Probate query

[Notenoughsleep]

Hi all, My mam passed away this week and I'm currently going through the motion of notifying relevant companies, which gives me something else to focus on, and I'm just wondering whether I need to apply for probate and wonder if anyone could shed light for me please.
My mam lived in a care home so all utilities etc were cancelled at the time of her moving in. Her house was sold and the proceeds nestling in the account. Her final bill from the care home was paid just before her entering hospital so she owes nothing to them. I've informed DWP to stop her state pension and have informed her private pension company and the relevant life insurance companies, and that's about it. I hold POA over her bank accounts and have done for the past 3 years and I just need to inform them when I get the relevant certificates. Her estate stands at around £30,000 so there is no Inheritance Tax. Her Will leaves everything to me as I am her only child. It all seems straightforward to me so, do you think I need to apply for Probate? Thanks in anticipation x

 

[love.dad.but..]

So sorry to hear that your mum has passed away.It depends on whether her funds are all in one place or split. My understanding is that some banks etc will release funds of a small amount on production of death cert and copy of the will and a completed bank form but that amount is I think something like £3-5000 and it at their discretion even for a smaller amount they are entitled to ask for probate.. So in all likelyhood yes you will need to apply for probate which is very straightforward if your mums affairs are simple. I did it myself for my fathers estate and FIL and in both cases it cane through in around 4 weeks from application with no problems. The forms can be printed downloaded

 

[jugglingmum]

As love.dad.but says it depends on the banks limit, when I was putting POA in place one bank said it had a limit of £15,000.

If you go to each institution with the death cert you will find out their policy and if they need probate apply at that stage.

 

[Spamar]

I didn’t need probate for the banks, but I did for the Companies which held his ISAs. What a nuisance!
The probate office were very helpful, even answered the phone within a few minutes! Although, like you, the money came to me, and a lot of other things were sorted as he spent the last 3 months of his life in a carehome, if anyone asks for probate, you have to get it.

 

[Beate]

The will doesn't matter, it's about whether there is property and how much money was left, was it in many different institutions, was some of it joint, etc. The more complicated, the more likely is it that you'll need probate. Also, I think if the money doesn't exceed £5,000 you won't need it, but I'm not sure whether that's per bank. I think a "small estate" is under £30,000.

I was so very lucky that my OH held everything with one bank and it only slightly exceeded that amount. I made an appointment to register the death, gave them a copy of the funeral bill and they wrote out a cheque for that amount. That took him under the £5,000 and she said she could give me the rest of the money and close the account right now if I wanted.

Also, you can use the "Tell Us Once" Service to inform a range of official organisations of his death all at once.
https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once

 

[malengwa]

Just going through this. Completely seems to depend on the banks, one was happy with 10k without probate but a building society and all the share companies wanted probate. So its all in process now, hopefully there's nothing tricky to sort out as far as I'm aware.

 

[Selinacroft]

Hi Noteneough sleep, sorry to hear of your loss. I've recently registered my father's death and used their service to notify various authorities. They gave me a leaflet to make sure I didn't get any junk mail in my father's name and to get him taken off the mailing lists. You had the option of filling this form in or ringing up and I chose to ring the phone number on the leaflet. They offered far more than just removing from the mailing lists and he was very helpful explaining terms and processes to go through. He explained which banks needed probate and for how much before they would release funds.