Intestacy/Intestate
If someone dies without a Will they are said to have died intestate.
This means that the assets within the deceased estate will be allocated according to the rules of intestacy. Many people consider the intestacy rules to be extremely unfair: For example, if the deceased was unmarried and living with a partner then their partner may not be entitled to inherit anything. Even if they were married, their husband or wife may only be entitled to receive the statutory legacy which may be less than the value of the estate. The balance will go to their children, parents, brothers, sisters or more distant relatives in accordance with the intestacy rules. If no living relatives can be found, the estate will go to the Crown.
The procedure for dealing with an intestate estate is very similar to the Probate process. If the deceased left assets worth more than £5,000 their next of kin will need to apply to the Probate Registry for Letters of Administration. The letters of administration give the next of kin the necessary authority to collect the assets within the estate. They must then distribute them according to the intestacy rules.
It is perfectly possible for the next of kin to apply for Letters of Administration themselves. However, the process is quite time consuming and you will be legally liable for any mistakes that are made. For this reason, approximately 70% of people decide to seek professional help.
Final Duties offers an estate administration service for intestate estates. We take comprehensive details of the estate over the telephone. This usually takes 5 to ten minutes. We then put the case out to tender to our panel of specialist Probate solicitors. We will obtain at least three competing quotations from our panel in order to ensure that you receive the most competitive fee. You will then be sent a detailed quotation in writing which sets out to the penny what fees and other charges you will need to pay. Our quotations are fixed and guaranteed not to change provided that the details of the estate are as described.
If you decide to accept our quotation then we will ask you to pay our Probate broking fee of £295. This can usually be reclaimed from the estate. There is nothing else to pay until Letters of Administration have been obtained as all other fees will usually be taken from the estate. We will then put you directly in contact with your solicitor.
Our estate administration service has been featured in six national newspapers and is designed to help you to find a top probate solicitor at the most competitive fee.
Call us now on 0800 731 8722 for a free written fixed fee quotation without obligation
Tax Advice
Inheritance Tax is payable at 40% on any qualifying Estate that is worth more than the Inheritance Tax threshold of £325,000 (tax year 2009/10).
Many people see Inheritance Tax as the most unjust of all taxes – after all the money has already been taxed once – why should people have to pay tax again on the same money?
Minimising the Estate’s liability
Fortunately there are a great many things that can be done to minimise an Estate’s Inheritance Tax liability. Some of these strategies can be employed posthumously.
We will arrange for you to speak to a qualified accountant or solicitor who can advise on how to minimise the Estate’s Inheritance Tax liability. This advice could save you many thousands of pounds.
