Probate/inheritance question. Quick but slightly urgent!

[picklemepopcorn]

Hi, can anyone help?

Dad is very ill. His will leaves everything to mum.
They live on rental income from a property which is in dad's name, but the rent goes into a joint account.

What will happen when he dies? Will the rent be stopped from going into the joint account?

I think it will be ok in the end, but in the short term it could get tricky! We'll probably get a solicitor to do probate, but it's just making sure she is ok in the meantime.

Also, if the property is in his name but left to his wife, will she need to pay inheritance tax on it?

Thank you!

No inheritance tax when a spouse inherits.

Who pays the rent? Why would they stop paying into the joint account? Can't see a problem there.

Pretty sure it's fine to keep going in the joint account, yes

If they are married, no tax to pay I think

But if I'm wrong then your thread has been bumped at least

All best to you and yours

I guess the problem arises if you show the bank the death certificate, the joint account then converts to a sole name account, then that could cause an issue. How does the money go in? Standing order?

The payments are made by the agent, presumably fairly automatically. I can't see them wanting to be difficult. Glad there is no inheritance tax for the spouse, even if not the house she lives in! That will keep her more secure at least.

I suppose if we delay telling the bank until the situation is clearer...

the thing is, the agent will be able to see that the money was paid into that joint account

married couples will often have joint accounts and I'm sure there will be many things being paid in there - interest etc - and out of there - and these have to be adjusted when situations change.

if you're having a tough time then I know it's natural to get bogged down in paperwork - I do that and also I like to be ultra prepared - but please don't worry, if you get stuck on anything then MN will be able to help.

It might help you to get some kind of involvement - my parents are actually wondering about putting my name on a joint account in case it makes stuff easier when the time comes. I'm not saying it's essential, it's just something that occurred to us. My parents don't like to pay anything by direct debit and what i don't want is a situation with one or both of them ill (they are neither in good health) and them worrying about that too.

Personally I'd rather they just did some direct debits but they are suspicious of such things!!

I can't see any need for you to tell the bank now, it will probably save some stress if you don't.

Ok, thank you! Thanks everyone.

Sorry to hear that your dad is so ill. The joint account will stay open for your mother to access. It would only be a problem if the rent was being paid into a sole account in your dad's name and he then passed away, then the account would be frozen until probate was granted (which can take months). Sole accounts are good protection for all couples to the surviving spouse having access to funds. If he has other funds in a sole named account he might wish to transfer the funds in that account into the joint account (if he is able to) if your mother might need more funds in the short term than in the joint account.

From a capital gains tax perspective it is better if the property is in your dad's sole name prior to his passing, which you say it is, rather than joint names, assuming that it has gone up in value since purchase. This is because your mother would then have a base cost of the market value of the property when she inherits it, rather than the original cost which will reduce any capital gain if she needs/wants to sell the property in the future. Worth checking that the deeds are definitely in your dad's sole name (if there is any doubt).

I hope this makes sense but please say if you have any questions.

That's really reassuring, thank you.

Unfortunately, despite him being ill for a while they have been unable to face up to it and make suitable arrangements. Now I know that, we can concentrate on the emotional side again.

I appreciate the help, thank you.

OP, I've just sent you a message.

Be careful when notifying the bank about the joint account. When I was doing similar for our Mam I even said to the bank "the one thing that you must not do is close the account". They said "yes, that's clear" and then went and closed the account. This created a nightmare and we had to get the Financial Ombudsman Service involved. Everything was eventually sorted but with a stupid amount of unnecessary stress.