You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
My father passed away 6 week's ago and probate is needed as they have put the house they own into a trust, therefore half of the house I think will pass to the children. Mum is still alive and well. There is a lifetime mortgage on the house as well. The company that set up the trust will do the work for £2500 or supply a DIY guide for £1200! Is probate something that a layman can easily do?
Yes because I did my mums with help from Google. My hardest part was the inheritance tax form as it was over the tax limit and she had a trust fund setup for my son that was with a now defunct bank.
Cant remember cost but around £500 springs to mind.
Loads of Government guidance on filling out the forms then you have to take them and swear an oath in your nearest city that deals with it.
The probate is doable but correctly assenting a trust when there is a lifetime mortgage in place can be complex.
The cost quoted is a little high for doing the job, and a DIY guide for £1200 is insane.
If you need some advice I am happy to chat. My website is www.will-probate.co.uk call the office and they will fix up a time when we can talk.
Yes, normally. The paperwork is pretty straight forward. It was a few years when I did it for my parents passing everything to my mum with no tax. If you do struggle then the people on the phone at HMRC are helpful. I gather its a small department that is still pretty old skool in its approach rather than the call centres you find elsewhere. (Although the few times I've phoned HMRC about tax when you eventually get through they are very helpful - at taking money 😉 )
Sorry for your loss. Yes doable, I did my father's last year. There is a great guide on money saving expert.
I'd say start by understanding the process high-level. In essence you
1 gather information and value the estate,
2 declare to hmrc
3 get a grant of probate
4 recover the value of the estate e.g. from savings
5 distribute as per will
Also if you can do the HMRC stuff online, it makes it hugely easier. It does depend on circumstances though (more complex scenarios can mean paper forms).
All told, it was probably a week's work, but spread out over 4 months as there was a lot of waiting around for forms and documents to be posted around.
If close to IHT threshold then there are some things to be aware of, such as how the IHT allowance is transferred between spouses, gift allowances etc.
sorry for your loss.
yes its doable, and now its all on line so no need to go to a court building and set up to be easier than the paper forms were.
Sorry for your loss @andywill
My mother recently passed leaving an estate which came under the inheritance tax threshold. I managed to tidy up all loose ends, and was about to employ a solicitor for £750 +VAT to arrange probate.
I then spoke with @NJA (Nick) who was a great help and put my mind at ease. In my situation it was easy to do myself.
Your situation sounds quite different but I would recommend you chatting with Nick, for me he was a great help.
Thanks for the replies and condolences, it sounds like it might be doable. Nick I will contact your office for a chat.
My brother and I did our mums. Pretty straight forward if your mums estate is pretty simple. My mum basically had a house that was under the inheritance tax threshold and that was all so pretty straight forward. But if the estate has lots of different investments squirrelled away and other items of significant value I would imagine the paperwork would become pretty overwhelming. However if relatively simple then no need to pay a solicitor.
Sorry for your loss.
I just finished doing it for a relative. It is fairly easy and costs £220 odd - full details here - https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/apply-for-probate
You do need to have a list of assets in order to let HMRC know if inheritance tax is due. It asks for valuation certificates but I just used reasonable estimates and as long as you are not at or near the inheritance tax limit, they seem to accept these.
I'm in the process of doing my Father in Laws, sadly his estate is insolvent which brings different challenges.
In my experience so far the forms are fairly easy and if there's any kindness and decency left in the world it's shown to people who've lost a loved one.
My mum died last August and I took care of Probate (her estate was about £80K) which cost about £250. I downloaded the forms needed from the government website and it was straightforward to complete. Give it a go yourself is my advice.
I helped my wife with her grandmothers estate and it was simple, but it was not at all complicated and was easily done.
With the trust being in place it sounds more difficult. NJA's offer above looks like it would be beneficial to give him a call and get an expert view.
And as noted above, a lot of the interested parties, banks, building societies and insurers proved themselves to be humane and efficient when needed.