Avery Associates

  A close family relative is not a guarantee of an inheritance from them when they die. Nor is a verbal promise to remember us, no matter how genuine they seemed at the time. That’s because claiming from a deceased estate follows one of these two well-defined paths: Either the deceased left us something in a legal will. Or else their estate goes to their nearest relative(s). We  wrote about legal, valid wills  on a previous occasion. This article is about making a claim from a deceased estate if there is no such document. The UK Government’s legal department offers a Bona Vacantia service, which means ‘vacant goods’ in Latin. Your first task is to find out where you are in order of priority, if at all. Priority for Claiming From a Deceased Estate A legal, valid will sets out how a deceased estate must be shared out. This includes the entire estate whether or not all assets are mentioned. However, if the person dies intestate (without a will) then everything is potentially...

You accept the nomination out of affection for the friend you lost, register the death and are ready so start implementing their final wishes. But wait: you need official permission from the authorities.  That includes making arrangements for inheritance tax. However your first major hurdle is valuing the estate. Preparing an Application for a Grant of Probate 1. Download Form PA1P which is the official probate application form.  You can complete it and file it safely on your computer. It will take you a while to locate all the assets, and complete all the details. This information will make administering the estate easier, so it’s worth doing a thorough job. 2. Value the estate as best you can, making sure you list all the assets, and subtract all debts and liabilities from the total value. Your goal is to establish whether the net result is below £325,000 or not, because that’s the point where inheritance tax becomes payable. 3. Download form IHT205 (no inheritance tax) or f...