Estimating Property Values For PA1A Probate/LOA Application?

woodbine66

Would be grateful for thoughts on estimating property values for an estate.

My father passed away recently without making a will. He is married to my mother and I have one brother. He owns a house with my mother as joint tenants (value of his half of house - £225,000) and owned a rental property in his sole name (value £475,000). Apart from that he had savings of approx £125,000.

I'm completing the PA1A to apply for letters of administration myself. I rang the HMRC IHT advice line and one of the things I asked them about was declaring property values - they said that they would accept an estimated value of the properties my father owned.

Is it advisable to estimate the property values for my father's LOA application? Do we submit proper probate valuations for my mother's estate when she passes away? Or will HMRC accept estimates for both estates?

Basically I want to know what the pitfalls or benefits of estimating values on either or both estates are? Will it make it complicated if I getting the values very wrong for my father's estate, when it comes time to declare my mother's estate? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Keep_pedalling

The value of their home is not really that important as it automatically passes to your mother and is covered by spousal exemption as does his chattels. As the rental property and his saving excede £322k that part of his estate does not all pass to your mother under intestacy rules so it is important that you get a professional valuation for that property unless you and your brother decide to let that pass to your mother in its entirety.

Under intestacy rules the £600k needs to be split as follows £322k + 50% to your mother and the remainder £139k) to be split between you and your brother. In your situation I would consider a deed of variation so that the rental property goes to her which will make things far simpler than owning 3 ways with unequal ownership.

Apart from her home what sole assets does your mother own.

RAS

Please see the previous thread.

It may be easier to combine them rather than ask queries that have already been answered? Amongst the derailment