Query Re How Probate Works

L

lukeskywalker

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My father is after passing away very recently and I am the executor of his will. He has deposit accounts / state savings and also owned his own home. Two of the six beneficiaries live / are tax resident in the UK and Holland respectively.

I have a few questions around the probate process as I have not done it before

(1) Roughly how long should the probate take to complete in full, recognizing that there is a reasonably well located house in Dublin to be disposed off?

(2) Is it my job as executor or the solicitors job to document / sign off on what inheritances the beneficiaries have already received for inheritance tax threshold purposes?

(3) Does Irish inheritance tax provisions apply to people tax resident in UK / Holland , or is it local provisions?

(4) Do people typically use the same solicitor for both probate and the conveyance on the sale of the house, or can you use separate solicitors?

(5) Do you first have to have physically sold the house before applying for probate or do you simply have to have it valued?


Thank you in advance for any help. Aware foreign tax query may not be answerable
 
(1) Roughly how long should the probate take to complete in full, recognizing that there is a reasonably well located house in Dublin to be disposed off?

Piece of string, I'm afraid. Easily minimum 4-8 months.

(2) Is it my job as executor or the solicitors job to document / sign off on what inheritances the beneficiaries have already received for inheritance tax threshold purposes?
Best that the executor does that.

(3) Does Irish inheritance tax provisions apply to people tax resident in UK / Holland , or is it local provisions?

Both?

(4) Do people typically use the same solicitor for both probate and the conveyance on the sale of the house, or can you use separate solicitors?

Personally, I'd stick with one solicitor and don't really understand why anyone would use two? Unless going for the absolute cheapest deal all round- but that would probably be the one solicitor anyway.

(5) Do you first have to have physically sold the house before applying for probate or do you simply have to have it valued?

Before Covid, typically , you'd put the property on the market and once you found a buyer, you'd have fixed the value for Probate. Given the delays though that are likely going to be encountered to obtain Probate currently, a long closing date may not be very attractive to a purchaser.

But if you fix a value for property, you may/may not end up with the property selling for more than the Probate value, potentially triggering a CGT liability.

mf
 
OP, sorry for your loss.

Are all your late father’s assets in Ireland? If not, you’ll need probate from other countries too.

Alas, the grant of probate is only the beginning of the inheritance process, not the end.

My father passed away in 2002 and there is still one unfinished piece of business (US shareholding, lost certificate).

My mother passed away in 2016. She had U.K. shares. We’re about halfway through the process.
 
Hi Luke
Sorry for your loss, its an awful time to be losing a family member
Get quotes from different solicitors for the conveyancing and the probate. If the assets are straightforward, you will probably be shocked by what a solicitor will quote for probate - you can do this yourself, but the court fees are doubled for some weird reason. I paid a solicitor to just submit the application and obtain copies of the grant and I feel I still paid way too much, but at least I saved on the court fees.
The solicitor holding my Dad's will wanted to price on the basis of the estate valuation and it was 5 times what I ended up paying the other guy, but would have been a complete service. That being said, I am also organising UK and Jersey probate, but that going to cost a lot less

Not an expert on cross border taxes but suspect both tax details apply with double-taxation relief..
 
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