We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
obtaining probate for deceased person????
kunash
Posts: 29 Forumite
Hi, my auntie died two days ago. she has a quite complex estate it would seem. i am a joint executor with my mum ( who was the sister ) and a firm of solicitors. they are based some 50 miles away. my mum is happy for me to collect all information needed, so i can act alone in that respect, but would i need to inform the solicitors that i will be doing it alone? - trying to avoid hefty fees
i have tried to register the death, but theregistrars were busy, and now due to bank holiday weekend, i cant go back till tuesday.
i have informed the bank, by phone only at the moment.
my auntie had a stroke last year, she went into a nursing home, where she remained until her passing. she had a property which we eventually sold.
(480k)£. it was in joint names with my mum. my mum bought a smaller house with her half of teh money. my aunties half is in my mums account. her nursing home fees were being paid from it. obviously the inland revenue will inquire about where my aunt was living before herstroke, what happened to the house, and where is the money. so you will have to tell them of course, though someone said to me ' that is up to you if you tell them or not'. but the money is in my mums account, and that is where it is staying for now - any advice here?
i live in a house which was owned by myself, my aunt, and my mum. 3 way split. last year it was completely signed over to me. i will be liable here for my aunt's 1/3 due to the 7 year rule i take it?
my aunty owns about 10-12 other small commercial and residential properties, with my mum, equal share. these are being left to me. i have asked for valuations. my mum will of course keep her half share of each property
my aunt, has numerous investments. i think all the details are in a suitcase. i will start going through that tomorrow. i have made a note of some investments, and made some preliminary calls to see what they want. some of the firms wont even confirm she had anything at all, or she had an account, so i must write.
do i ask for a valuation at date of death, plus any interest, and also if they know of any other accounts?
for investments, i think all they would need from me to obtain a valuation would be an original death certificate, which they can return after, plus a covering letter. do you think they would want a copy of the will? i will not be able to send any of these investment companies the original will ( no chance of me sending the original as there is only 1 - and i am keeping my mits on that ).
can a company insist on seeing the original will before they issue a valuation? would you send the original will? how can i get certified copies - would i have to ask the solicitors to certify a couple of copies before they sent me the original will.?
she has income money from her properties. sent to a joint account with my mum. i will have to phone the letting agency and ask them to half this money
( my mum and aunt had a half share each in the properties ). send half to the normal account, and then send half to an executors account - which i will open. is this ok?
she had a lot of shares, in certificate form, in the bag /sigh. i hate dealing with shares, so fiddly, imo. how do i go about finding values of these shares at date of death - can i google it? also some shares in there, may be obsolete and new certificates issued, i cant really tell which are which, so how can i tell which are vaild? would i need to find a share selling service, and get them to deal with that side ( fee of course ).??
any income from shares that are paid into her normal account, if i open an exec account would those money go into there automatically, or be returned to the companies???
by tuesday i will have the original death certificate, i can take that into the bank, to show them. i would have liked to of opened the exec account then, but would i need the original will? ( this is with the solicitors ). and then open the account in the name of 'the executors of .. ' maybe make it a savings account, as there would be many thousands going into it.
she also had a life insurance policy she took out 2 years ago. this i believe is in trust. it was for the maximum she could get, because of her health at the time, but it is worth some 55,000£. this goes to me and my mum, but does it form part of her estate? will they send the cheque out and we can use the money now? is it liable to inheritance tax? we will be using it to pay the inheritance tax anyway, but just wondered what happens to the money now. the 7 year rule doesnt apply here, as so maybe liable to tax
ok so as time goes on, i would hope to have values of the bank accounts, the valuations of her property in joint names, investments valuations, share valuations, bonds, tessas, details of substantial gifts ( ie my house ). i will have all this in letter form from the companies, and a long list. i then make an appointment with the local probate office, go in, show them my list. they will ask me questions about it, and presuming they are happy with her estate and valuations, issue me with a probate certificate in time.
after the issue, i can then go about selling the investments, collecting the liquid monies and hopefully will have enough to pay the tax bill ( dont want to sell any properties), then deal with any bequeaths. when i start collecting the monies would i pay it into the exec account?
i read on the web you can apply for a grant. a grant is...
