How to obtain a completed IHT205

Berkshire_2

Mum died back in 2001, and there is now an issue with a trust and an estate. I need to obtain the IHT205 that was submitted when she died (Dad is still alive). 

I'm going to sit on the phone to HMRC tomorrow morning, but I have no idea what to ask for. So an advice would be good as I've been told this can be a long drawn out process...

poppystar

I think it’s very unlikely that you will be able to get this. I may be wrong but I’m not even sure it would have gone to HMRC. In those days you took it into the local Probate office where it was processed. Twenty four years is also a long time for them to have kept records once Probate was granted and that alongside the Will would be available online. 

Who was the executor and would have filled the form in? 

What exactly do you need in terms of information? Are you sure it would be on the IHT205?

Berkshire_2

poppystar said:

I think it’s very unlikely that you will be able to get this. I may be wrong but I’m not even sure it would have gone to HMRC. In those days you took it into the local Probate office where it was processed. Twenty four years is also a long time for them to have kept records once Probate was granted and that alongside the Will would be available online. 

Who was the executor and would have filled the form in? 

What exactly do you need in terms of information? Are you sure it would be on the IHT205?

My Dad would have been the executor and we're trying to find out the size of the estate that passed from Mum to Dad. 

I fear that I'm not going to be able to find it out either... 

poppystar

Does the Grant of Probate value not help? Or did it all not pass to your father?  If you have copies of the Will and the Grant of Probate would that not enable a good guess to be made. Eg value of estate less any other bequests should leave amount passing to father? 

I guess it depends why you need the information but at the end of the day if you and your father have no more accurate records it’s unlikely anyone else would be able to get close either.

Not prying but if you can disclose what information you need and why maybe someone here might be able to make more specific suggestions. 

Berkshire_2

The Probate does show the value of the estate, but we're trying to determine how they got to that value as we can't find any records to show this. 

I'm in contact with a solicitor about it, and it's honestly too complex to go into on a forum, as we've opened 'a can of worms' and having to get a KC opinion on things, so I'm just trying to get as much supporting evidence as possible before biting that bullet. 

poppystar

Ah, good luck then, it sounds like you might need it. I actually don’t feel so bad now about still having the photocopy of my mother’s IHT205 cluttering up the cupboard - just in case! 

Berkshire_2

If there is one learning from this, it's to leave a massive paper trail for those you leave behind.