How much money can you have in the bank before Probate?
Posted on 7th October 2023
The question of when different organisations require Probate is difficult to answer definitively, as the thresholds are always subject to change if organisations decide to change them. However, for your ease, our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster have set out the current Probate thresholds below for the most common organisations our Probate Solicitors deal with.
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What is Probate?
Probate- also known as Grant of Probate- can be required when someone has died, if they hold assets over a certain value. This could include property or cash in the bank. A Grant of Probate shows that a person has legal authority to deal with a person's assets, and proceed with administering their estate.
To help you understand the process, our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster have set out some of the key terms you may come across when dealing with Probate for your loved one's estate:
Testator
The person who made their Will.
An Executor
A person or people named in a Will as those who the Testator wishes to deal with their Estate.
Administrator
A person who is legally entitled to administer an estate if a person dies without a Will.
Personal Representative
An umbrella term used to refer to executors and administrators.
Letters of Administration
The equivalent to a Grant of Probate, granted by the Probate Registry where someone has died with no Will.
Confirmation
The Scottish equivalent of a Grant of Probate, Grant of Probate being issued in England and Wales.
Grant of Representation
Another umbrella term used, this time to collectively refer to Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
Although all estates must be administered, whether they are worth £1,000 or £1,000,000, however, not all estates require Probate.
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How much does an Estate need to be worth before Probate is required?
Whether Probate is required will not necessarily depend on the value of a person's estate, but what assets are held with what organisations, and what that organisations requirements are. However, as a general rule, our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster usually advise that:
Probate is not required if the deceased's assets in their sole name are worth less than £5,000, or if all assets were held jointly as beneficial joint tenants with another person.
Probate is generally required if the deceased's assets are in excess of the Probate threshold, or if they are held with another person as tenants in common.
Does making a Will mean Probate is not required?
A common misconception is that Probate will not be required if a person makes a Will. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Probate can still be required if a person makes a Will, as financial institutes can still require this if the funds held in an account are over a certain threshold. That being said, our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster, who also specialise in Will drafting, urge their clients to get a valid Will in place, as this can make the process of administering an estate easier.
Current Probate thresholds for Financial Institutions in England and Wales
Aviva
Generally £50,000
Bank of Ireland
£30,000 (approximately - based on 35,000 euros)
Bank of Scotland
According to their share dealing guide, the Probate threshold is £50,000, although this could differ for cash accounts
Barclays Bank
Birmingham Midshires
Co-op Bank
Halifax Bank
HSBC Bank
According to their website, decisions about when Probate is required are not based solely on the value of the account, however, our Probate Solicitors have found that this is generally asked for over £10,000.
Lloyds Bank
Nationwide
NatWest
According to their website, NatWest will notify you directly of the documents required, however, our Probate Solicitors have found the threshold to be around £25,000.
NS&I
Post Office
Santander
Skipton
Tesco Bank
Virgin Money
Yorkshire
These are only general guidelines, and if you instruct our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster to administer your loved one's estate, we will contact the relevant organisations on your behalf to make enquiries about the documents they require to close the deceased's account. It is also worth noting that, in some cases, banks or financial institutes will pay out funds over these thresholds to Probate Solicitors. You should also consider that these amounts are guidelines at the date of posting, and they could increase or decrease in the future.
What is the process of applying for Probate?
Our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster generally advise that the first step people should take is to register their loved one's death. A Death Certificate will then be issued, which will be required to deal with all stages of administering an estate. The next stage is generally dealing with the funeral arrangements, and thereafter beginning the process of the administration of the estate.
If a Grant of Representation is required, you will need to collate information about the assets the deceased had, including property, banks, policies (both insurance and life, or other policies the deceased may have held), plus personal chattels. Depending on the value of the estate and the tax-free amounts available, you may need to complete an Inheritance Tax account to declare the tax payable to HM Revenue and Customs, and thereafter arrange payment.
Once these matters have been dealt with, you can submit the application for Probate, either on the online service or, in more complex cases, using the relevant paper application form.
Currently, Probate applications are taking around 16 weeks when they are submitted online, or around 16 to 24 weeks when submitted by paper. This can be quite stressful for those involved, however, our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster always advise that, unfortunately, these timescales are outside of our control, and we can only help expedite matters by dealing with the Probate application and submission as quickly as possible.
How much does Probate cost?
Our Lasting Power of Attorney solicitors at MG Legal currently charge fixed-fees for preparing and obtaining a Grant of Probate where the application is for a non-taxable estate where no Inheritance Tax account is required. The legal fees are £650.00 plus VAT, totalling £720.00, plus the Court fee charged by the Probate Registry of £273.00, plus £1.50 per copy of the Grant required (for estates over £5,000 in value). If the application for Probate is more complex, contact our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster for your bespoke quote, below.
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Should I use a solicitor to apply for Probate?
You can apply for Probate yourself, either online or via the paper application depending on the estate. However, many of our Probate clients come to us because they find the application too stressful or overwhelming to deal with themselves. It's also important to remember that inheritance tax is a self-assessment tax, which means that when you declare the value of the estate, it's imperative that you ensure the correct values are declared. Our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster find that the most frequent point that comes up with estates is that the inheritance tax value is declared incorrectly as often people presume that the Residence Nil Rate Band can be claimed automatically, when it does, in fact, need to be applied for via HM Revenue and Customs.
So, don't get caught out- ensure that you deal with your loved one's estate correctly, and contact our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster for advice today.
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Tagged as: Probate, Probate Solicitors in Lancaster
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