What to do when someone dies: step by step [5 Steps] : https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies
1. Register the death
2. Arrange the funeral
3. Tell Govt about the death
5. Check if you can get Bereavement Benefits
5. Deal with their Estate
STEP 1-5 : SUMMARY
STEP 1 - REGISTER THE DEATH
Register the Death within 5 Days
Check what to do if: a) the death has been reported to a coroner [*]
b) the death happened outside the UK [*]
c) you're registering a stillbirth [*]
d) someone is missing and you think they're dead [*]
To stop or change benefits payments you can tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about the death straight away
STEP 2 - ARRANGE THE FUNERAL
a) Arrange the funeral
b) Find bereavement services from your local council
c) Get help paying for a funeral
d) Get help paying for a child's funeral
e) Find bereavement help and support
STEP 3 - TELL THE GOVT ABOUT THE DEATH
The "Tell Us Once" service allows you to inform all the relevant government departments when someone dies.
a) Use the Tell Us Once service to tell government
b) If you cannot use Tell Us Once, tell government yourself
You'll also need to tell banks, utility companies, and landlords or housing associations yourself.
STEP 4 - CHECK IF YOU CAN GET BEREAVEMENT BENEFITS
You might be eligible for financial help.
Check if you can get:
a) Bereavement Support Payment if your spouse or civil partner has died
b) Guardian's Allowance if you're bringing up a child whose parents have died
& DEAL WITH YOUR OWN BENEFITS, PENSION & TAXES
Your tax, benefit claims and pension might change depending on your relationship with the person who died.
a) Manage your tax, pensions and benefits if your spouse has died
b) Check how benefits are affected if a child dies
& CHECK IF YOU NEED TO APPLY TO STAY IN THE UK
If your right to live in the UK depends on your relationship with someone who died you might need to apply for a new visa.
Check the rules if:
a) you're in the UK as the partner of a British Citizen or someone with indefinite leave to remain
b) your partner who died served as a member of HM Forces
Contact UKVI to check the rules for other visas
STEP 5 - DEAL WITH THEIR ESTATE
You might have to deal with the will, money and property of the person who's died if you're a close friend or relative, or the executor of the will
a) Check if you need to apply for probate
b) Value the estate
c) Deal with the estate
d) Update property records
STEP 1-5 : DETAILS
STEP 1 - REGISTER THE DEATH
Register the death** within 5 days (8 days in Scotland) - this includes weekends and bank holidays.
You’ll get a ‘certificate for a burial’ to give to the funeral director, or an application for cremation which you need to complete and give to the crematorium.
You must do one of these before the funeral can take place.
Check what to do:
a) the death has been reported to a coroner
When a death is reported to a coroner
If a death is reported to a coroner, the documents you need to register the death may be different. The coroner will decide either:
a) the cause of death is clear
b) that a post-mortem is needed
c) to hold an inquest
a) The cause of death is clear
If the coroner decides that the cause of death is clear:
1. The doctor signs a medical certificate.
2. You take the medical certificate to the registrar to register the death.
3. The coroner issues a certificate to the registrar stating a post-mortem is not needed.
b) A post-mortem is needed
The coroner may decide a post-mortem is needed to find out how the person died. This can be done either in a hospital or mortuary.
You cannot object to a coroner’s post-mortem - but if you’ve asked the coroner must tell you (and the person’s GP) when and where the examination will take place
After the post-mortem
The coroner will release the body for a funeral once they have completed the post-mortem examinations and no further examinations are needed.
If the body is released with no inquest, the coroner will send a form (‘Pink Form - form 100B’) to the registrar stating the cause of death.
The coroner will also send a ‘Certificate of Coroner - form Cremation 6’ if the body is to be cremated.
The coroner will hold an inquest
A coroner must hold an inquest if:
the cause of death is still unknown
the person might have died a violent or unnatural death
the person might have died in prison or police custody
You will need to get an interim death certificate during the inquest, so you can notify the registrar of the death. Once the inquest is over, you can get the final death certificate from the registrar.
Get an interim death certificate during the inquest
If you need proof of the death while you wait for the inquest to finish, ask the coroner for an interim death certificate.
Use the interim death certificate to notify a registrar of the death while the inquest is still taking place.
You can use the interim death certificate to apply for probate.
To report a death to more than one government organisation at once:
1. Ask the crner for the interim death certificate
2. Find a registrar
3. The registrar will either help you report the death or give you a unique reference number. Use this number to report the death using the Tell Us Once service.
Get a death certificate
After the inquest, the corner will confirm the cause of death to the registrar.
The registrar will register the death.
You can ask the registrar for a death certificate.
Get Help
You can get free, independent support from The Coroners’ Courts Support Service.
