Sizeable discrepancy between figures on Probate and Distribution Statement

Persifleur02

I recently discovered that my mother left her entire estate to myself and my two siblings in 1997. My brother obtained a grant of probate in 1998; it reported a gross value not exceeding £180,000 and a net value not exceeding £70,000. However, in 1999, the solicitor reported a gross estate value of £17,993 and net of £17,001. How can this discrepancy be explained?

DE_612183

Could be there were unknown debts when probate was applied for, or perhaps it was assumed the property was mortgage free when if fact it wasn't.

Normally beneficiaries should have access to an "estate statement" that shows all the ins and outs.

Hoenir

The solicitor should have provided you with a copy of the Estate accounts. 

Persifleur02

Many thanks for the replies. I should explain that my father was still alive when this happened and concealed the contents of my mother’s will from possibly everyone except my brother. I only became aware of it a few months ago. However, I am now in possession of the Estate statement (accounts) from the solicitor and there is no explanation within it for the difference between the figures.

All property was jointly owned with my father and is stated to have passed to him by survivorship.

There was talk of an insurance policy of around £150k, which could explain the difference, but this, surely, would have been cited in the statement to account for the discrepancy?

mattojgb

DE_612183 said:

Could be there were unknown debts when probate was applied for, or perhaps it was assumed the property was mortgage free when if fact it wasn't.

Normally beneficiaries should have access to an "estate statement" that shows all the ins and outs.

The gross value should be the value before debts are taken into account. If the main asset was a house it should be reasonably straightforward to work out the gross value. Net value could still be correct.

GDB2222

Would the probate figure perhaps have included half the value of the house? That then passed to dad by survivorship so wasn’t included in the estate accounts? 

Was the house worth very roughly £300k in 1999? 

I am not sure whether the house should have been included in the probate Application?

Persifleur02

GDB2222 said:

Would the probate figure perhaps have included half the value of the house? That then passed to dad by survivorship so wasn’t included in the estate accounts? 

Was the house worth very roughly £300k in 1999? 

I am not sure whether the house should have been included in the probate Application?

Thanks for your reply and thoughts. There were two properties, one of which could have been of around that value at that time. The other was probably worth around £100k. As I said, the statement mentioned the properties but gives no other details of the difference between either the gross and net on the probate record (£110,000) or that between the net figure on the probate record and the final net on the statement. It’s very confusing, as none of these figures fit neatly with any element of which I’m aware. I think I will need to employ someone to get to the bottom of it.

mattojgb

If the properties were jointly owned as joint tenants then they would have automatically become solely owned by your father. Same for joint bank accounts. The insurance policy would also probably have been paid directly to your father and not formed part of the estate. Is it possible the original probate values mistakenly included some of these figures?