Feedback on my DIY estate management and probate application

Swiss_Danny67

Since I got so much useful help from this forum, thanks, I thought I'd give some feedback on my experience of doing a DIY estate management probate application and maybe some points to consider.

Background. Mum passed away 15.11.23 leaving all by will to Dad who was also her executor. She did have investments in her own name and otherwise joint accounts and properties with Dad. I do have an LPA to support Dad with his affairs but didnt really need to use this.

1. Register death. Get a few death certificates, but not too many, most institutions return them. Advise all counterparties and for any investments or accounts in sole names find out if probate is going to be needed. TellUsOnce for government branches was great. DeathNotificationService for banks didnt seem to work at all.

2. Will. Collect the will from the solicitor if deposited that way, they will only release to the executor. Get a couple of certified copies while you are at it as some parties may want to see an original copy and you dont want to lose the original.

3. Draw up a list of all assets and liabilities and their value at date of death. The managing agent for one rented property did a desk valuation of that flat and their home as well. In a situation where the estate will be exempt from tax, a single estimate is fine. I was confused for a bit if I had to do a return to HMRC but for exempted estates it is not needed. Nevertheless, use the HMRC calculator to confirm no tax is due and get the right figures for the probate forms.

4. Joint accounts will automatically be left to the survivor once the deceased name is removed. Barclays were very efficient transfering a sole account balance. HSBC are still mucking around asking for the same form several times and generally not very fast.

5. Joint properties land registry. Get the title deeds from the Land Registry website. Find out what form of joint ownership it is, as tenants in common needs an extra step. Send for DJP death of joint owner form to the Land Registry for jointly owned. Additionally submit form RX3 and ST5 to turn it back into simple joint ownership first. The Land Registry took just over a month to process this.

6. Leasehold management company, share of freehold. If the properties are flats there will most likely be shares in a freehold company and maybe also a collective management company. Contact the freehold managing agents and ask what the process is. They will likely want the new title deed, death cetificate, copy of will and a fee. Of course the share certificates were nowhere to be found so also an indemnity form. 

7. Probate. Larger amounts (varies by institution but typically 50k+) held privately will probably prompt need for probate. We used the government online application and posted the documents in. It was very straightforward (see above for source of values). The will was posted on 19/12 and we got notification on 6/2 probate was granted, much faster the 16 weeks we'd been advised. As soon as the copies come we will post them to the two institutions who did require probate to release monies.

8. Update Survivors Will. We still need to refresh Dad's will as Mum cannot be his executor and this experience did teach us that it is not necessary in our family situation to have a solicitor as joint executor.  That said, when Dad passes away I will not do everything DIY as there is then IHT and reliefs to consider and more than one beneficiary, including some residual amounts to charities. As a beneficiary myself I would want to ensure a third party was closely involved in supporting me handle his estate.

9. Update Financial Plan. The survivor's circumstances will have changed, and if the main breadwinner is gone pensions and annuities may have changed a lot. The need for care at home or residential might be on the horizon. If you are "lucky enough" that your estate will suffer IHT you might want to think about how that will be handled or mitigated (eg make sure property exemption will be effective).

10. LPA. This time was also an opportunity to understand that Dad does need some help with more complex matters these day, and to do a deep dive and make sure the LPA was registered, or more prosaically that I also had access where needed and start taking over some of the relationships eg the rental property. 

I am a chartered accountant, so familiar with forms and figures, but this was all new to me and I think it is well within the capability of many people. I think only by doing it myself will we have gotten everything done is about three months. Hope the above helped.

Haigwrighr

I just wanted to say thanks for this.
I'm executor to a beloved family member and found your step by step guide very helpful.
I only had a couple of bank accounts to deal with, no property.
Your guide showed me that it would be straightforward to deal with it myself. I've recently  applied for probate online and I'm not sure I'd have had the confidence if I hadn't read your post