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  • Wills and Grants

    I have today received a copy of a will and the grant. The main purpose for sending for them was so that I could find out for my mum if my aunt [her sister in law ] had been a beneficiary, it was purely for my mums curiosity ,something she has wondered about for years and also it gave me the opportunity to send for a will for the first time to see what the procedure involved

    As suspected my aunt did benefit from the will,albeit a much smaller amount than mum thought,the family myth was she would leave her money to the cats or dogs home as she had no children,this she didn't do she left the remainder of her estate to two medical foundations,however it doesn't say how much that amounted to.

    The only mention of money other than the amount left to my aunt was on the grant.At the bottom of the grant it says

    "it is hereby certified that it appears from information supplied on the application for this grant that the gross value of the said estate in the United Kingdom does not exceed £70000.00 and that the net value of such estate does not exceed £40000.00"

    do I take it to mean there would have been £40000.00 less my aunts bequest
    to be given to the two medical foundations.Also what could account for the £30000.00 difference between the gross and net amount.

    If anyone is able to help me understand the above I would be grateful.

    Hana

  • #2
    Taxes, bills still to be paid, debts to be settled, I think.

    Anne

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    • #3
      Thank you Ann,from what I can remember of this greataunt I don't think there would have been any debts and probably only the usual household bills outstanding,she lived quite simply in a council house and I was led to believe that she only came into money herself when her brother died and she became his beneficiary.Mainly I was wondering if it was £40000.00 that was left to be shared out.

      Hana

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      • #4
        Oh, sorry - missed that bit. Yes I think that's what the 'net amount' means. In this case 'not exceeding £40,000'. These always seem to be round amounts (on wills I have anyway) so I don't know how much less than £40,000 it would have been. Probably more than £35,000.

        Anne

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        • #5
          You don't say when the Will was proved or when she died, but the blather about "not exceeding " etc, is usually the then current threshold for paying Inheritance Tax (so she died a long time ago!).

          The "not exceeding" NET figure is the amount to be distributed after all due debts etc had been paid, including Inheritance Tax if it was payable.

          Sometimes, when an Executor applies for probate, it is only possible to give a very general idea of what the deceased's estate was worth, so the Probate Officer and the Executor come to an approximate estimate and Probate is granted on that temporary figure.

          You can apply for, or at least ask, if accounts were filed. Executors are supposed to file accounts with the Probate Office once the estate has been wound up but in practice this doesn't always happen - I have not yet filed accounts for my late father, nearly nine years after his death, because there are still one or two items outstanding.

          Professional Executors, such as Solicitors, Banks etc, always file accounts.

          OC

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          • #6
            Oh I'm glad about that,mum always thought my aunt had inherited all the money and hadn't said so ,it might settle her mind now,she's always held it against my aunt.

            Hana

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            • #7
              OC,

              I'm terribly sorry but I missed your post,she died on 25th April 1989 and the Grant was dated the 2nd June 1989,In the High Court of Justice,The District Probate Registry at Liverpool and I obtained the copy from York Probate -Sub Registry.Now I look at the dates there doesn't seem to be very long in between her death and the Grant.Is the Grant the document that means the will is proved.

              I have looked up the threshold for Inheritance tax for this year and if I am right it was £118000 so if the gross amount didn't exceed £70000 then I presume there wouldn't have been any tax due.

              I only want to be able to put mums mind at rest,she's 89 now and gets upset over little things that seem to have happened long ago ,she was always convinced my aunt had had all of the money,now I can tell her she didn'twhilst my aunt is still alive I won't try to find out about any accounts ,if she found out there would be a lot of trouble,she doesn't agree with my researching and has given me a lot of false information at times.

              Hana

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Hana View Post
                Is the Grant the document that means the will is proved.
                Yes, that's right.

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                • #9
                  Jill,

                  Thankyou for replying

                  Hana

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                  • #10
                    It is difficult to imagine how your Aunt might find out if you made enquiries about any deposited accounts for the estate - Wills are public documents for this very reason!

                    However, I understand your concern, but I would personally be interested to discover what the difference in the two amounts (gross and net) covered - £30K is a lot of debt to pay off, as no IHT was due.

                    EDIT - I thought that a Grant was the official bit of paper granting Probate, that is the right for the executor to distribute the estate (Grant of Probate). Proving a Will is normally at the end of proceedings - as explained above, I haven't yet proved my late father's Will because we haven't finished with a few bits of things, although everyone has been paid out who was a beneficiary.

                    OC
                    Last edited by Olde Crone Holden; 27-08-09, 22:46.

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