Probate, Estate expenses & a joint bank account.

queenbee22

Hi

Thanks in advance for your help. My Mum has very recently died and I am in the process of trying to get my Mum's affairs ready to submit a Probate application. The estate is likely to be a little over 1million, we are able to use my deceased fathers IHT allowance and the house is to be inherited by myself and my sibling.

My first question is an a straight forward one. Are we able to claim the funeral costs of my father who died 18 years ago as estate expenses? My Mum has kept reciepts in her filing cabinet of these costs.

The second one is more complex. My mum set up a joint bank account with my sibling, with the idea they could pay for things after she died (which has substantial funds in ). She actually asked to do the same with me but I was advised not to because apparently non spousal joint accounts are the kind of thing that interests HMRC.

What is the best course of action? Can my sibling removed themselves from the bank account and then inform the bank of my Mum's death? None of the monies in the account originate from my siblings endeavors (nor would they want to claim this to HMRC). I was advised not to open a joint bank account with my Mum because when my Mum dies there would be a blurry mess between my finances and my mums.

Many thanks Queen Bee

Brie

I was told that a joint account becomes that solely of the survivor when one person dies. Obviously you will want to take her name off the account but the money now belongs to your sibling. And perhaps obviously you may wish to agree to include this in any inheritance division when things get that far. Others may have different opinions.

I can't see how your dad's funeral expenses could be included now as a deduction from your mom's estate.

Sorry for your loss. Hope you manage to sort things out.

Keep_pedalling

No you can’t claim expenses from the previous estate. You are going to have to do a full IHT return before you can apply for probate.

poppystar

When you complete the IHT forms you will be asked about joint accounts and the percentages involved of where the money came from. The joint account I had with a parent was totally included in their estate because all of the funding came from their income, so I put 100% down in the relevant box.

Cubicsrube

I had the identical situation and similar size estate. Make sure you fill out the IHT400 before applying for probate, no matter what the online calculator tells you (it gives very poorly worded guidance).

My sister had the joint account with my mother as she lived nearby. On the IHT400, we needed to declare the full amount in the account as part of mum's estate, since it was her funds, yet technically the funds now belong to my sister. It does mess up the spreadsheet a bit but easy to resolve if you have a good relationship.

(My sister is scrupulously fair and creative- she suggested we simplify it by keeping that bank account out of the estate calculations and draining it on big family holiday, where we can spend time together and remember them.)