Confirmation and life insurance claim in Scotland

buddy9

It seems that you have deleted a post, or that it has been lost from the system. The missing post suggested that the estate could be greater than £30k.

£36k as a threshold is only relevant where the decree/confirmation is completed by the sheriff clerk under the small estate procedure.

In the present situation, where a spouse has been appointed executor dative, then if the prior rights exhaust the estate then a bond of caution is not required. But if the estate exceeds the prior rights then a bond of caution is necessary ( and the C1 declaration would be amended accordingly).

In terms of moveable estate prior rights is:

• Furniture and plenishings £29k

• Financial provision £50k (where there is a child)

The spouse has legal rights in addition to prior rights, but this does not affect the bond of caution requirement.

I think most caution providers require solicitor oversight, other than perhaps Lawsure Insurance.

If the inclusion of the life policy money potentially takes the estate over the prior rights threshold, then it would be worth exploring to check whether the insurer is correct in requiring Confirmation, and whether the policy might be issued in trust and whether non-reporting on the inventory would bring the estate for confirmation under the prior rights limit and avoid a bond of caution. A policy effected for the benefit of the spouse can be treated in law as being written in trust. And if no trustee was appointed then the policy might vest in the deceased as trustee. In such a case, details can be appended to the confirmation as trust property, and the amount is not confirmed to in the inventory.