Simple Will. What to expect

Keep_pedalling

buyhighselllow said:

poppystar said:

Just to add… have a look at the Probate form online and get a sense of what is required. If you don’t have to do a full IHT return then you need little more than the total value of the estate and some personal details to complete the Probate application. 

When you say you are not liable for IHT is it that the total estate is below £325k or £650k if your mother left everything to your father when she passed (and they were married)? You will still be ok if it exceeds this but if you need to claim residential NRB in addition then it will trigger the need for a full IHT return. 

It really sounds as if this is quite a straightforward estate and if you get on well with your sister as coexecutor and cobeneficiary then do think about doing it yourselves just to speed the process up and get closure on what sounds to have been a stressful time. 

 Thank you al for the replies so far, I am leaning towards having a go myself.
Just to help

Mum died 2 years ago ,they were joint tenants
dad gifted us £5K each shortly after mum died
Dads house worth c£270 K and cash of £110 K, no other assets except from a "fire sale" of contents probably £2 K
Sister and I are sole  beneficiaries and executers

with a straight split of assets with my sibling there is no issue with IHT ?

but depending on how much is in the various bank accounts you may find that the contents of those can be paid to you without probate. And you can settle the funeral director's bill direct from Dad's accounts.

So we can access some or all of his bank account / ISAs ( which is all he held ) before probate, I was not aware of that ??

The probate process is really quite straightforward with an estate of this value and you don’t need to account for every last pound in valuing the estate. For household contents just use a nominal amount for the lot. Get 3 estate agents to value the property and use the highest estimate. If you undervalue the house you could find yourselves with a CGT liability when it is sold for more. Personally I would not market the property until you have probate.

If your sibling is happy for you to do this alone then she can reserve her powers which will allow her to step in if anything happens to you.

I would recommend you apply on line, but have a look through the PDF version to what information you are required to provide in advance.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-pa1p-apply-for-probate-the-deceased-had-a-will

Good luck and if you get stuck on anything just come back here for advice.

RAS

Just to note, on-line applications are processed about 3 times as quickly as paper applications. The general perception however is that it makes months and months.

You can put the house up for sale before probate is granted, but the fact that you are waiting for probate deters a lot of potential buyers. Given how quickly on line applications can be granted these days, I wait rather than lose people because they fear delay.

Keep_pedalling

RAS said:

Just to note, on-line applications are processed about 3 times as quickly as paper applications. The general perception however is that it makes months and months.

You can put the house up for sale before probate is granted, but the fact that you are waiting for probate deters a lot of potential buyers. Given how quickly on line applications can be granted these days, I wait rather than lose people because they fear delay.

There also the issue that a lot of buyers are put off by properties that have been on the market a long time. Others only look at newly listed properties. A house going on the market with no onward chain and not dependant on probate is likely to sell quite quickly. 

madbadrob

Just one point and that is to correct an error in a couple of replies.  The time that the solicitor is required to wait from the date an advert is placed in the Gazette is 2 months and as their is property the same notice would have to be placed loclly as welll for the same 2 months.  

Rob

Keep_pedalling

madbadrob said:

Just one point and that is to correct an error in a couple of replies.  The time that the solicitor is required to wait from the date an advert is placed in the Gazette is 2 months and as their is property the same notice would have to be placed loclly as welll for the same 2 months.  

Rob

Unless the OP suspects there may be creditors they are unaware of there is no need for them to place an advert in the first place. Solicitors will always do so to protect themselves, but in general where the executors and the beneficiaries are the same people it is a pointless exercise as it does not protect the beneficiaries.

madbadrob

Keep_pedalling said:

madbadrob said:

Just one point and that is to correct an error in a couple of replies.  The time that the solicitor is required to wait from the date an advert is placed in the Gazette is 2 months and as their is property the same notice would have to be placed loclly as welll for the same 2 months.  

Rob

Unless the OP suspects there may be creditors they are unaware of there is no need for them to place an advert in the first place. Solicitors will always do so to protect themselves, but in general where the executors and the beneficiaries are the same people it is a pointless exercise as it does not protect the beneficiaries.

Agreed however in my line of work it is something I would always recommend.  Just to point out thoug I was correcting 2 threads which said they had to wait 6 months   I was once told by someone with far more sense than me (my grandfather) 2 things.  Never volunteer for anything unless you know exactly what it is first, and secondly always expect the unexpected then nothing can come to you as a big surprise

Rob

buyhighselllow

On the application, Do I claim the NRB ?

Are you claiming the unused Inheritance Tax allowance (known as the ‘nil-rate band’) of the spouse or civil partner of the person who died?

Everyone has a £325,000 tax free allowance before they must pay Inheritance Tax. If you are applying for probate for the estate of someone who did not use some or all of the allowance when their spouse or civil partner died, you can add that remaining allowance to this application

Mum died 2 years ago, she didn't inherit anything as such, and now her estate is worth c3390K between my sister and myself 

RAS

Assuming mum and dad were still married when he died, mum inherited his NRNB so there is no IHT to pay if the estate is worth less than £650k.

Much better to use both basic allowances than to claim her basic allowance and her residential allowance.

buyhighselllow

RAS said:

Assuming mum and dad were still married when he died, mum inherited his NRNB so there is no IHT to pay if the estate is worth less than £650k.

Much better to use both basic allowances than to claim her basic allowance and her residential allowance.

yes they were marries

so I tick "yes" ?

RAS

Tick yes. There may be supplementary questions.