Probate

[lloyds99]

My sister aged 90 died on 20th April 2020 and I as her Executor aged 77 am winding up her affairs.
She lived in a very modest housing assn flat and had no valuable furniture or possessions and I am hoping one of the major charities will empty the flat free of charge.
I have not applied for Probate or Letters of Administration because her estate is so low value and I have free access to all her affairs anyway.
She and I have had a Santander bank account for many years in our joint names which now contains approx’ £70k, plus approx’ £12k in an M&G ISA in her sole name. The Santander bank account generated little interest and I have sold the M&G shares and put both amounts into a separate bank account from which I am distributing her bequests and settling outstanding bills.
In her Will she made 11 bequests totalling about £12k and I have been distributing these to the recipients.
Do I need to tell HMRC what I’ve done so far or fill in any particular forms? Do I need to “Gazette” her death, or announce it in a local paper? Is there any IHT or personal tax to pay?
Any guidance would be appreciated
Jacki

[pawncob]

All a "Gazette" notice does is alert potential claimants to the fcat that she has died. If you're sure that no one has a claim on the estate then it's unnecessary.
All joint assets pass to the joint owner and unless an asset holder is very fussy you should n't have any problem just distributing the estate.
If all her assets pass to you,or you' re paying bequests from your own funds you don't need probate.
See : https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate

[lloyds99]

Hello Pawncob, thank you very much for your guidance, you've put my mind at rest. A couple more questions if I may....
Do I have to send copies of the Will to anyone or is anyone entitled to have a copy?
Do I have to notify HMRC or Inland Revenue what I'm doing?
Do I have to send anyone a set of (basic) accounts?
Anything else you can think of that I should do
Thank you, and sorry if I sound a bit thick but this is the first time of doing this
Jacki

[pawncob]

1. No
2. No (but see probate notes)
3. No.

[lloyds99]

Thank you Pawncob, you've been a great help
Jacki

[AGoodman]

Re: 3 - if you are not the sole residuary beneficiary (the people who get everything else not mentioned in the will) then the other residuary beneficiaries can ask for estate accounts but there is no obligation to provide them otherwise.

For the avoidance of doubt, you should tell Santander and M&G about your sister's death. The Santander account would be redenominated into a sole account in your name. It will be up to M&G to decide whether they will transfer the monies to you without a grant of probate (It's quite possible they will).

[lloyds99]

Hello AGoodman. My husband and I are Executors of my sisters Will. After the 11 bequests mentioned totalling approx £12k we are told take and keep, give away, or otherwise dispose of everything as we see fit.
I didn't apply for Probate or Letters of Administration because her estate is so small.
She and I have had a joint Santander bank account for many years which now contains approx’ £70k, plus approx’ £12k in an M&G ISA. I moved the funds in the Santander account to another bank in case Santander "froze" it and caused unneccessary delay in winding things up. M&G were very accomodating and, after proper checks, sold the shares for me and that has gone into the the same bank account from where I am distributing the bequests to the recipients
I'm trying to do things properly as I don't want HMRC to come after me later and that makes me ask do I need to tell HMRC or anyone else what I’ve done so far or fill in any particular forms? She died 20th April (in the new tax year) so do I need to prepare accounts for Inland Revenue or anyone else for 2019-2020, she has always been a PAYE house wife if you get what I mean.
Jacki

[AGoodman]

No need to file an inheritance tax return for those values.

You should inform HMRC of her death just so they don't start writing letters etc. Presumably you told the DWP to stop her pension?

If you used "Tell Us Once" (I think offered when you pick up the death certificate) that will have told both bodies.