probate advice – Probate Experts Cost Cutters

Will Planning Advice after Ilott

Stephen Pett — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 17:07:44 +0000

The Ilott case has certainly put the spotlight on the dramatic changes in legal planning over the last couple of years. How recently have you reviewed your own Will, Powers of Attorney and have you considered the use of (in particular) Property Trusts?The Supreme Court has overturned a decision to increase the amount of money left to a woman whose estranged mother left her £500,000 to three animal charities. Prudential legal experts says financial advisers can play a key role preventing expensive will disputes by ensuring high net-worth clients are referred to solicitors specialising in estate planning.Clare Moffat, pensions expert and qualified solicitor at Prudential, said:“Rising property prices and other increases in the value of estates mean that legal disputes about inheritance are becoming more common. They can be hugely expensive and legal bills can sometimes be more than the value of estate. Advisers have a crucial role in preventing these disputes arising by working in conjunction with estate planning solicitors to help families discuss issues before it is too late.“Although pension funds do not normally form part of the estate, there are some scenarios where they may and solicitors need to be aware of this. With many retirees transferring valuable defined benefit schemes into defined contribution schemes and transfer values of 40 times final benefit not being uncommon, the scope for dispute may increase. The fact is that many solicitors may not fully understand the implications of pension freedoms for estate planning or the way in which pension death benefits work. Developing strong links with financial advisers is an important step in solving this problem.“One interesting quirk of the law is that although in England and Wales it is possible to disinherit your family it is not allowed under Scots law.”The Probate Department said: “We work closely with many financial advisers in England and Wales, and our attitude to Legal Planning is similar to financial advice: it needs to be reviewed on a regular basis. We have seen seismic changes in tax and the law when it comes to estate planning – not least the Ilott case. Now we have the potential probate fees which will (or may) dramatically affect out advice to clients. Team work with financial advisers and clients is really important to get the right results, and clients need to understand that reviews are essential, which is why we have developed our economical Peace of Mind Service.It is interesting to note that the legal costs incurred by the charities, in this case, were probably substantially in excess of the £50,000 Ilott finally kept. Even more interesting is that the judgement distinguished this case from others so that the case is not that useful as a precedent for the future.”More help on Probate/ Will Disputes.

Advice on Deed of Variation Conflicts – What To Do

Stephen Pett — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 13:18:45 +0000

Question: Advice on Deed of Variation Conflicts – HELP! A reader has received advice that conflicts and has asked us to review the conflicting responses and advise which (if either) is the right advice. Here goes the question and the advice which had already been received. It is son important to deal with a professional who is active in this area, rather than one who does one very couple of years – if you need one, do contact us for a recommendation to a suitable specialist/”I have been given conflicting advice by two solicitors on whether or not I can have such a Deed prepared. This is what one said:1) “For a variation to be effective it needs to take place within two years of the death. More importantly, all the Executors and Beneficiaries will need to agree that the variation can take place. If they cannot all agree, the Deed of Variation shall not be valid”.The other went on a slightly different tack:2) “Another example where a variation might assist is where a parent leaves their estate equally between their children. The children may well be wealthy in their own right and would not want to benefit from the estate as it would simply increase the potential Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability upon their own death. If this is the case, and it can be agreed, then the deceased’s grandchildren could benefit instead, therefore bypassing the children altogether. However, if the grandchildren are under the age of 18, the Court would need to approve such an arrangement.”Can you confirm the situation?Kind regards.L

Our response: Advice on Deeds of Variation Conflicts (via our former solicitor).

Both are nearly correct, but have missed important information out in paraphrasing so are unintentionally misleading.Clearly it is important to deal with a firm which regularly creates Deeds of Variation and fully understands them and their uses (i.e. us!)

Answer 1) Who has to agree to a Deed of Variation?

Only people affected negatively by the Deed need to agree – that is, those folk who are giving up something they could have received under the terms of the Will or intestacy. It is nothing to do with anyone else.

Answer 2) Issues over Children and Deeds of Variation

Court approval is only needed if the affected beneficiaries (those giving up something) are under 18 which doesn’t mean that the people benefiting from the Deed of Variation, can’t be under 18 – the age limit is for those giving something up. That said, there are special issues with children in that they cannot give a valid receipt, so the inheritance needs to be kept in trust until they are 18 or marry (if earlier.)Not at all what they seem to be saying in 2) above, but perhaps they go on to qualify their answers.So if the first one added “affected” after all the, it would be correct.The second one would need to remove “grand” from grandchildren to be correct.More on Deeds of Variation (also known as Deeds of Family Arrangement). More on Probate Disputes.

Probate Court Fees – How Much Are Court Fees? 2023/4

Stephen Pett — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 16:17:33 +0000

Probate Court Fees: Current Rates 2023/4

(Free Guide to what to do on death and or probate advice HERE.)

Professional help with Probate

Probate Court fee in all cases where the net estate is over £5,000 (ie the amount remaining in the deceased’s sole name after funeral expenses and debts owing have been taken off) (see example 1 below).

Probate Quotes Probate Disputes

Court fee £273.

Note: Joint assets passing automatically to the surviving joint owner should not be included when calculating the fee.But are you sure you are doing the right thing?If the net estate as above is under £5,000 (see example 2 below) then

Court fee: NO FEE.

Application for a second grant in an estate where a previous grant has been issued.

Court fee: £20.

