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House in father's name

My father passed away a few weeks ago and did not sign his will, so I am looking at probate. I am going to do it myself.

The house was only in my father's name however this has been my mother's main residence for 35 years. and had been married for over 50 years.Obviously this will add a lot to the probate and inheritance tax figure. As for whatever reason the house was never placed in joint names.

Is there anything that can be done as it is a possibility my mummay have to sell the property to pay the inheritance tax?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary
    Look up the inheritance rules for an interstacy. I think the 1st £250k goes to your mother plus 50% of remainder with children sharing the other 50% remainder.
    There is no IHT on anything left to your mother.
    If you want your mother to have everything then a simple deed of variation by all the children will sort that out. There would then be no IHT whatever the value of your father's estate.

    https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament
    How much is the house worth?
    How big is the total estate

    How many kids?

    I would not worry yet IHT is easy to avoid in this situation.

    With no will it is "letters of administration" in practice the same as probate but that is only for estates with wills and named executors.
  • Sophie2009
    Sophie2009 Posts: 16 Forumite
    Having the house valued tomorrow maybe between £300.00 and £400.00 with the rest of the estate another £80,000.

    There is my mum, me and my sister.

    So does this mean that mum keeps the first £250.000 the the rest shared between me and my sister but if we want her to keep it all we could do a deed of variation on the property?

    I'm guessing I will need a solicitor for all of this? Or just for advice and do probate myself?
  • Yorkshireman99
    Yorkshireman99 Posts: 5,470 Forumite
    Sophie2009 wrote: »
    Having the house valued tomorrow maybe between £300.00 and £400.00 with the rest of the estate another £80,000.

    There is my mum, me and my sister.

    So does this mean that mum keeps the first £250.000 the the rest shared between me and my sister but if we want her to keep it all we could do a deed of variation on the property?

    I'm guessing I will need a solicitor for all of this? Or just for advice and do probate myself?
    See a solicitor. They will be able to arrange things so your mother has a life interest and it will then pass to you jointly. This will mean there is no IHT. Not a DIY job for a novice. You can do much of the ground work for probate via letters of administration.
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary
    Sophie2009 wrote: »
    Having the house valued tomorrow maybe between £300.00 and £400.00 with the rest of the estate another £80,000.

    There is my mum, me and my sister.

    So does this mean that mum keeps the first £250.000 the the rest shared between me and my sister but if we want her to keep it all we could do a deed of variation on the property?

    I'm guessing I will need a solicitor for all of this? Or just for advice and do probate myself?
    If the estate was valued at say a total of £400k your mother would get £250k + £150k*50% = £325k
    You and your sister would share £75k.
    But unless there is some particular reason why your mother should not inherit it all its much easier to sign a deed of variation.
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