''Organisations holding money in the deceased's name need to know to whom that money should be paid and the grant is proof that the person named in it may collect the money. The grant is proof to anyone wishing to see it that the person named in it is entitled to collect in and distribute the estate. ''
as this estate is quite complex, i am thinking of applying or enquiring about a grant. do you think it necessary?
thanks for any answers, tips and advice. ( as it is bank holiday weekend, i am a bit stuck at the moment, as i cant make any calls, so thought i would ask on here )
i have tried to register the death, but theregistrars were busy, and now due to bank holiday weekend, i cant go back till tuesday.
i have informed the bank, by phone only at the moment.
my auntie had a stroke last year, she went into a nursing home, where she remained until her passing. she had a property which we eventually sold.
(480k)£. it was in joint names with my mum. my mum bought a smaller house with her half of teh money. my aunties half is in my mums account. her nursing home fees were being paid from it. obviously the inland revenue will inquire about where my aunt was living before herstroke, what happened to the house, and where is the money. so you will have to tell them of course, though someone said to me ' that is up to you if you tell them or not'. but the money is in my mums account, and that is where it is staying for now - any advice here?
i live in a house which was owned by myself, my aunt, and my mum. 3 way split. last year it was completely signed over to me. i will be liable here for my aunt's 1/3 due to the 7 year rule i take it?
my aunty owns about 10-12 other small commercial and residential properties, with my mum, equal share. these are being left to me. i have asked for valuations. my mum will of course keep her half share of each property
my aunt, has numerous investments. i think all the details are in a suitcase. i will start going through that tomorrow. i have made a note of some investments, and made some preliminary calls to see what they want. some of the firms wont even confirm she had anything at all, or she had an account, so i must write.
do i ask for a valuation at date of death, plus any interest, and also if they know of any other accounts?
for investments, i think all they would need from me to obtain a valuation would be an original death certificate, which they can return after, plus a covering letter. do you think they would want a copy of the will? i will not be able to send any of these investment companies the original will ( no chance of me sending the original as there is only 1 - and i am keeping my mits on that ).
can a company insist on seeing the original will before they issue a valuation? would you send the original will? how can i get certified copies - would i have to ask the solicitors to certify a couple of copies before they sent me the original will.?
she has income money from her properties. sent to a joint account with my mum. i will have to phone the letting agency and ask them to half this money
( my mum and aunt had a half share each in the properties ). send half to the normal account, and then send half to an executors account - which i will open. is this ok?
she had a lot of shares, in certificate form, in the bag /sigh. i hate dealing with shares, so fiddly, imo. how do i go about finding values of these shares at date of death - can i google it? also some shares in there, may be obsolete and new certificates issued, i cant really tell which are which, so how can i tell which are vaild? would i need to find a share selling service, and get them to deal with that side ( fee of course ).??
any income from shares that are paid into her normal account, if i open an exec account would those money go into there automatically, or be returned to the companies???
by tuesday i will have the original death certificate, i can take that into the bank, to show them. i would have liked to of opened the exec account then, but would i need the original will? ( this is with the solicitors ). and then open the account in the name of 'the executors of .. ' maybe make it a savings account, as there would be many thousands going into it.
she also had a life insurance policy she took out 2 years ago. this i believe is in trust. it was for the maximum she could get, because of her health at the time, but it is worth some 55,000£. this goes to me and my mum, but does it form part of her estate? will they send the cheque out and we can use the money now? is it liable to inheritance tax? we will be using it to pay the inheritance tax anyway, but just wondered what happens to the money now. the 7 year rule doesnt apply here, as so maybe liable to tax
ok so as time goes on, i would hope to have values of the bank accounts, the valuations of her property in joint names, investments valuations, share valuations, bonds, tessas, details of substantial gifts ( ie my house ). i will have all this in letter form from the companies, and a long list. i then make an appointment with the local probate office, go in, show them my list. they will ask me questions about it, and presuming they are happy with her estate and valuations, issue me with a probate certificate in time.
after the issue, i can then go about selling the investments, collecting the liquid monies and hopefully will have enough to pay the tax bill ( dont want to sell any properties), then deal with any bequeaths. when i start collecting the monies would i pay it into the exec account?
i read on the web you can apply for a grant. a grant is...
''Organisations holding money in the deceased's name need to know to whom that money should be paid and the grant is proof that the person named in it may collect the money. The grant is proof to anyone wishing to see it that the person named in it is entitled to collect in and distribute the estate. ''
as this estate is quite complex, i am thinking of applying or enquiring about a grant. do you think it necessary?
thanks for any answers, tips and advice. ( as it is bank holiday weekend, i am a bit stuck at the moment, as i cant make any calls, so thought i would ask on here )
0
Comments
-
To answer a few of the simpler questions:
Companies will not want to see a copy of the will - but they will need to see the death certificate. Get extra copies when you register the death - they are cheap then.
