's estate that he fell well below the IHT threshold so I've no experience of this, but surely the government doesn't just keep the money if it turns out things were overvalued? 
Does anyone know the situation with this - is MIL right?

Thanks.

JGB1955

The executors need to claim via Form C4.  Inheritance Tax: corrective account (C4) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
It's a real shame that they didn't get proper valuations before applying for probate.... or even wait for items to be sold before applying.

turquoisespiff

JGB1955 said:

The executors need to claim via Form C4.  Inheritance Tax: corrective account (C4) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
It's a real shame that they didn't get proper valuations before applying for probate.... or even wait for items to be sold before applying.

Thank you for that info. I will pas it on. And I agree and don't understand the lack of proper valuations. I don't understand why they're moving it forward so fast - and there is a solicitor involved who is surely meant to be advising them properly? It's all very complicated. Still, hopefully she'll be reassured to hear there's a form to correct errors. Thanks again.

JGB1955

I suspect that most house contents are valued at less than £1000... unless there's a Picasso hiding in the downstairs loo.  We had to PAY £700+ to clear my parents house.  Full of memories and memorabilia, but worth 'nada'.

turquoisespiff

JGB1955 said:

I suspect that most house contents are valued at less than £1000... unless there's a Picasso hiding in the downstairs loo.  We had to PAY £700+ to clear my parents house.  Full of memories and memorabilia, but worth 'nada'.

Oh I am sorry to hear that. That sounds heartbreaking. We were shocked by how little of my parents' stuff had actual value - and only now most of it has gone do I realise how much had sentimental value.