Hi Neil, Thank you for your guide (https://qlaw.co.uk/probate/excepted-estates-when-is-probate-not-required/ but I have to say I’m still so confused with this whole process.
My mother passed away November 2023 making myself and my sister executors of her will. There was an LPA was in force and as a family we were under the belief that we would continue to have access to my mother’s bank account only to discover that after informing the bank of my mother’s passing, an LPA becomes inactive upon their death. The account was therefore closed and they will not allow any further access until a Grant of Probate is granted. Thankfully they did however process all payments associated with her funeral.
Having gone through the online IHT checker process and receiving a confirmation that were not liable for IHT, I completed the Grant of Probate application online and awaited a response. That response came back asking for answers to questions that I had already provided in the submissions via the online IHT checker however because I have answered NO to a particular question then we apparently have to complete an IHT400/421. Please refer to the below:-
Did the deceased have a pre-deceased spouse or civil partner (was the deceased widowed at their date of death)? Yes No
Are you claiming the unused IHT allowance (‘nil-rate band’) of the deceased’s late spouse or civil partner? Yes No
If you have answered No to the above question (unused IHT allowance) and the net qualifying value is above £325k then you must complete an IHT400/421 – Please send these forms (if not already sent) to H.M. Revenue & Customs to ensure that your application can proceed as quickly as possible. They will then send you a cover letter with a unique reference code, Please send this to us via email – contactprobate@justice.gov.uk
Having already provided the financial figures via the submission after going through the IHT online checker process, I’m now confused as to why we are now being asked to again provide this same info i.e.
Gross value of the estate for inheritance tax =£
Net value of the estate for inheritance tax =£
Net qualifying value of the estate =£
Gross value of the estate for probate =£
Net value of the estate for probate =£
Thank you and the team at QLAW for any further clarity you can provide to assist us in hopefully completing this process.