If the insurance policy is in (the right sort of) trust, then it doesn't form part of the estate and will pay out now on production of the death certificate to the named beneficiary/ies.
Given the size of the estate you WILL need probate - doing without is where the deceased had say a few small bank accounts only. ('Grant' and 'certificate of probate' are different names for the same thing)
Good luck with the bank - in my experience you will find it difficult to find someone in the average branch who knows what an executors account is. They will need to see the will or a copy to open an account.
Tips - don't panic, be patient with the fools you will undoubtedly encounter in many of the companies you deal with, work through it slowly, patiently and methodically and you will get there in the end. It sounds daunting now, but it isn't really all that complex.0 -
In your first sentence you state that you are a joint executor along with your mother and a firm of solicitors. Whilst your mother may be happy for you to deal with the estate without her involvement, the solictors are very unlikely to be.
The executors named in the will have equal and joint responsibility you can't simply inform the solicitors that you are "doing it alone" without their agreement which they are highly unlikely to give.
Nigel0 -
In your first sentence you state that you are a joint executor along with your mother and a firm of solicitors. Whilst your mother may be happy for you to deal with the estate without her involvement, the solictors are very unlikely to be.
The executors named in the will have equal and joint responsibility you can't simply inform the solicitors that you are "doing it alone" without their agreement which they are highly unlikely to give.
Nigel
thanks for the replies. i will write to the solicitors of course and inform them of my aunts death ( i have already phoned them ). i have all the information of her estate on me. the reason i wish to gather the valuations etc, is because of the cost if you involve solicitors, also my past dealings with the firm - when I requested my house was put into my name, they had all relevant paper work and signatures, yet after 2 months of hearing nothing, i phone them , and they said they hadnt done anything. i know i should have chased them up, but still, that dept. i dealt with was slow to say the least. having said that, i am sure they would be very capable of dealing with the probate.
however, i have all the details, i can put in more time than they can, and chase things up when the matter arises instead of the matter sitting in an 'in tray' for a few days. they of course are more experienced in dealing with probate, but i would of course ask them for advice.
ok, so if i want to do it alone so to speak ( keeping them informed of progress ), but they want to do it also, we cant both request valuations, how would we work it out? Can they insist on asking for valuations direct from the companies?0 -
Companies will not want to see a copy of the will - but they will need to see the death certificate. Get extra copies when you register the death - they are cheap then.
yeah about £3.50 i think, so will ask for about 10 i thinkGiven the size of the estate you WILL need probate - doing without is where the deceased had say a few small bank accounts only. ('Grant' and 'certificate of probate' are different names for the same thing)
ok so it is the same thing, thanks for clearing that up - so would a copy of the probate be sufficient for them to act on, or an original?Good luck with the bank - in my experience you will find it difficult to find someone in the average branch who knows what an executors account is. They will need to see the will or a copy to open an account.
i use to work for the bank where the accounts are. this was sometime ago though, and these days things have changed for the worse. everything is centralised, there is no phone contact with your branch and the service is a lot worse.0 -
Yes you can speak with them and mutually agree on tasks you each do. But as they are already involved, your aunt was their client and made them joint executor, you are unlikely to reduce the fees by any signicant amount.
Nigel0 -
ok so it is the same thing, thanks for clearing that up - so would a copy of the probate be sufficient for them to act on, or an original?
You will need an official copy - can be ordered with the original, quite cheaply. Not your own photocopy.
Your Mum doesn't have to act as executor if she doesn't want - there will be a probate office form to sign, but neither they nor the solicitor can force her to be involved.
If the firm of solicitors is prepared to let you do a lot of the clerical work - all well and good as long as they don't charge as if they were doing it!0 -
i have just read the HM revenue and custom form i will need to fill in, seems quite complicated, maybe i will colate the information then ask the solicitors to carry on from there0
-
isa, life policies, properties are all straight forward, as far as i am concerned.
what i am really interested in are these individual share cetificates. i use to deal with them when i worked at the bank and hated it. now of course, you cant walk in to your local main branch and sell them. the bank offer the service but you need to post them now.
what is the best way to find the values of them and which ones are valid?0 -
How much you save will depend on their fee structure. Often the fee is based on time spent at £x per hour plus a percentage of the estate value. Thats why I said you may not save a significant amount as they will still charge the % fee.
Nigel0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.4K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.4K Spending & Discounts
- 247.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.4K Life & Family
- 261.5K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards