UHY Ross Brooke Estate Planning LLP
Our range of specialist probate services
For most people the administration of an estate is a once or twice in a lifetime event. It is unfortunate that this burden arises at the emotionally difficult time following the loss of a loved one.
We are regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to provide non-contentious probate services at our Abingdon office.
Our team offer an end to end probate service that fits perfectly with our other activities, giving you and members of your family access to a complete suite of private client services, encompassing:
- Lifetime inheritance tax and succession planning
- Wider lifetime tax planning services including income and capital gains tax
- Trust services, advising on the creation, management, use and closure of trusts
- Tax compliance and reporting assistance
- As well as our probate and estate administration services.
UHY Ross Brooke have managed the financial affairs of many individuals and families over the years. As such we understand that dealing with probate is a sensitive issue. We are keen to support you during this difficult time and take away the stress of handling a loved one’s financial affairs.
Probate services compared
Our probate specialists in Abingdon, Oxfordshire offer a range of probate services. How much control you want to keep over probate is up to you, so we offer a choice.
Option one – Grant of Probate Only
Included:
- 45 minute meeting for client to bring in all relevant information, original will and proofs of ID/address
- UHY Ross Brooke draft an application for signature by the executors
- On receipt of the signed application and cheque for the Court fees, the application is submitted either online or on paper.
Not included:
- This is the most basic possible service where the executors deal with all inheritance tax and estate administration matters themselves. It includes no additional meetings/phone support and is in effect a transaction execution only service.
Option two – Tax and Grant of Probate (Simple)
We use ‘simple estate’ to mean one which has the following features:
- Quantity of assets and liabilities
- No more than two properties, including the deceased’s home
- No more than 12 bank accounts/NS&I products
- No more than five sources of listed investment (five individual shareholdings, or five consolidated investment portfolios)
- Only ordinary ‘other’ assets and liabilities, such as funeral costs, utility bills, cars, normal household items.
- No businesses owned by the deceased–whether sole trade, partnership, limited company or other
- No “Life interest” trusts from which the deceased benefitted and which require taking into account for inheritance tax purposes
- No overseas aspects, beyond individual low value listed shareholdings or similar
- No inheritance tax complexities such as gifts with reservation of benefit or quick succession relief
An estate which is not ‘simple’ falls necessarily into the ‘complex’ category.
Included:
- Initial meeting up to two hours
- Meet the team
- Have the process explained/have questions answered
- Handover any relevant information (the will, death certificates, proofs of ID and address, any asset values already known)
- Be instructed as to what valuations and details the executors need to gather
- Inheritance tax reporting
- Executors will collate and provide us with details of assets and liabilities as at the date of death in a single (or close to single) delivery
- We will collate this information to prepare for your approval, and file with HMRC once approved, the necessary inheritance tax forms or returns
- We will advise as to payment of the tax, including the possibility of claiming instalment options and/or using HMRC’s direct payment scheme to access the bank accounts of the deceased.
- Extraction of the Grant of Probate
- We will prepare any necessary documents required for the application and will lodge the application with the Court to extract the grant, either online or on paper.
- Finalisation meeting
- We will deliver all documents for approval with an explanatory covering letter and offer a meeting of up to 1 hour to discuss any queries/ clarify the process.
- Telephone and email support
- A fair use level of telephone and email support.
Not included:
- Additional meetings requested by the executors
- Unreasonably high volume of telephone/ email support
Both of the above will be charged using the hourly charging rates of the staff involved, most probably a partner. - Administering the estate
- Producing estate accounts
- Valuation of business interests
- Dealing with income or capital gains tax reporting in respect of the estate period or advisory regarding the same
- Finalising the income and capital gains tax affairs of the deceased up to the date of death
- Any work relating to trusts created out of the will
- Advisory or compliance work for the beneficiaries of the estate
Any of the above can be provided by us at an additional cost, either estimated (on request) in advance or carried out on a time spent basis using the hourly charging rates of the staff involved.
Option three – Tax and Grant of Probate (Complex)
Any estate not fitting within the definition of ‘simple’, above.
Included:
Same as ‘simple’ estate.
Not included:
Same as ‘simple’ estate, but with the expectation that you will require at least one of the non-included aspects or bolt-ons in order to deal with whatever is the aspect rendering the estate complex.
Option four – Full Estate Administration
- Personal representatives wishing to outsource as much of the leg work of the process as possible
- Sole executor named in the will (or only executor willing to act).
Included:
Whether ‘simple’ or ‘complex’, everything included in the ‘Tax and Grant’ service (Options two and three) is included in full administration, plus:
- Will searches and placing of statutory notices – providing extra assurances and protections to the personal representatives
- UHY Ross Brooke to do the majority of contacting institutions to establish date of death values/balances etc
- UHY Ross Brooke deal with the majority of the paperwork to collect in/sell assets and to pay off liabilities
- UHY Ross Brooke provide a ‘client account’ for the collection and distribution of cash from asset sales/bank closures etc.
- UHY Ross Brooke deal with payment of bequests in accordance with the terms of the will
- Tax during the estate administration period will be settled with HMRC
- Estate accounts are produced showing the assets and liabilities at date of death, the transactions during the estate administration period, and the ultimate distribution of those assets to beneficiaries
- Full telephone and email support throughout, and short periodic progress meetings if required.
Not included:
Other than where indicated above as ‘included’, the items in the ‘not included’ section of the ‘Tax and Grant’ services (simple and complex) and the aspects shown as ‘Common Bolt-ons’ are not included.
Common Bolt Ons
Any estate not fitting within the definition of ‘simple’, above.
- Business or share valuation
- Advice on agricultural or business reliefs
- Dealing with trusts from which the deceased benefitted
- Dealing with trusts created under the will
- Settling the income tax position of the deceased up to date of death
- Tax during the estate administration period (especially rental properties/ family businesses/asset sales by personal representatives)
- Advising family members (holistically or individually) on their tax position following the death/inheritance.
Next steps
Find out more about probate and estate administration
For more details about our range of probate services, please get in touch through the form or download our Probate services brochure.
Meet our probate specialists in Abingdon
We are highly experienced and licensed probate practitioners, licensed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), a licensing body for probate.
As full members of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) our services include probate activities, will writing, estate planning, applications for grants of probate, the administration of estates and the administration of trusts. We can advise on and minimise tax liability on Inheritance Tax and taxes related to trusts and estates.
We have the experience to ensure that the management of the estate will be handled professionally and sensitively. To find out how we can help you, please fill in the form below to contact one of our probate advisors in Abingdon.
Our probate specialists are based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, and we have 4 offices across Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, and look after probate, estate, trust and tax clients from all across the UK.
