When disposing of an estate, you will sometimes need to obtain a document called a Grant of Succession or, depending on the situation, Letters of Administration. If necessary, this document is an official statement to holders of assets and debts, informing them that you are the executor in charge of distributing assets and paying debts. It allows them to communicate with you, safe in the knowledge that they are resolving the estate with the designated representative.

You will need to apply for and get a grant if the value of the deceased’s estate exceeds £5,000 or if there is property, such as a house, to dispose of. Banks, building societies and other asset owners may, at their discretion, request to see a grant regardless of the value of the asset they own.

That said, it’s unlikely you’ll need a grant if the estate passes to a surviving spouse, or if the assets are held in a joint name and pass to the joint owner.

Once you have established whether or not you need to obtain a grant, you will need to follow the steps below to successfully obtain the grant.

Step one

Your first step will be to calculate the value of the inheritance. In the simplest terms, you will do this by adding the assets in the estate and subtracting the debts from the estate.

The owners of the assets will inform you of the value of each of the assets at the time of death. You need to enter these figures on the Inheritance Tax form, and this will calculate the value of the inheritance.

You must do this even if the Estate is below the Inheritance Tax Threshold.

Second step

Fill out an inheritance tax form either IHT205 or IHT400.

To know which form to complete, you must understand the differences between the forms. The IHT205 form is the form to complete if there is no inheritance tax due, either because the estate is of too low a value or because the estate is exempt.

The IHT400 is the form that is filled out when inheritance tax is due. However, there will be some situations where inheritance tax will not be paid, and the IHT400 will still be the form you need to fill out, so you need to be careful and evaluate the estate in detail. if you are not sure, start filling IHT205 and it will guide you to form IHT400 if needed.

If you believe that an inheritance tax should not be paid on the estate, then you should start filling out IHT205; however, you may soon find that you will have to switch to the IHT400 form.

Step three

Complete a PA1 Estate Application Form.

To complete this form, you will need to know the basic details of the deceased person, for example: their first and last name, date of birth, date of death, and marital status. You will also need to know some more specific information, for example: did the decedent own property under another name? Was the deceased adopted?

You will need to complete the questions about the will, if one exists. As well as any information about any assets held by the foreigner, for example: whether the decedent owned a holiday home abroad.

Section five of this form deals with relatives of the decedent. Section six is ​​a section where you provide your data.

Section seven is where you provide details of any inheritance tax due on the estate. You can get these figures from the completed estate tax forms in Step Two.

Section eight applies to those applying on behalf of someone who has been nominated as executor but has lost capacity. You will need to provide details of the person on whose behalf you are applying.

Section nine is a helpful checklist that allows you to make sure you have completed all the forms and attached all the necessary documents. Following this checklist means your application is much more likely to be accepted.

Step four

Swear an oath. You can obtain an affidavit from the probate register or draw one up yourself, although if you choose this, you should be careful as an affidavit will only be valid in certain formats.

Taking the oath will not take long, you will need to do it in front of a solicitor or local probate office, and this will cost approximately £5.00.

step five

Submit your application to the registry of probate.

You must include:

• The succession application form PA1,

• The Inheritance Tax form, an official copy of the death certificate,

• The oath,

• The original will and three copies – and any codicils,

• The £215 application fee: a check made payable to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (no fee if estate is less than £5,000.00).

You can pay for additional copies of the grant (50 pence each), which means you can send them to different organizations at the same time.

Once you have received the Grant of Probate, you can continue to collect the assets and pay the debts of the deceased.

You should now have a basic understanding of when you might need an estate grant, as well as the steps to take to obtain a grant.