DIY Probate or Specialist company

cambb

poppystar said:

You might want to check whose name the house is in. If it was in your father’s sole name you might have to revisit the paperwork for his death before you sell the property.  Otherwise just collate all the figures for your mother and apply for Probate. You will need the original of the Will but other than that there is unlikely to be anything else to send to HMRC. 

Just checked and its in both names.

OldMusicGuy

cambb said:

Thanks for the responces.

So i dont need to complete any paperwork before applying online for probate?

Is there a list of documents I need to have when I apply ie death and birth certs?

Thanks

Yes, it's all on the government website which explains what you have to do. You need the death certificate and original will.

cambb

hi,

A couple of questions:-

We only have one copy of the Will and the firm that drew it up have closed. I take it I should be a few copies certified before i post it to the probate service?

Also my late mothers Flex drawdown pension approx £33K should that be included in the estate valuations? She was 79 when she passed.

The house has now been valued by 2 estate agents and they recon about £450k to market it at.

Her whole estate I now value at £540k with the pension.

Thanks

Keep_pedalling

When you say one copy of the will, is that the original will? Assuming it is I would make a copy in case it is lost in the post. 

The pension almost certainly falls outside the estate. 

OldMusicGuy

DC pensions are not part of an estate, so discount that. It goes to the beneficiary that your mother nominated to the pension provider. As your mother was over 75 the recipient of the pension will need to pay income tax on any withdrawals (but that's nothing to do with probate).

CalvinHobs

OldMusicGuy said:

Just one point to be aware of, you do NOT have to open a new account to transfer your mother's money into. It's good practice to do so, but there is no requirement to do this. We are currently processing my FiLs estate and the executors have agreed this is not necessary. 

You are correct that it is not necessary to open a new account to transfer the deceased's money into - but it can be a good move, depending on the circumstances. My other half passed away recently and she had multiple accounts at five different banks and building societies - fourteen accounts in all. The total at one building society is over their £50K probate limit so those funds cannot be moved until probate is granted. The other accounts are below the relevant probate limits so I am in the process of consolidating them into two new accounts. This will make Administration more straightforward and I am making sure not to exceed the £85K FSCS protection limit.

OldMusicGuy

CalvinHobs said:

You are correct that it is not necessary to open a new account to transfer the deceased's money into - but it can be a good move, depending on the circumstances. My other half passed away recently and she had multiple accounts at five different banks and building societies - fourteen accounts in all. The total at one building society is over their £50K probate limit so those funds cannot be moved until probate is granted. The other accounts are below the relevant probate limits so I am in the process of consolidating them into two new accounts. This will make Administration more straightforward and I am making sure not to exceed the £85K FSCS protection limit.

Indeed. However, don't forget you have FSCS protection for up to six months up to £1 million. In our case the funds are spread across various accounts with two institutions, so nothing is released until we get probate. Once the funds are released we hopefully won't hold on to them for more than 6 months before distributing them to the beneficiaries. So setting up an executors' account would be an additional unnecessary step in our case.