Probate online form - questions about assets value

nsoul23

Hi all - apologies for the basic questions. I have an easy estate to sort but want to double check I understand what's required. My dad died recently and two financial bodies have asked for probate, so we're filling in the online form.

"What are the values of the estate for Inheritance Tax?"

My dad left all of his assets to my mum (his surviving spouse). For this question, should the entire value of the estate be subtracted for the "net qualifying value" as everything is being passed on? eg. example figures:

Gross value = £250,000
Net value = £240,000

Net qualifying value = £0

"What are the values of the estate for probate?"

To work out the "gross value" for this question, should I work out just the amount of what was in the couple of accounts in his sole name? Most of his assets were jointly shared so it won't be much compared to the Inheritance Tax gross value. (NB: He made no gifts in the past 7 years and had no trusts or foreign assets)

Thanks v much!

shiraz99

Can we ask which financial bodies are asking for probate and what sort of sums involved. Most banks won't require probate for sums below £15,000, there are a few with even higher limits. Also, there a a few institutions that initially say they require a grant of probate, NS&I for example, but when pressed they will release funds if the amounts are low enough without it.

Have your used the online IHT tool - https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value

nsoul23

NS&I are asking for probate and I can understand it as the majority of money is there and over £15,000.

M&G are also asking for it, not because of the sum but because there's a note saying if you apply for probate for something else then they also want to see it. You have to tick a box saying you definitely haven't applied for it. 

Yep we've used the IHT tool - it was useful in seeing that we will be under the threshold but I didn't find it all that illuminating for the boxes mentioned in my questions. Probably me having a dim moment!

bunnygo

having done something similar I've checked my notes, and copied and pasted so excuse bad formatting.

for IHT -they want three figures. The calculator will produce these.

• the gross value, which is all assets

• the net value, which is the gross minus any debts

• the net qualifying value, which is the net minus the assets left to spouse. i.e. zero.

gross and net for probate: there is no online calculator but there is information on this link

https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/before-you-apply

and here it is:

How to work out the gross value for probate

Work out the gross value of the estate for Inheritance Tax and then subtract the value of all of the following:

- assets that were owned with someone else (‘joint assets’) and that are being passed to the surviving owner

- gifts that were made in the 7 years before they died

- assets that were owned abroad (for example, overseas property or money in foreign bank accounts)

- assets held in a trust

How to work out the net value for probate

Subtract the value of any debts the person who died owed and the cost of the funeral from the gross value for probate. Do not include debts that were owed jointly with someone else, for example a mortgage on a joint property.

values for IHT (even though you don't owe any) are probably different from the probate values and that's fine. I had a webchat with the probate people who are v. helpful if you can get through. At the time they were still getting used to the post 1/1/22 system, but they confirmed that the figure for 'joint assets' is half their value as that is what is being passed over, the surviving spouse already owns the other half.

I hope that is of some help. A spreadsheet is a useful thing...

BTW regarding NS&I - we didn't need probate but their communications are a bit sketchy, and it was a bit of a battle to get the right forms from them to transfer holdings. I kept checking the online account and one day the inherited sums had magically appeared without any notification.