Losing a loved one is always very difficult, and having to deal with their financial affairs after they are gone can be stressful and overwhelming.

This is the term used to describe the sorting out of a deceased’s estate following their death, which involves organising their money, assets and possessions and distributing them as inheritance – after paying any taxes and debts, in line with your loved ones wishes within their Will.

If there is a Will then this is dealt with by the Executor. If there is no Will, then this is dealt with by an Administrator.

If the deceased has left a Will, it will usually name the Executor within it. This is the person chosen by the deceased to manage the estate’s affairs.

They have a wide range of responsibilities which include:

• Registering the death
• Obtaining the original Will
• Valuing the estate
• Reporting to HMRC
• Paying any inheritance tax which may be due
• Applying for the Grant of Probate
• Collecting the assets of the estate and paying any liabilities
• Preparing estate accounts
• Distributing the estate to the beneficiaries

This will depend on the value of the estate, the type of assets in the estate and how those assets are held (whether in the deceased’s sole name or in joint names with another person). If the amount of money held in banks, building societies etc. is over the Probate threshold commonly between £5,000 – £50,000, then Probate is likely needed. This threshold can differ though with each financial institution, and they can still request a Grant of Probate/Letter of Administration before releasing the money, even if the value is less. Probate will definitely be needed if the deceased owned a property in their sole name and likely, if they held stock and shares in their sole name and they need to be sold or transferred to the beneficiaries.

No. The joint asset/bank account will usually pass automatically to the surviving joint owner on death without a Grant of Probate. This happens by the process called the ‘Right of Survivorship’.

This will depend on how the property is owned. There are two ways in which a property can be jointly owned, namely by way of ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’. If the property is held by way of ‘joint tenants’, this means the property is owned equally by the two people and they have the equal right to keep or dispose of it – so probate is not required to transfer the property. Whereas ‘tenants in common’ means that each party owns a specific percentage share of the property, and so the ‘Right of Survivorship’ does not apply, meaning they can pass the percentage of the property to whoever they choose in their Will – so Probate will usually be required in this instance.

A Grant of Probate is a legal document that proves the Will is valid (if there is one) and allows the Executor named in the Will to administer the estate. Once you have the Grant of Probate, you can then proceed to start closing accounts, collecting assets, paying liabilities in order to administer the estate in line with your loved one’s wishes within the Will.

It is the Executor’s responsibility to apply for the Grant of Probate.

If there is no Will, then you need to obtain a ‘Grant of Letters of Administration’ by applying to the Probate Registry. These are issued to the person who is entitled to inherit under the intestacy rules, which is usually the next of kin. They then become the Administrator of the estate.

Whilst there are no time limits when applying for Probate, there are time limits and deadlines for Inheritance tax if this applies (see below). Trying to apply for Probate as soon as possible will help progress matters and enable you to start closing accounts and collecting assets so that you can administer the estate of your loved one in line with their wishes within the Will.

• The original Will if there is one and any changes
• The original death certificate
• Find out details of all assets and debts that your loved one had so as to ascertain the net value of the estate
• Find out the valuation of any property your loved one owned. Whilst you can do this free online with certain websites, depending on the value of the property and if this is near or above the Inheritance Tax threshold, we would recommend obtaining a professional RICS valuation so that your valuation would not be challenged for inheritance tax purposes
• Find out what gifts were given away by your loved one in the seven years before they died
• Estimate the estate’s value for Inheritance Tax (IHT) and if Inheritance Tax is due, complete form IHT400, submit to HMRC and make any payments needed. IHT is due six months after the end of the month of death and the IHT form is due for submission 12 months after the death. A Grant of Probate will not be issued until a sufficient sum of Inheritance Tax has been paid

Every deceased person has an allowance of £325,000 which can be used in their estate if it has not already been used up by lifetime gifts in the seven years prior to their death. This £325,000 allowance is known as the nil rate band or the Inheritance Tax threshold. In addition to this, anything a loved one leaves to their spouse or civil partner (if they have the same domicile status) or UK registered charity will be exempt from Inheritance Tax regardless of the value of the estate. If you are not a spouse or civil partner and liable for Inheritance Tax, then the standard Inheritance Tax rate is 40% on any amount above that £325,000. Inheritance tax is due six months after the end of the month of death, so if your loved one died on 2nd January 2024, then it is due to be paid six months from the 31st January 2024. A Grant of Probate will not be issued until the Inheritance Tax has been paid. For further information on Inheritance Tax, please see our Inheritance Tax overview on our Resources page.

If there is no Inheritance Tax to pay nor a requirement to file more comprehensive Inheritance Tax accounts, then you can proceed to complete the Probate application online or if you do not qualify to apply online prepare application form PA1P (if there is a Will) and PA1A (if there is no Will).

If there is inheritance tax to pay, then you need to wait for HMRC to send a code to confirm that the Inheritance Tax account has been processed. You will need this code for your Probate application. Once you have this code, you can then proceed to prepare the Probate application online or prepare the application form PA1P or PA1A.

This depends on the Probate Registry, but you should generally receive this within 16 weeks of submitting an application to them.

Once you have received the Grant of Probate, the Executor can then start closing accounts, collecting assets, selling any properties, settling debts, preparing estate accounts and distributing the estate in accordance with their loved one’s wishes within the Will.

It is possible for you to deal with Probate yourself, but it can be stressful or overwhelming, and sometimes complicated. It also carries risk because as an Executor you will be personally responsible for making sure the estate is dealt with correctly such as interpreting the rules of intestacy or the terms of the Will, reporting to HMRC, declaring the estate position to the Court, dealing with any unpaid debts or if the beneficiary does not receive the correct inheritance. To avoid any stress or risk to you, you can always instruct a firm of solicitors to deal with this on your behalf. My Probate Solicitors is here to help, and we will support you throughout the journey.

Click here if you would like us to assist you.