Inventory of Chattels / Assets - how detailed?

jezebel

First time executor - grandfather's estate.

Writing a list of assets for the estate - no inheritance tax due as within limit + main resident allowance.

Want to do inventory of assets for probate but no sure how detailed it should be - have read should list anything of monetary value at market rate but if we are donating to charity (e.g. old clothes, cds, books etc) does this mean zero value?

Also, do we need to list individual items or can it just be group e.g. 8 china dolls, or do we need to list eqch item separately?

Trying to plan as a few  family members so want to ensure we have detailed Accounts if they were to contest.

Grumpelstiltskin

Unless there are a couple of Picassos or some original Chippendale furniture you don't need details.

No harm in making lists if you think there may be problems but you don't need to include them on probate.

maisie_cat

I used a valuation from the contents insurance on the basis that anything very valuable would be identified. 

Keep_pedalling

Most people’s chattels don’t have much of a value and can be covered by a nominal value. Things to list separately would be items like cars, and high end collectible items such as Rolex watches. 

For and estate well under IHT exemptions I would put a single figure such as £500 or £1000, HMRC are not going to come round and do an inventory.

Sarahspangles

I don't know if there is a 'good practice' approach to this, but for FIL & MIL's very ordinary household goods we just used a round figure in calculating the value of the estate.  Then rather than listing absolutely everything the Executors formally asked the beneficiaries if there was anything they hoped to have in FIL's/MIL's memory, and stated that the remainder would be donated.  In theory some items do have a modest monetary value but the time involved in realising this doesn't justify the effort.  Nobody volunteered to take this on....

We ended up with a practical list of items requested, and items that British Heart Foundation could collect, but this no more detailed than 'suite' or 'box of framed pictures'.  The only items listed separately are watches, jewellery and a couple of signed prints which are the only items that we could foresee causing squabbles, and for sentimental reasons rather than monetary value.  

We're not intending to net off the value of any items that were requested from the cash that will be distributed, but that might be appropriate if there was anything of significant value.  As it is, one grandchild who has recently set up home has received the most, but these are items that otherwise would have gone to BHF.

jezebel

Thanks all, this gives a good level of guidance and some useful advice too

theoretica

jezebel said:

First time executor - grandfather's estate.

Writing a list of assets for the estate - no inheritance tax due as within limit + main resident allowance.

Want to do inventory of assets for probate but no sure how detailed it should be - have read should list anything of monetary value at market rate but if we are donating to charity (e.g. old clothes, cds, books etc) does this mean zero value?

Also, do we need to list individual items or can it just be group e.g. 8 china dolls, or do we need to list eqch item separately?

Trying to plan as a few  family members so want to ensure we have detailed Accounts if they were to contest.

For family contesting - what is happening to the goods?  Usually this is only an issue if someone is personally taking something which may (or may not) have a value rather than having it actually sold.  Grandad's medals, maybe.  Though you may have relative who thinks the donations to charity were too generous and they should have 1/12 the sale price of the books...

Mojisola

jezebel said:

First time executor - grandfather's estate.

Writing a list of assets for the estate - no inheritance tax due as within limit + main resident allowance.

Want to do inventory of assets for probate but no sure how detailed it should be - have read should list anything of monetary value at market rate but if we are donating to charity (e.g. old clothes, cds, books etc) does this mean zero value?

Also, do we need to list individual items or can it just be group e.g. 8 china dolls, or do we need to list eqch item separately?

I used a solicitor for Dad's estate and he put down a nominal £500 for the entire contents of a 4-bed house and all Dad's personal belongings.  He said that was probably an over-estimation for most homes because second-hand values are so low.

Nothing was itemised although, if the house insurance had had specific items mentioned on it, he would have listed those - but still at the second-hand value, not the replacement price. 

As Mum and Dad would have wanted, we shared out what the family wanted and everything else went to charities or was offered free on FB/Freegle/etc.

waveyjane

Echo what others have said about the probate/tax side (and BTW my grandparents had beautiful antique funiture handed down to them which we literally could not give away because nobody lives in houses that are big enough, or goes for that "2001: A Space Odyssey end scene" look). But it seems potentially more problematic on the family relationships side.

I assume your grandfather didn't express any wishes about who should get what objects, so if it's a case of "Here's the list I've made, pick what you want" then that's where problems could obviously start if people wanted the same things. 

Perhaps each family works it out differently? 

BTW this is also why I've said to my mum that she probably doesn't want to draw up a list of what chattels my sister and I get just in case we get into unseemly squabbles during her lifetime.

p00hsticks

waveyjane said:

I assume your grandfather didn't express any wishes about who should get what objects, so if it's a case of "Here's the list I've made, pick what you want" then that's where problems could obviously start if people wanted the same things. 

Perhaps each family works it out differently? 

Ways to divide up belongings as fairly as possibly come up from time to time on this board. 

If the items have purely sentimental rather than monetary value, then I think the best option suggested - assuming the family are all on generally good terms - was to get all interested parties / residual beneficiaries together in the house and take it in turns to each select an item. This could even be combined with everyone helping to carry out at least part of the house clearance. 

If that's not possible, then get each party to draw up a list of say five items that they'd like, in order of preference,  and the executor then allocates them one each in turn - if necessary drawing lots if both only want the one same thing. 

If the items are worth something, then you can follow the same process but the value is simply taken as part of the individuals legacy. 

msb1234

When my mum died last year, me and my siblings all went to the house together and selected what we wanted. We didnt consider the financial value, just the emotional value.
I put £1000 on the probate form, which included her old banger car.