Grant of Confirmation in Scotland

Cran_21

I am in the process of completing the form, being executor of late cousin, however his mother predeceased him and he had not completed dealing with her estate and there is an estate value to deal with.  Can you advise how this should be entered in the inventory? 
Also I now have to deal with the Grant of Confirmation for his late mother, the executor named in her will which was a bank has provided a letter of disinclination therefore that had passed to my cousin as sole beneficiary but as he has now passed the executor responsibilities will now be mine.  Can anyone off advice regarding the above - and finally which Grant of Confirmation do I do first, his or hers, and they are in two different sheriffdoms to make things more complicated

buddy9

Are there any substitute executors stated in his mother’s will?

Was cousin the sole beneficiary in his mother’s will?

How far did cousin get with confirmation for his mother's estate?

Cran_21

There are no other executors detailed on the mothers will - and the cousin only managed to get as far as getting the disinclination letter - he was working on it when he died.  He didn't think his mother had anything else to settle he only just found out that there was a settlement of a private pension and within two weeks he had passed very suddenly. My husband as his executor was the one that picked up on it.  The cousin was sole beneficiary of his mothers estate. 

buddy9

If Confirmation is required for both estates, then this is a double Confirmation.

I assume that these are not small estates (less then £36k)

I assume that cousin had no children.

Firstly, the executor to the late cousin’s estate applies for Confirmation to the cousin’s estate in the normal way. In the inventory is also included the cousin’s interest in his mother’s estate. That part of the  inventory entry will depend on the composition of mother’s estate - here is an example where only residue was involved:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6570383/c1-confirmation-form-death-of-parents-in-close-succession

Once this Confirmation has been issued, an application for Confirmation is made for the mother’s estate, but this will be a Confirmation Dative even though a will has been left. Therefore there is a need to apply for appointment as executor dative before submitting the C1. The terminology used in the dative application will depend on whether the executor has a beneficial interest in cousin’s estate, and the composition of mother’s estate.

One negative is that because the second application is a dative appointment, then the rules say that a bond of caution is needed for the confirmation dative application.

Cran_21

The Mothers estate will be a small estate, the sons though above the 36K is not much beyond that and therefore it is still classed as a large estate. Though no Inheritance tax due. I have included the interest in late mothers estate and value in the grant of confirmation for the cousin.  The sole beneficiary of the mothers estate was my late cousin, the sole beneficiary of the cousins estate is myself.  Mother did leave a will leaving all to son, but the executor has disinclined to deal with it (I have a letter to confirm this) thanks

buddy9

It is unusual to have a will with a single executor and no substitute along with a single beneficiary and no substitute

A nominated executor can assume another executor and then resign. If the bank has already declined, the opportunity to have you assumed as executor by the bank has probably gone.

Confirmation of a small estate can be dealt with by the court staff on request and when this is done, then a Bond of Caution is not required. If the mother’s estate is a small estate it is worth trying to have the court process the mother’s estate under the small estates procedure. You might get some pushback given the circumstances.

Cran_21

The will was written back in 1991 and his own solicitor remarked back in 2006 that it needed to be looked at again but this was never done.  Thank you for all your help it is much appreciated