Wills
- Parent Category: Home
We advise everyone to make a Will to ensure their estate is distributed in accordance with their wishes. However, many people do not make a Will and their estate is distributed in accordance with the Intestacy Rules:
Surviving Spouse and no Surviving Issue
The spouse will be entitled to the whole estate.
Surviving Spouse and Surviving Issue
When there is a surviving spouse and surviving children the spouse is entitled to:
- the personal chattels;
- £250,000 net free of Inheritance Tax and costs; and
- One half of the residuary estate
The remaining half of the residuary estate passes to the surviving issue.
No Surviving Spouse but Surviving Issue
All children will each receive a share of the estate. This is held on the statutory trusts until such time as each child reaches the age of 18 and attains a vested interest. If a child does not attain a vested interest and has no children of their own then that share is divided equally between the remaining children in equal shares.
No surviving Spouse and No Surviving Issue
In the event that you do not have a surviving spouse or children then there is an order of entitlement. If there is no-one in a category then the next category must be considered:
- Parents in equal shares
- Brothers and sisters of the whole blood or their issue if they have not survived;
- Brothers and sisters of the half blood or their issue if they have not survived;
- Grandparents in equal shares;
- Uncles and aunts of the whole blood or their issue if they have not survived;
- Uncles and aunts of the half blood or their issue if they have not survived.
If there is one surviving relative in a category they will receive the whole estate excluding anyone in a lower category.
If there is no surviving relatives in the above categories then the estate passes to the Crown, Duchy of Lancaster or Duke of Cornwall.
- Parent Category: Home
It is difficult to estimate how long the administration of an estate will take as you are dependent on replies from various different companies, obtaining valuations , HM Revenue and Customs. On average a simple Estate can take in the region of 6 to 12 months.
Other timescale factors to be taken into account are:
- Whether there is a requirement for Trustee Act Notices – you may have seen these in the classifieds in the local paper. Such notices are required where the Executors are not beneficiaries and need to be placed in the London Gazette and the local paper. No part of the estate can be distributed until at least 2 months from the date of these Notices.
- Is there a potential claim against the estate via the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975. If so the estate cannot be administered until 6 months from the date of the issue of the Grant.
- Is there likely to be a potential claim regarding the validity of the Will. The Personal Representatives would be wise not to distribute the estate to avoid becoming personally liable for any claim.
- Once the application for the Grant of Probate is made this can also take 4 weeks to issue although this may be longer if Inheritance Tax needs to be paid firstly and a receipt for payment issued by HMRC which then needs to be submitted with the probate papers.
- If there is a property to sell the buoyancy of the property market at the time of sale and the type of property may also have some bearing on the length of time it will take to administer the estate
To book an appointment call us on 01626 33 33 80 or complete our Request a Call Back form and we will call you back, at a time to suit you, free of charge.
- Parent Category: Home
When instructing Linnitts we would require such details as:
Assets eg:
- Bank and Building Society Accounts
- Stocks and Shares
- Insurances
- Unit Trusts, ISA’s, PEP’s etc
- National Savings Investments
- Pension Details both State and Occupational
- National Insurance Number
- Tax District
- Title Deeds of any property
- Birth and Marriage Certificate
- Death Certificate and details of the administration of the estate of a late spouse or civil partner if claiming the transferable Nil Rate Band
- Details of any gifts that the deceased made in the 7 years prior to their death
Liabilities eg:
- Funeral Expenses
- Mortgage
- Utilities
- Council Tax
- Credit Cards
- House Insurance
- Car Insurance
- Any other debts the deceased owed
To book an appointment call us on 01626 33 33 80 or complete our Request a Call Back form and we will call you back, at a time to suit you, free of charge.
- Parent Category: Home
Most married couples or civil partners do not worry about making a Will because they believe that everything will pass to their spouse or civil partner on death.
If the couple owned any property as tenants in common then this may not present a problem but if the deceased had a sizable estate and the property was held in their sole name then the surviving spouse or civil partner may not be entitled to as much as they thought they would be.
1. Surviving Issue
Where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner and there is surviving issue (ie children) then the Spouse or civil partner will be entitled to:
- The personal chattels
- £250,000 net free of inheritance tax and costs
- A life interest in the remainder of the estate with a reversion to the issue
The issue take the other half of the remainder of the estate absolutely or on statutory trusts.
2. Surviving Parents and No Surviving Issue
The Spouse or civil partner will be entitled to:
- The personal chattels
- £450,000 net free of inheritance tax and costs
- Half of the remainder absolutely
The parents take the remainder absolutely in equal shares if both are surviving.
3. Surviving Brothers and Sisters of the whole blood (including issue of any such brothers and sisters who predeceased the intestate)
- The Spouse or civil partner will be entitled to:
- The personal chattels
- £450,000 net free of inheritance tax and costs
- Half of the remainder absolutely
The brothers and sisters and issue of predeceased brothers and sisters take the remainder absolutely on statutory trusts.
Statutory Trusts means trusts for any members of the class living at the intestate’s death who attain the age of 18 years or marry, if they predecease leaving issue then they take the share that their parent would have been entitled to on attaining the age of 18 years or earlier marriage
4. Surviving Brothers and Sisters of the half blood (including issue of any brothers and sisters who predeceased the intestate
The Spouse or civil partner will be entitled to all of the estate
5. Surviving Grandparents
The Spouse or civil partner will be entitled to all of the estate
6. Surviving Uncles or Aunts of the whole blood (including issue of any such uncles or aunts who predeceased the intestate)
The Spouse or civil partner will be entitled to all of the estate
7. Surviving Uncles or Aunts of the half blood (including issue of any such uncles or aunts who predeceased the intestate)
The Spouse or civil partner will be entitled to all of the estate
8. No relative of any of the above classes
The Spouse or civil partner will be entitled to all of the estate
Distribution of the Estate Where there is no Surviving Spouse or Civil Partner
- Your estate would be inherited in the following order:
- All to your issue on statutory trusts
- All to your parents in equal shares if both survive
- All to your brothers and sisters of the whole blood and issue of predeceased brothers and sisters of the whole blood on statutory trusts
- All to your brothers and sisters of the half blood and issue of predeceased brothers and sisters of the half blood on statutory trusts
- All to your uncles and aunts of the whole blood and issue of predeceased uncles and aunts of the whole blood on statutory trusts
- All to your uncles and aunts of the half blood and issue of predeceased uncles and aunts of the half blood on statutory trusts
- If there are no surviving relatives in any of the above classes then your estate will pass to the Crown or to the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duke of Cornwall
To book an appointment call us on 01626 33 33 80 or complete our Request a Call Back form and we will call you back, at a time to suit you, free of charge.
- Parent Category: Home
The following will need to be notified eg:
- Doctor
- Dentist
- Optician
- DVLA (if deceased had valid driving licence/owned a car)
- Passport Agency (if deceased had valid passport)
- Membership to any Clubs, Societies, Magazine Subscriptions etc
We will then contact all of the deceased’s asset and liability holders on your behalf in order to establish the value of the deceased’s estate for probate purposes. Once the value of the estate has been calculated then the appropriate forms can be completed to obtain the Grant. If the estate is liable for Inheritance Tax then arrangements can be made for at least the first instalments due to be paid in order to obtain the Grant.
Once the Grant is obtained then the assets can be collected and any liabilities settled before the estate is distributed to the legatees and beneficiaries.
To book an appointment call us on 01626 33 33 80 or complete our Request a Call Back form and we will call you back, at a time to suit you, free of charge.
