PROBATE help

[trevor33]

Hi everyone, its been a long time since I posted on CAG.

My uncle recently passed away and I have been appointed executor of his will.

 

He lived in the house that he and his wife owned but she is in a care home.

 

In his will he has left all his assets to his wife.

I do not expect his wife to return to the house so will I have to get probate.

 

Most of his care was paid for by the local council and now they require details of his death and if probate has been granted.

His wife has all her care paid for by the local council so will I now have to sell the house to pay for it?

Trevor33

[slick132]

Hi Trevor,

 

You'll need to apply for Probate using probate registry and HM Revenue and Customs.

 

There will be a local Probate office you liaise with and you'll need to complete the correct IHT forms for HMRC. The IHT forms you use will depend on the value of the Estate.

 

The council will want details if they provided non-nursing care. Only nursing care is funded by the NHS - other care may have to be paid for retrospectively. If the council paid for care that your uncle/aunt are liable to pay, the council will need to be repaid from the Estate and your aunt's representative.

 

Whether your relatives have to pay for their care or not depends on both of their needs at any given time.

 

[Mr.P]

He lived in the house that he and his wife owned but she is in a care home.

 

In his will he has left all his assets to his wife.

I do not expect his wife to return to the house so will I have to get probate.

 

If the house was owned by both as joint tenants (along with any other joint assets), then ownership would automatically transfer to his wife. Depending on the remaining assets, then probate may not be required. Stocks & shares would require probate if they were held solely in his name, but cash in the bank might not. Most banks will release up to £30,000 on the executor signing an indemnity form.

 

Should the property be in his name alone or held as tenants in common, then probate would be required before it could be assented to his wife or sold. As she is in care, the value of the estate, once all debts have been paid, would most likely mean she becomes self funding, so in all probability, the house would have to be sold.

 

A couple of questions:

 

Does anyone have lasting power of attorney over your aunt's financial affairs ?

Is there anyone else living in the house at present ?

[trevor33]

Thanks for the posts.

Unfortunately it was too late for power of attorney before aunty went into care but have been handling her finances for a few years. There is no one living in the house at present.

Is there any time scale in applying for probate? Trevor33

[Mr.P]

Is there any time scale in applying for probate?

 

If the value of the estate falls below the inheritance tax threshold, then there is no urgency in applying for probate. The IHT threshold would be usually be £325,000. From: https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax

 

Inheritance Tax is a tax on the estate (the property, money and possessions) of someone who’s died.

There’s normally no Inheritance Tax to pay if either:

 

• the value of your estate is below the £325,000 threshold
  
• you leave everything to your spouse or civil partner, a charity or a community amateur sports club
  

If you give away your home to your children (including adopted, foster or stepchildren) or grandchildren, your threshold will increase to £425,000.

If you’re married or in a civil partnership and your estate is worth less than your threshold, any unused threshold can be added to your partner’s threshold when you die. This means their threshold can be as much as £850,000.

[slick132]

Hi Trevor,

 

I know you enquired about your executing your uncle's Estate but .........

 

You say it was too late for PoA for your Aunt.

 

Is that because she's now unable to grant a PoA due to Alzheimers/Dementia ?