Estate Completion Checklist
After getting probate, it’s time to finish off the estate by making sure all the money ends up in the right places. There may be other specifics for your situation, but the main things to do are to:
- Check there will be enough money to pay all taxes, debts and expenses
- Check if there are any ‘legal rights’ to pay (more info below)
- Decide if you want to change the Will (more info below)
- Check if any beneficiaries want any assets as part of their inheritance before you sell them
- Close, sell, or transfer all accounts, properties, shareholdings, investments etc.
- Pay any outstanding taxes, debts, and expenses (it’s worth checking if debtors will consider writing off the debt, especially for smaller amounts)
- Get a letter from DWP stating that the estate doesn’t owe anything to them
- Get a letter from HMRC stating that the estate doesn’t owe any income tax
- Pay out any legal rights claims and the rest of the estate by the terms of the Will, or by the ‘rules of intestacy’ if there is no Will
- Put everything in a folder and store it somewhere safe, HMRC could ask to see your records for up to 20 years (digital copies would be fine, but it can be a good idea to keep the original Will, death certificate and Grant of Confirmation)
More detailed information on these steps is included with all our paid services.
Legal Rights
In Scotland, there is a law that means a spouse/civil partner and children cannot be completely disinherited, even if they are left out of the Will deliberately. Legal rights, also referred to as the ‘legitim fund’, may have to be taken into account when the person who died has:
- a spouse/civil partner who was not left the entire estate
- any children who were not left the entire estate equally just between them and their siblings
Read our article for more information on
Legal Rights and how to calculate them
Changing the Will
The terms of a Will can be changed within 2 years of the death, as long as anyone who would lose out agrees to the changes. This can be useful to:
- reduce a beneficiary’s own future inheritance tax bill
- change who receives money from the estate (someone may have been left out)
- move the deceased’s assets into a trust
- clear up any uncertainty over the Will
- reduce other tax liabilities like capital gains tax and income tax
We strongly recommend hiring a lawyer to advise you on this and prepare an appropriate ‘Deed of Variation’. This should cost around £400-£500. We can recommend one if you like.
Dealing with a property
If you’ve got a property to sell or transfer, take advantage of our conveyancing partner’s low fixed rates. Whilst it’s normally best to use a local estate agent if you’re selling, the legal conveyancing for a sale or transfer can be done completely remotely.
If nobody is living in the property and it sells for more than the value in the inventory, you should check to see if any Capital Gains Tax is due. If it is, you must report this to HMRC within 30 days to avoid any penalties. A conveyancing solicitor can keep you right with this.
Get in touch for more information on low fixed-fee rates for conveyancing
My Probate Partner is the trading name of DIY Executor Ltd. Company number SC612617.
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