Common Questions
Grant of Letters of Administration - Common Questions Answered
1. WHAT IS A GRANT OF LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION.
A Grant of Letters of Administration means the issue of the legal document which authorises the administrator to deal with the deceased’s estate in accordance with the statutory rules of intestacy.
2. WHY DO I NEED A GRANT?
Quite simply most organisations such as building societies, banks etc will not allow the deceased’s assets to be dealt with unless the person wishing to do so can prove that he/she has the appropriate authority, ie the Grant. If the ownership of land is involved, the Land Registry will definitely require sight of a Grant before it will register the person entitled to inherit the property as the new owner.
3. IS A GRANT ALWAYS NEEDED?
On a few occasions it is not needed and the organisation holding the deceased’s asset may agree to waive the requirement for a Grant eg when the amount is small and there are no complications.
If you are dealing with a very small estate it is always worth asking the organisations that hold the assets whether or not they require a Grant. If they do not then everything is far simpler, but often when one or two organisations are happy to deal with the matter without a Grant, a third may still require a Grant. If this happens you must include ALL assets when calculating the value of the estate for the purposes of the application, including those with organisations that say that they do not require a Grant!
4. WHO INHERITS UNDER THE STATUTORY RULES OF INTESTACY?
The rules are very complicated and we shall be happy to give you guidance on distribution if this is required by you. To give you some guidelines:
i). Where the deceased left a husband or wife he or she takes:
a). all personal goods
b). if there are children, the first £125,000 and a life interest in half of the remainder for life.
c). if there are no children, £200,000 and a life interest in half the balance for life
ii). Where the deceased left no spouse but did leave a child or children, they inherit everything, subject to certain rules on age and relating to children who died before the deceased.
iii). Where the deceased left a parent or parents but no spouse or children, the parent(s) inherit everything.
iv). If the deceased left only brothers or sisters they inherit everything, again subject to specific rules.
5. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Our fee for the service as described above is £350 plus VAT of £61.25 and the probate Court filing fee of £40.00 making a total cost £451.25.
When you complete the questionnaire we will require the total payment as above.
6. IS INHERITANCE TAX PAYABLE?
No inheritance tax is payable on any element of an estate which passes from the deceased to his/her spouse.
No inheritance tax is payable on any estate whose net value is less than £312,000.
Accordingly, as our scheme operates only in cases where the gross estate does not exceed £312,000 no inheritance tax is payable on any matter that is dealt with under the scheme.
7. WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF ADMINISTRATORS?
These are to gather in the estate and to distribute it according to the statutory rules.