Gifts with Reservation of Benefit (GROB) - Inheritance Tax (IHT) Lifetime gifts with a ‘reserved benefit’ may end up being charged to IHT on your death.  Inheritance Tax (IHT) is payable on the net estate of someone who has died.  It is subject to various exemptions and reliefs.  However, it does [...]

Lifetime Gifts - Inheritance Tax (IHT) It’s not just the assets we own on death that attract IHT – gifts made in our lifetime may too...  Subject to various allowances and reliefs, gifts made during our lifetime may be added to the value of those assets that comprise our estate when [...]

How do you value assets for Probate? One of the first jobs for executors is to obtain ‘date of death values’ for all assets.  So, you’re the executor of a will, and the testator (the person who made the will) has died.  Assuming you are going to accept the executor [...]

Probate - What are Estate Accounts? Estate accounts should provide an overview of the administration of an estate.  Estate accounts are a summary of the administration of an estate.  The main focus is on ‘numbers’.  They will typically show all date of death values, payments in and out of the [...]

What does an Executor do? Your Executor(s) will deal with the ‘administration of your estate’ (often called ‘probate’) when you die... Acting as someone’s executor is a big job, and one not to be taken on lightly.  So, let’s take an overview of some of the key responsibilities of an [...]

How long does Probate take? Probate is the name commonly used to describe the administration of a Will. Probate can take a long time to complete because of the amount of organisations involved, and events will often be out of the control of the executors – for example waiting to [...]

Do I need to apply for Probate? It is not always necessary to obtain probate of a will. It is not always necessary to apply for probate.  If you are named as the executor of a will, you may have to apply for probate when the person who made the [...]

Excepted Estates - When is Probate not required? Probate is generally required where assets (of more than £5k) are held in the deceased's name. A grant of probate is the legal authority given to executors to allow them to ‘administer’ a deceased’s estate. Think of it like the ‘driving license’ [...]

What is Probate? Probate is granted to executors allowing them to deal with an estate. Probate is the term often used to describe the process of administering the estate of a deceased person.  In fact, Probate is the Court Order made in favour of the executors of a Will giving [...]