Bank account discovered after estate accounts finalized

jaytee28

Hi,  I was the executor of the estate of a friend who passed away in 2020, and named on the Grant of Probate.  Due to the complexity of his affairs (including over 30 bank accounts) I employed Co-op to deal with probate and administer the estate.  It was a long process that took over two years before everything was resolved and final estate accounts were issued.  Inheritance Tax was payable.   It was also not a smooth process as we (beneficiaries) ended up making a formal complaint to Co-op over several cumulative issues and received a compensation payment from them as a goodwill gesture.

Anyway at this point (in 2022) we assumed that everything had been settled, however last week I received a letter from a solicitor advising me of another bank account in the deceased name with over £10,000 in it.    I am aware that IHT will be payable out of this account.  In the circumstances I don't really want to have to deal with Co-op again unless I absolutely have to.    I guess my questions at this stage are:

Will I need to apply for probate again as the estate value has changed?

Re IHT,  is it simply a case of declaring the extra amount to HMRC and paying the tax over?

Also, is there any way that I can ensure that no other accounts will come to light?   I've seen a service called "My Lost Account" but it only seems to apply to accounts that have been dormant for fifteen years.

If you're still reading then thank you for your patience and apologies for the length of the post.

Any advice most welcome.

SiliconChip

Do these links help you?

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm10806 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-corrective-account-c4 

I don't think there's any way to be certain that another account won't come to light but hopefully if that does happen it would be a case of repeating the corrective action again.

Keep_pedalling

You don’t need to apply for probate again and, assuming probate is in your name, you can deal with this yourself without involving the co-op again. 

This happensedto my wife, a Lloyds account with £7k in it turned up 7 years after her uncle’s death. I’m that case the solicitor dealt with it as they were the named executor.

Marcon

jaytee28 said:

Also, is there any way that I can ensure that no other accounts will come to light?   I've seen a service called "My Lost Account" but it only seems to apply to accounts that have been dormant for fifteen years.

Try Gretel.co.uk 

https://www.radiotimesmoney.com/news/paul-lewis/millions-are-owed-unclaimed-money-in-the-uk/

waveyjane

Managing a deceased estate with THIRTY bank accounts!? And yet another turning up two years later?

You, @jaytee28 are a total hero.

Keep_pedalling

Once apon a time people only had one current account and a few savings accounts. I am well aware what a nightmare dying with money scattered in multiple accounts can be for your executors, and have been proactive in simplifying our financial affairs. Our main savings are held in single S&Ss ISAs, one main joint current account plus one back-up current account each. Cash split between premium bonds (emergency fund) and savings account to cover a couple of years of cash to avoid taking from our ISA if the market takes a dive.

The only outstanding account I want to get rid of is a Assetz Capital P2P account with £300 of bad debt in it, but even though I am never going to get this back they won’t let me close it.

Newly_retired

Many MSEers who pursue top rates may have many accounts. I keep mine very well documented to help my executors.

Keep_pedalling

Newly_retired said:

Many MSEers who pursue top rates may have many accounts. I keep mine very well documented to help my executors.

Unfortunately many people (probably the majority) are rubbish at documenting their assets

Frogletina

Newly_retired said:

Many MSEers who pursue top rates may have many accounts. I keep mine very well documented to help my executors.

Thanks for the reminder. I do document the building societies and banks that I have accounts with but I need to update the list - at last count I had 65 accounts! 

I also have records of my capital gifts over the last 7+ years and my excess income gifts. These will also be useful to my executors. 

waveyjane

Newly_retired said:

Many MSEers who pursue top rates may have many accounts. I keep mine very well documented to help my executors.

If (as is likely) most or all of those accounts require sealed probate and death certificates (I think getting more common now for smaller accounts due to fraud), trips to the post office, calls to the bereavement team, chasing, followups, mistakes (and running out of certificate copies!), not to mention the possibility of APS subscriptions for the surviving partner, then ... I still don't envy your executors :-)

Newly_retired

I would plan to consolidate and simplify my financial arrangements in due course, but not yet. My executors ( adult children) can work for their inheritance if I die prematurely!