IHT205 - valuing household/personal possessions - level of detail?

getmore4less

Share of joint assets including contents should be declared

But as long as it all gets spouse exemption the accuracy is less important

HMRC like high value items identified as it offers them some ability to trace.

Anything not covered by spouse(or other) exemption needs to be included as it will reduce any transferable nil rate band.

eddyinfreehold

Flora

...we didn't put the 8 pages down, we totted up the total value of chattels (mostly furniture, rugs, bedding and kitchen stuff) from his detailed valuation and put the single figure in. We obviously retained the professional valuation as evidence in case HMRC went further. I feel for your father...it must be very hard. Unless there is some valuable jewellery or similar, like other people suggest, I'd put a nominal sum in. Probate value is not full high street retail value.

Flugelhorn

You can give bequests to people without probate but your problem could be with the PBs.. I think they do need probate 

Brie

Sorry for your loss - it's always a distressing time.

A quick way to get an idea of the value of items is to think your way around the house and ignore anything you might give to a charity shop (linen, towels, most the things in the kitchen, books, clothes) and then think about the things you might sell.  The vast majority of our household might be sold via a local site like NextDoor or Facebook and usually only for a small amount.  

That of course is only relevant if you were emptying the house - which of course you aren't.  Anything that your father might still need - like the furniture, frig, washer etc - wouldn't be sold off so is essentially a zero value.

Some people are lucky enough to have antiques, works of art, precious jewellery.  Those are the only things you really have to be concerned about.  If these were your mom's then they may need to be valued but again I'd say that it's only the jewellery that may be an issue - and you could get a reasonable idea by looking on ebay or similar.  

This is very different to totting up the value of things for contents insurance where you need to think how much it would cost to replace items if the house was stripped by burglars or if there was a fire.  In that situation you need to think how much it would cost to replace towels and teaspoons.

BooJewels

I would echo what others have said about checking if Probate is even needed and if it is, as others have said, a nominal value for her personal things will suffice.  The only one that might is NS&I for the PBs, as already mentioned.

To give you some perspective, I am currently executing 2 estates - I needed Probate for my father's because we're selling the house.  We did a quick tot up early on and put £4k on the IHT form, for his entire contents.  Which I soon realised was a bit optimistic - but still well under any thresholds, so a moot point. Others here suggested £500 would cover it.  To date, the fund from sold items now totals £853 - that's from a 4 bedroom detached house, packed to the rafters with stuff - even some nice antique items - but many are either unfashionable or in poor condition.  We'll then need to spend at least half of that to either have the rest cleared and in the hire of another skip - already filled 2.

Conversely, my husband died this summer and I've done very little - as everything came to me - no Probate etc as we didn't have enough money to trouble the banks and it was in joint accounts anyway and I've no intention of selling the house - so it just isn't needed.

Keep_pedalling

Sorry, I had a senior moment back with my last comment.

Misswol

FloraandFauna said:

Thank you, all - really appreciate it.

Moji that's interesting - it's also a 4 bed house, so reassuring a solicitor thought so low a sum was reasonable for all the associated furniture. As theoretica has also suggested the same sum, I'm relieved it doesn't all have to be accounted for (someone was telling me they'd totted up the value of crockery, pots etc!).

Flugelhorn and RAS making the same point!  Thanks - we'll try calling round if it could save probate. I think the most in a single account is about £50k in PBs. I had thought probate was needed if anything was left to anyone other than the surviving spouse though - have I got that wrong?

Thanks for the suggestion of outside help eddy but there's no way he'll have a stranger in the house counting the value of her life (as he feels it). A bit concerned you put 8 pages of detail in with the form though (I appreciate "as required" may be a small proportion of that).

keep_pedalling I thought her 'share' of joint assets needed to be declared, even if they are discounted from the final sum relevant for IHT purposes? Hence putting down the joint property and bank accounts? 

We're in the same boat - my dad had 50k of PBs and NS&I are insisting on probate even though none of the banks seems bothered.   We haven't started the probate or IHT forms yet.  I'm not looking forward to it.

Keep_pedalling

Misswol said:

FloraandFauna said:

Thank you, all - really appreciate it.

Moji that's interesting - it's also a 4 bed house, so reassuring a solicitor thought so low a sum was reasonable for all the associated furniture. As theoretica has also suggested the same sum, I'm relieved it doesn't all have to be accounted for (someone was telling me they'd totted up the value of crockery, pots etc!).

Flugelhorn and RAS making the same point!  Thanks - we'll try calling round if it could save probate. I think the most in a single account is about £50k in PBs. I had thought probate was needed if anything was left to anyone other than the surviving spouse though - have I got that wrong?

Thanks for the suggestion of outside help eddy but there's no way he'll have a stranger in the house counting the value of her life (as he feels it). A bit concerned you put 8 pages of detail in with the form though (I appreciate "as required" may be a small proportion of that).

keep_pedalling I thought her 'share' of joint assets needed to be declared, even if they are discounted from the final sum relevant for IHT purposes? Hence putting down the joint property and bank accounts? 

We're in the same boat - my dad had 50k of PBs and NS&I are insisting on probate even though none of the banks seems bothered.   We haven't started the probate or IHT forms yet.  I'm not looking forward to it.

If he had held £50k in a bank you would also be required to obtain probate. The limit for Barclays for instance is £30k. You should find the process not to difficult, and there is always plenty of help here if you get stuck.

noh

There is a guide published by CoOP legal services that indicates bank limits for probate.
The amount varies between different organisations.
https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/media-centre/articles-may-aug-2018/bank-limits-for-probate/