Probate?

[chocolatefudge]

Does anyone know if my mum would need to do probate? half the house is hers the other half is mine and my sister's we obviously want her to stay in the house.

My dad has 2 accounts in his name so could my mum ask the bank if the money can go directly to her or do we have to do this through probate?

hope someone can help

Sorry for your loss.

I think the need for probate depends on the amounts involved and if there is a will.

I was executor for my FIL but it was straightforward as MIL owned the house jointly with him and his individual assets came to less than £5K. We didn't need probate.

sorry that you have to deal with this.

You can usually get books on probate from the library - that would tell you waht you need to do. Or contact the CAB.

How does the house become half yours/sisters ? I think if there is no will and they were married then the house is hers - as is the remaining estate. Once someone dies their bank accounts are frozen - the assets (or debts) can only be release when the estate is finalised - not sure if that is probabte or not (can't quite remember what my Mum had to do).

\link{http://www.direct.gov.uk/RightsAndResponsibilities/Death/WhatToDoAfterADeath/WhatToDoAfterADeathArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=10029802&chk=fPI7BD\this} should help.

So sorry for your loss :(

DH is a solicitor who specialises in this area of law (see his link on MN above). I will ask him and see what he says.

Sorry to hear your news.

Does depend on the amount involved and you can either pay for a solicitor to sort probate or go for the cheaper option and do it yourself. I would suggest an initial chat with a solicitor who can advise if probate is necessary. If not the bank will get your mum to sign an indemnity and then pay the balances to her.

xxx

chocolatefudge - you only have probate if there's a will - otherwise you may need something called Letters of Administration (in England). The probate office themselves are usually pretty helpful. Have a look in your phone book under probate and pop along to the office, it'll probably be in your local court building or similar. They often have an information pack.

So sorry for your loss.

DH's quick response from work:

if dads accounts are more than £5,000 chances are she will need probate, need to check with the bank

DH's MN article may have more informatoin (not checked it recently): \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/bigissues/makingawill.html\here}

Update to the article: no tax threshold is now £285,000,

Hi thanks everyone for your help.

My mum and dad did do a will. They made it out for my sister and i to get half the house but we only can have this when my mum has gone.

hulababy, yes my dad has 7k. Could you ask your DH whether i would need to sign any documents for probate as my sister and i are executors of there will. Also, if i'm able to sign it where i live as it's a 2 hr journey to my mums and i have young children so it's a bit awkward.

thanks

Been out all day. I'll ask him when he comes in this evening from work and post later.

I e-mailed DH and this is his reply for you:

They need to check with the bank first as there is a discretion to dispense with a grant of probate if the estate is between £5k and £15k.

She can sign it where she lives.

Hope that helps.