Additional Copies.Official (sealed) copies of the Grant of Representation if ordered when you lodge your application for a Grant of Representation.

Court fee: £1.50p per copy.

Note: You should decide how many copies you will need and add the cost to your application fee – this will give you the total amount payable. See examples below. It can save you a lot of time when collecting in the deceased’s assets if you have a few extra copies of the grant to produce to the organisations holding the assets.‘Sealed and certified copy’ – if assets are held abroad you may need one or more of these. Please check with the appropriate organisations before ordering.

Court fee: £1.50 per copy (including Will and Grant).

Additional copies (consisting of grant including a copy of the Will, if applicable) ordered after the Grant of Representation has been issuedCourt fee: £10 for first copy then £1.50 per additional copy.You should state the number and type of copies you need on the checklist on page 4 of the PA1 (application form). Please print the name of the deceased person on the back of the cheque. Please ensure you order sufficient copies for your needs, when you send in your application.Please note: appropriate post must be paid. Standard rate postage may not be sufficient. If your forms weigh over 60g they may need to be weighed at your local Post Office.

Probate Court Fee Refunds/Remissions.

If you consider that you would suffer financial hardship if you pay a court fee you can apply for remission (or if you have already paid a fee a refund of that fee or part thereof). If you wish to make such an application you should ask a member of the Registry staff to supply you with form EX160 (including form EX160A). Your application will not processed until the fee is paid (or an application for refund/remission has been successful).

Example 1 of Probate Court fees.

Net estate of £75,000.4 copies of grant at £1.50 each + Fee £273Total Probate Registry Fee £279

Example 2 of Probate Court fees:

Net estate of £2,000.1 copy of grant at £1.50 each = Court Fee Nil = Fee £1.50.Total Probate Registry Fee £1.50.With fees constantly under review, you should always check the fees are correct at that time. Just ring your local Probate Court Office and they will advise you.The Ministry of Justice attempts to justify the increase by saying that in many instances the fees will be met from the estate of the deceased, while fee discounts are available for some who are unable to afford fees.

Divorce & Death Probate Question

Stephen Pett — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 16:20:40 +0000

My Fathers Death happened before his Divorce became Absolute

My father was going through a divorce, it got to the decree nisi stage. Then sadly on Xmas day he passed away. My fathers soon to be ex wife, has wanted nothing to do with the funeral or any costs. Her only interest being the house, which she had moved out of, in which the death of my father occurred. Which she is now moving back into. My father wrote a will himself, which he kept in the house. I feel sure she will destroy this if she should find it. So if there is no will, what can I do?

Probate Answer on Divorce & Death

Find the Will ! Unless it was written by a professional, there is likely to be no evidence of its existence or contents unless it can be found. Even such evidence is not always enough. Many home made Wills are not properly made or witnesses, as a recent Law Commission Survey demonstrated.

Until the Decree Absolute is granted, the couple are still married with all the financial benefits that brings under the Rules of Intestacy. I have attached a copy.

Chances are the basic precautions which should have been taken in any divorce have not been taken.

1) Make a proper Will immediately to remove, as far as possible, the soon to be ex spouse.

2) Check that the home ownership is not such that the soon to be ex will inherit the home automatically, which is usually the case. You can check how it is owned your self at www.landregistry.gov.uk or we can do it for £30.

If he used a solicitor, this would, in my opinion, be pretty negligent unless the advice were given and he ignored it.

In most cases such as this, it is unlikely there will be anything left for the family. But your fathers estate is liable to pay the funeral bill.

Sorry!

Probate question – Am I entitled to a share?

Stephen Pett — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 16:20:24 +0000

Probate question – Am I entitled to a share?

Dear Sir,My mother’s mom Owns a property in Manchester, it was bought by my mother’s father and after his death it was transferred to my mother’s mom.My mother has two sisters in Pakistan and three brothers in Manchester. Two brothers are living separate and one brother is living in that property.I want to ask that I am also eligible to take share from this property on behalf of my mother as my mother has also passed away.if yes then can you help me how?How can I check status of this property in legals record?Will my uncle need MY SIGNATURES ( Will my signatures be compulsory) for transferring or selling this property to his name?If this is possible then will it be easy for me to get my entitlement.I am afraid that my uncle will snatch my all entitlement or share. Please advise and help me in this?Probate AnswerIf the property was held in her sole name, her Last Will and Testament will decide where it goes.That is the most likely option.If it was in joint names, there are two options:1) The part of the property she owns will pass by her Will. Or – more likely (if ownership is joint)2) the whole property will pass automatically to the surviving owner.You need the title deeds which you can obtain for a few pounds at:http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/online-servicesIf only her name appears on the deeds, then the house passes firstly under her Last Will, or if there isn’t one, then it passes on under the Rules of Intestacy: http://www.theprobatedepartment.co.uk/rules-of-intestacy/I hope that helps, after you have checked that, we can act for you but would have to charge at our usual fairly modest rates.If you have a Probate Question, we try to answer as many as we have time for: any published on the site have been changed beyond recognition SteveStephen Pett https://www.theprobatedepartment.co.uk/contact-us-for-probate-help.The Probate Department Ltd2 The Triangle, Willingdon, Eastbourne BN20 9PJGA private company registered in England number 07682081.We are NOT a Government Department nor in anyway associated with the Probate REGISTRIES which are part of HM Courts Service.More on Probate Disputes. Probate Claim Checker.