Probate - how long?

GenX0212

Application sent tracked&signed, delivered 19/08; 
Confirmation of receipt received 26/08 AM; 
Confirmation of Probate Approved 26/08 PM. 

Given there was a bank holiday in the middle then that is just 4 working days !

Documents expected within 10 working days

MODS: perhaps these threads should be merged? https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6623580/swift-probate-turnaround#latest

mmunro2013

Following thread... I have a question; is it necessary to include the original will in the probate application? If so, is the original returned after probate has been processed/granted. Will GOV.UK accept certified signed copies of the will in submission? If so; where can I go to get signed certified copies? Sorry, so many questions, however I am nervous about sending the original will in the post as I might need it for future reference (Financial Inst. etc.). 

probate_slave

I'm afraid you do have to send the original will to the probate registry. After checking that everything is kosher, they retain it forever in their archives. Best to send tracked and signed but even then you may suffer a few anxious days as receipt is often not confirmed for a week or more.
It would be worth having a copy certified by a solicitor beforehand, particularly in case of loss, but the grant of probate is usually sufficient to release funds and property.

purplepardalis

Hi everyone.
I just submitted an application for an IHT ref number. Did it online. Email back to say they send it in the post. Is that correct? Feels a bit weird that you do I line and get back in post!
So I can't submit probate request until I get IHT ref, then send amounts for IHT. Then pay some? 
How much of it is truly online?

I promise to submit timescales to this threat once I get to that point!

jmr95

purplepardalis said:

Hi everyone.
I just submitted an application for an IHT ref number. Did it online. Email back to say they send it in the post. Is that correct? Feels a bit weird that you do I line and get back in post!
So I can't submit probate request until I get IHT ref, then send amounts for IHT. Then pay some? 
How much of it is truly online?

I promise to submit timescales to this threat once I get to that point!

I think you are not quite right here. I am not an expert, but I am in the process - just a bit further along than you.

Is there IHT to pay on the estate? Keep in mind, it is NOT mandatory to request an IHT reference before submitting the IHT forms. The forms are fully manual - there is NO electronic submission, it is all paper based.

WIthout details of your estate I cannot really say, but here's how it went for me:

- Estate was under IHT threshold, but I needed Residence Nil Rate Band
- Therefore I needed full IHT400 + Schedules
- I did NOT apply for an IHT reference because it is not required if there is no tax due 
- I submitted the documents and after a bit of drama and a painful wait, I got a reply about 6/7 weeks later
- The reply included the Probate code, and then I could apply for probate

NOTE! The IHT reference number IS NOT the same thing as the Probate code

You need to submit IHT forms before you can even apply for Probate. So if you are thinking 'IHT reference = code I need for probate' I think you may be slightly out of sync with the process.

If you already know that is not the case and I misunderstood your post, then my apologies!

jmr95

mmunro2013 said:

Following thread... I have a question; is it necessary to include the original will in the probate application? If so, is the original returned after probate has been processed/granted. Will GOV.UK accept certified signed copies of the will in submission? If so; where can I go to get signed certified copies? Sorry, so many questions, however I am nervous about sending the original will in the post as I might need it for future reference (Financial Inst. etc.). 

As mentioned by another poster, you must send the original with your probate application, this is non-negotiable

During my experience of this process, very few organisations insist on seeing the original will, hands on in person. I have dealt with multiple banks recently, plus utilities, employers, government departments...nobody insisted on having eyes on the physical, original will. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Grant of probate supersedes the will anyway - however some companies have their own processes that they may claim are 'due to legal requirements' but are not

For example - I was dealing with Natwest, an account under probate thresholds. I visited the branch in person - I took my ID, death certificate and a copy of the will. They would not accept the copy, they said it had to be the original.

Anyway fast forward a week or so and I get a letter confirming, and asking to see the original Will which I could...get this...email to them.

So I took a scan of the will, which in the end looked literally no different to the copy I had provided in branch, and submitted it. The funds were released immediately.

Some of these institutions rules seem highly arbitrary and based on their own risk profiling, and not necessarily legal requirement. 

purplepardalis

jmr95 said:

purplepardalis said:

Hi everyone.
I just submitted an application for an IHT ref number. Did it online. Email back to say they send it in the post. Is that correct? Feels a bit weird that you do I line and get back in post!
So I can't submit probate request until I get IHT ref, then send amounts for IHT. Then pay some? 
How much of it is truly online?

