Probate-more than £25,000

[Dinger2]

Buying insurance at the building soceity recently,the advisor just happened to mention if my elderly Mother passed away and left more than £25,000 (she will)then it would have to "go to probate" --is this true? As far as I understand probate is a legal mechanism put in to place when a person dies without leaving a will, so what on Earth was this woman talking about ? was she getting confused with Death duties?

[ubasses]

She is correct, Probate is 'proving the Will'. In fact some Financial institutions will not pay out without probate if the esate is over £5000. If someone dies without a Will (intestate) you have to apply for Letters of Administration.

[sunny-dave]

For most wills probate is very simple to do yourself - you don't need to pay a solicitor.

You just need to be competent/careful at working out the value of the estate and completing the relevant forms.

[woofgang]

The reason for probate is simple, it is to ensure that any tax due from the estate gets paid. Every estate has to go through some kind of process to ensure that if there is a share due to hmg, then hmg gets its share.

[Buenchico]

Whenever someone dies (irrespective of whether they leave a will or not), the people who need to access their assets (in order to distribute them in accordance with the terms of the will, or under the intestacy rules) require a 'grant of representation' from a court. If there's a will, such a grant is in the form of a 'grant of probate'; if the person dies intestate, the grant is in the form of 'letters of administration'.

The only exception is where the value of the estate is less than £5000 (not £25,000, as referred to in the question). Under such circumstances the law does not require a grant of representation to be obtained (but it might still be necessary anyway, as some financial institutions will not release the assets of a deceased customer without a grant).

When your mother passes away it won't be good enough to simply produce her death certificate (and her will) to the building society, in order to access her assets (even if the will names you as both the sole executor and sole beneficiary of her estate). Her executor(s) will need to convince the Probate Court that they have produced her final will, that they've established the full extent of her assets and debts, and formally swear (or 'affirm') that they will act in accordance with the terms of the will. Only then can the necessary grant be obtained. (Her will, and details of her estate, will then pass into the public domain).

Chris

[factor-fiction]

The adviser was not correct in my view- cases need to go to probate if the estate is worth more than £5000 (and I think it may be necessary for amounts lower than this where stocks and shares and some insurance policies are involved). I'm not sure where the figure of £25000 comes from.
http://www.direct.gov...eparation/DG_10029799
I'm not sure though why she would 'just happen to mention it'.

[tonywiltshire]

If you need a grant of probate or not will depend on the institutions you are dealing with, a grant of probate may be required where there are only hundreds of pounds in the estate if the institutions demand it, as probate is proof that a will is legally valid.

[dzug2]

Possibly mentioned because of the insurance - written in the right way the policy could fall outside the estate.

[Peter Pedant]

get her to write a will

not expensive

PP