Applying for confirmation Scotland

[kistotreasure]

Hiya! Is there anyone who has applied for confirmation of a large but straightforward estate recently in Scotland that would be able to talk me through what forms you submitted?

I am determined that we will not need a solicitor once I actually figure out which forms apply to us!

Outline is that estate exceeds IHT limit by 10,000 HOWEVER the estate including the house is going to two adult children only.
Adult children are amicable and in good communication. Only one of them is executor due to geographical reasons

So I think because of this we will have an extra 175,000 RNIB allowance on top of the 325,000 so I believe we will not owe IHT. Though I think we still need to check with HMRC for that to be signed off

But this is where it becomes unclear what we need to fill out
Is it
A) just C1
B) c1 and c5
C) c1 and IHT400
D) c1 and IHT400 and the other form that requests RNIB
E) none of the above.

Please dont advise if you have been through probate elsewhere in UK because I think Scotland has different rules and I am definitely confused enough lol

DH has just gone through this for his Mum - similar situation and all gone through with no issue. He only had to complete C1. C5 only applies if the death was on or before 31/12/21. If you are clear IHT is not due you do not need to complete IHT 400.

NB - don't submit C1 until after you have accepted an offer on the house (if you are selling) otherwise if it sells for more than you expect you may have to revise the form.

And just to confirm - we are in Scotland.

Thank you so much for that! You don't need to say but when he only had to do the C1 was his total inventory under 325000 or was it under the 500,000 with the extra allowance? xx

I would never put a house on the market until I had Confirmation

With the extra allowance.

You can put it on the market and get an offer, accept it and then submit C1 to the court. This is apparently standard practice in Scotland. But probably only sensible if you know the sale is likely to be straightforward. In our case it was all wrapped up within 6 months.

I think it will be a while before the house is ready anyway. Hoping to get confirmation using the house evaluation so everything else is organised and then the house will just take the time it takes to sort.

Thank you so much for that. 6 months might be a stretch for us but gives me hope that it can be done!

We had to do this recently. We just had to fill in form C1, BUT it was bloody hard work and it was returned three times by the procurator fiscal before they accepted it. So be aware…

I’m sorry for your loss.

Thank you!
Yes I can see even from that one C1 form that there is a lot to consider. I am pleased at least that it could just be one form and not 3 as I feared it might be. Again, no pressure to share, but what did they want you to change on returns?
Likewise I am sorry for your loss xx

This not standard practice in my 30 years of practice

Sheriff clerk ?
If you sent it to the Fiscal he would definitely have to return it
Some Sheriff clerks are very pedantic and also often return for 1 change then when you resubmit they return it again for another change and so on ad infinitum
Glasgow Sh court were taking 14 weeks to deal with applications last year,although I understand that has improved

Fair enough. However I can only say what we experienced. We did consult with a solicitor on some of it so it was all legal.

I can report that Ayr Sheriff Court is much quicker.

Did the deceased have a spouse that they inherited from including the house. If so your IHT allowance could be £1m.
I'm sure you've worked all this out but just a thought.

https://scottishpropertycentre.net/blog/purchasing-an-executory-sale-property-what-buyers-in-scotland-need-to-know/22991

Quoting from this:

It's common for executors to market a property before confirmation is granted. So if you find yourself viewing a property where confirmation is pending, it's all above board.

The executors are acting with the expectation that by the time both parties are ready to conclude the transaction, confirmation will have been obtained.

You can't finalize a property transaction until confirmation has been granted, but you can get much of the paperwork sorted out in the meantime.

This was also the position DH was in. Definitely worth knowing about!

No spouse. So I think we are just working with the RNRB direct descendants allowance. We presume house will be valued significantly below market value for the area as it is in disrepair. Even if it sold for more it is unlikely to be enough to kick us anywhere near the next IHT threshold.

All of this just makes you realise how archaic the whole system is. The very time that people are at their most sad and vulnerable is the time they are required to do their hardest thinking and also maths!

It could surely be more automated but then solicitors wouldn't get their cut I suppose....

Oh yes, sheriff clerk, sorry.

I hope no one minds if I piggyback on this thread as we expect to be in this position in the not too distant future, sadly. I am 100% certain there will be no IHT as my Mum's estate will have my Dad's unused allowances added on. In these circumstances, how much effort do we have to put into valuing the contents of the house? I am not expecting that they will raise more than a few hundred, if that, given that we may need to get a skip or a clearance company. Would the sheriff be happy with a round figure estimate?

Hmm, let’s see if I can remember.

Dad wanted me to apply for confirmation, but the sheriff clerk said that was wrong, Dad had to be the one to do it (even tho the form said he didn’t have to).

We didn’t write all the info as specified on the list of assets held. Mum only had assets in Scotland; we didn’t realise we had to list England etc and say she had no assets there. 🙄

We didn’t use all the archaic legal wording to annotate the death certificate.

honestly. We’re intelligent people. We were frustrated that this form wasn’t easier to understand and fill in - after all, people are grieving, not at their best, maybe not thinking straight. A lot of it is legalese for the sake of it, not plain English.

Good luck.

If you can find any examples of a completed C1 that can be helpful, particularly for the required legalese (which is quite particular). If necessary you can pay a solicitor to do the final version of the form and submit it to the Sheriff Court (should be significantly cheaper than getting them to do the whole thing). Its really important to get a full list of all of the assets.

I will check with DH about the valuation of house contents.

We are the same with the house contents. We will need to pay for a clearance company eventually as well. Though I read on another thread if you put zero or very low for contents then they kick the form back so mumsnetters on that thread were recommending 250 to 500 for a home with just furniture and personal knicknacks.

Thanks for sharing that. Yes the legalese sounds like an extra hassle. Urgh.

Thanks, that's what I'm hoping about the contents too.

I think a notional figure is acceptable unless there are items of significant value (or if there are several beneficiaries). In many cases it is actually going to cost to get rid of moveable assets via a house clearance (you can take this sum off the figure for IHT). I don't think there is an expectation you work out the value of things like three piece suites and clothes etc.. It would only be material if it was going to impact significantly on the total for IHT.