Someone close to you has died. There’s a great deal for you to take in emotionally….and a lot for you do practically.
Applying for probate may not be at the top of your priority list.
That’s okay. Obtaining probate rare the most urgent thing you need to do after a death. In any case, before you start to consider probate there are some fundamental steps you need to take first. These are:
1. Register the death
If your loved one died in hospital, a doctor will issue a medical certificate giving the cause of death which they will send to the hospital’s local Register Office.
Someone from that Registrar will then contact you to arrange an appointment to register the death. ou will also be given a notice, explaining how to register the death. There is no charge for either of these. If the person has not been seen by a hospital doctor, their GP may be able to issue a certificate instead.
You’ll need a copy of the death certificate for each of the deceased’s assets (for example each bank account, credit card, mortgage and so on), so before you can start probate, you’ll need to register the death.
You’ll usually need to do this within five days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or eight days in Scotland – though this doesn’t apply if the death’s reported to the coroner. To do this, go to the register office for the area where the death happened – use Gov.uk to find it. You may need to book an appointment, so it’s worth phoning first.
Documents to take when registering a death
You’ll need the medical certificate of the cause of death, plus a birth certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate or NHS medical card if available. A relative will usually need to register the death, if possible, but others are allowed to do this in some circumstances.
There’s a useful Gov.uk tool to help you find exactly who can do it, and what documents are needed, for where you are in the UK. The registrar will then give you a certificate for burial or cremation, and a certificate of registration of death (more commonly known as a death certificate).
2. Find out if there’s a will
Before you do anything else, find out if there’s a will. It’s a good idea to start looking for a will in the first week after the death if you can, as it may also have other instructions such as funeral plans. If you don’t have a will yourself and want one, see our Cheap and free wills guide.
It’s important to establish if there’s a will as it’ll say who the executor is. It also names who’ll get any assets left.
If the will doesn’t name an executor, or the person who has been named can’t take on the position for any reason, it gets more complicated. However, there is a process to follow. Any beneficiaries of the estate – usually a close relative such as a spouse, child or parent – can apply to the probate registry to be what is known as an ‘administrator’ of the estate instead.
What if there isn’t a will?
If no valid will has been left, the deceased has died ‘intestate’. In this instance, laws known as intestacy rules govern how their estate should be distributed. Unmarried or divorced partners normally don’t inherit anything under intestacy rules.
3. Sort inheritance tax
The final thing to do before applying for probate is to pay any inheritance tax (IHT) due. The process of establishing how much IHT is due may seem daunting. But it need not be.
Sorting inheritance tax involves identifying the deceased’s assets and debts.
Assets may include:
- money in bank accounts
- pensions
- investments such as shares
- property
- valuable personal goods
Debts may include:
- mortgages,
- outstanding bills
- loans
- money owed on credit cards
- funeral expenses can also count as debts.
Establishing this information will be straight forward if the deceased person kept good, and easily-understood financial records. If they did not you will need to write to all the financial organisations the deceased interacted with, ask each one for the value of the asset or debt (you’ll need to include a copy of the death certificate when doing this).
Organisations that commonly hold a person’s assets and debts are:
- their bank or building society
- their mortgage provider
- their pension provider – ask if you should include any private pension when you value the estate
- their employer – the person may be owed wages
- any companies they held shares in – include the number of shares, company details and the share certificate number (if you have it)
- National Savings and Investments (NS&I)
- other financial organisations that hold assets like ISAs, shares, investments or assets in a trust
https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value
Once you know who the executor is – the person authorised to deal with the deceased’s property, money and possessions – they need to apply for a document known as a ‘grant’. (If there is more than one executor, only one needs to apply.) It shows you have the right to access funds, sort finances and share out assets.
If the person died after 1 January 2022, the first step in applying for the ‘grant’ is to check the value of the deceased’s estate (more details about this in point 8) and use the online checker tool to find out if inheritance tax (IHT) is likely to be owed.
Where the estimated value of the estate is BELOW the IHT threshold (currently £325,000)
Here it’ll be classed as an ‘excepted estate’ and you don’t need to report this separately to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) – though you’ll still need to report it as part of your probate application.
Do note that inheritance tax is not charged on assets (or even entire estates) which are being transferred to a surviving spouse (see the quick question below for more on this).
Where the estimated value of the estate is ABOVE the IHT threshold (£325,000)
Here you’ll need to fill in an IHT400 form and send it to HMRC. Be sure to then wait 20 working days before applying for probate.
In the scenario where the person who died is leaving behind their home to a direct descendant, such as a child or grandchild, inheritance tax might not actually be charged on the first £500,000 of the estate – something that’s a result of the ‘residence nil-rate band’ (if this applies to you, you’ll need to fill in an IHT400 form and an IHT435 form). Our Inheritance tax guide has more details on how this extra allowance works.
If there is tax to pay, you’ll need to settle this before the grant is issued to you. You have six months from the end of the month in which the person died to do so. You can defer tax and pay in instalments on some types of assets, including land, some shares and the value of any business owned (not the assets).
If there’s enough money in a bank account of the deceased to cover the amount of tax due, it should be possible to arrange a direct payment to HMRC. Most UK banks permit this if you send an IHT423 form.
If there isn’t enough money you’ll have to pay out of your own pocket (if you can) and recoup the money from the estate after probate – or take a loan from a bank. The loan can then be repaid from the estate after the grant has been issued and assets released.
But even if the money is borrowed, an estate that consists mainly of the family home may not have enough cash or other assets to repay it. So the family home may have to be sold or mortgaged to do so. If you’ve tried everything possible but still failed to raise money for the fees, you might be able to apply in ‘exceptional’ circumstances for help from the Lord Chancellor.