I promise to submit timescales to this threat once I get to that point!

I think you are not quite right here. I am not an expert, but I am in the process - just a bit further along than you.

Is there IHT to pay on the estate? Keep in mind, it is NOT mandatory to request an IHT reference before submitting the IHT forms. The forms are fully manual - there is NO electronic submission, it is all paper based.

WIthout details of your estate I cannot really say, but here's how it went for me:

- Estate was under IHT threshold, but I needed Residence Nil Rate Band
- Therefore I needed full IHT400 + Schedules
- I did NOT apply for an IHT reference because it is not required if there is no tax due 
- I submitted the documents and after a bit of drama and a painful wait, I got a reply about 6/7 weeks later
- The reply included the Probate code, and then I could apply for probate

NOTE! The IHT reference number IS NOT the same thing as the Probate code

You need to submit IHT forms before you can even apply for Probate. So if you are thinking 'IHT reference = code I need for probate' I think you may be slightly out of sync with the process.

If you already know that is not the case and I misunderstood your post, then my apologies!

Yes there is IHT due. I have the individual allowance and the RNRB available but estate tips over that. 

maybe my post was a bit garbled. My brain was fried! 

I know I need to do the IHT400 and start paying before I can apply for probate. I just wondered how much could be done online

jmr95

purplepardalis said:

jmr95 said:

purplepardalis said:

Hi everyone.
I just submitted an application for an IHT ref number. Did it online. Email back to say they send it in the post. Is that correct? Feels a bit weird that you do I line and get back in post!
So I can't submit probate request until I get IHT ref, then send amounts for IHT. Then pay some? 
How much of it is truly online?

I promise to submit timescales to this threat once I get to that point!

I think you are not quite right here. I am not an expert, but I am in the process - just a bit further along than you.

Is there IHT to pay on the estate? Keep in mind, it is NOT mandatory to request an IHT reference before submitting the IHT forms. The forms are fully manual - there is NO electronic submission, it is all paper based.

WIthout details of your estate I cannot really say, but here's how it went for me:

- Estate was under IHT threshold, but I needed Residence Nil Rate Band
- Therefore I needed full IHT400 + Schedules
- I did NOT apply for an IHT reference because it is not required if there is no tax due 
- I submitted the documents and after a bit of drama and a painful wait, I got a reply about 6/7 weeks later
- The reply included the Probate code, and then I could apply for probate

NOTE! The IHT reference number IS NOT the same thing as the Probate code

You need to submit IHT forms before you can even apply for Probate. So if you are thinking 'IHT reference = code I need for probate' I think you may be slightly out of sync with the process.

If you already know that is not the case and I misunderstood your post, then my apologies!

Yes there is IHT due. I have the individual allowance and the RNRB available but estate tips over that. 

maybe my post was a bit garbled. My brain was fried! 

I know I need to do the IHT400 and start paying before I can apply for probate. I just wondered how much could be done online

It's super easy to get a fried brain with this, which is why I was trying to be clear based on my own experience

However TL;DR none of the IHT process is done online - apart from downloading the forms. They have apparently committed to changing this next year, not that that is likely to be of any consolation.

The irony is, that it goes to an office that someone then scans in!

jmr95

I received an email - 'An official Death certificate has either been omitted from your application or the upload submitted in your application is unclear or has not been scanned in colour.' 

I definitely didn't omit it; and I have checked the scan I uploaded and there's nothing wrong with it. I was not asked to post this.

Anyone reading this who's about to send off for probate - you may wish to include a copy of the death certificate when you send the will. 

This sure is a testing process.

kensyrett

My sister-in-law passed away in March: her executors were her husband who passed a month later and a solicitor who no longer exists (CLS took them over).  CLS took so long to get started that we binned them off and went on the DIY route - got the sign off from CLS and filled in the form online using one of the beneficiaries (my wife) as executor.  Probate have written today (3 weeks after completing online) to say that they need a written form not an online form.  Shame there is nowhere that says that before you start and MSE don’t mention that on their DIY site.