The Coroners’ Courts Support Service Helpline (England and Wales)
Telephone: 0300 111 2141 [ Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm- Saturday, 9am to 2pm]
STEP 2 - ARRANGE THE FUNERAL
a) Arrange the funeral
b) Find bereavement services from your local council
c) Get help paying for a funeral
d) Get help paying for a child's funeral
e) Find bereavement help and support
STEP 3 - TELL THE GOVT ABOUT THE DEATH
The Tell Us Once service allows you to inform all the relevant government departments when someone dies.
a) Use the Tell Us Once service to tell government
b) If you cannot use Tell Us Once, tell government yourself
You'll also need to tell banks, utility companies, and landlords or housing associations yourself.
STEP 4 - CHECK IF YOU CAN GET BEREAVEMENT BENEFITS
You might be eligible for financial help.
Check if you can get:
a) Bereavement Support Payment if your spouse or civil partner has died
b) Guardian's Allowance if you're bringing up a child whose parents have died
& DEAL WITH YOUR OWN BENEFITS, PENSION & TAXES
Your tax, benefit claims and pension might change depending on your relationship with the person who died.
a) Manage your tax, pensions and benefits if your spouse has died
b) Check how benefits are affected if a child dies
& CHECK IF YOU NEED TO APPLY TO STAY IN THE UK
If your right to live in the UK depends on your relationship with someone who died you might need to apply for a new visa.
Check the rules if:
a) you're in the UK as the partner of a British Citizen or someone with indefinite leave to remain
b) your partner who died served as a member of HM Forces
Contact UKVI to check the rules for other visas
STEP 5 - DEAL WITH THEIR ESTATE
You might have to deal with the will, money and property of the person who's died if you're a close friend or relative, or the executor of the will
a) Check if you need to apply for probate
b) Value the estate
c) Deal with the estate
d) Update property records
a) Applying for probate
Contents:
1. What is probate
2. If there’s a will
3. If there’s not a will
4. Before you apply
5. Apply for probate
6. After you've applied
1. What is probate
Probate is the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions (their ‘estate’) when they die.
You should not make any financial plans or put property on the market until you’ve got probate.
There are different probate rules in Scotland and probate rules in Northern Ireland.
How to get probate
You need to apply to get probate. Before applying, you must check that it’s needed and that you’re eligible to apply. You also need to estimate and report the estate’s value to find out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.
Check if probate is needed
Contact the financial organisations the person who died used (for example, their bank and mortgage company) to find out if you’ll need probate to get access to their assets.
Every organisation has its own rules.
You may not need probate if the person who died:
- had jointly owned land, property, shares or money - these will automatically pass to the surviving owners - only had savings
Check if you can apply for probate
Only certain people can apply for probate. Who can apply depends on whether or not there’s a will.
If there’s a will, executors named in it can apply.
If there’s not a will, the closest living relative can apply
2. If there is a wil
You can apply for probate if you’re named as an executor in either the will or an update to it (known as a ‘codicil’).
The person who died will normally have told you if you’re an executor.
You’ll only inherit assets (for example, money or property) if you’re also named as a beneficiary in the will.
Find the original will
You’ll need to send the original will with your probate application - you cannot use a photocopy. The probate registry will keep the will and it’ll become a public record.
The person who died should have told all the executors where to find the original will and any updates, for example:
at their house
with a probate practitioner, such as a solicitor
at the national probate registry in Newcastle - you’ll need the death certificate and evidence you’re the executor
Get help from Citizens Advice or a probate practitioner (such as a solicitor) if you cannot understand a will.
If you cannot find the original will, you’ll need to fill in form PA13.
If there’s more than one will, only the most recent will is valid. Do not destroy any copies of earlier wills until you’ve received probate.
Before you apply
Before applying for probate you must estimate the value of the estate and work out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.
If there’s more than one executor
If more than one person is named as an executor, you must all agree who makes the application for probate.
Up to 4 executors can be named on the application.
If only one executor is named on the application they’ll need to prove that they tried to contact all executors named in the will before they applied.
If you’re having problems finding the other executors, you can contact the Probate Call Centre.
Probate Call Centre
Telephone: 0300 303 0648
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Saturday, 8am to 2pm
Find out about call charges
Email: contactprobate@justice.gov.uk
The Probate Call Centre cannot help with disagreements between executors. You’ll need to find another way to reach an agreement - this could mean getting legal advice.
If you do not want to be an executor
You can give up your right to apply for probate or appoint someone else to apply for you.
Keep the right to apply later
If more than one executor is named in the will, you can choose not to apply now but reserve the right to apply later. This is known as holding ‘power reserved’.
Tell the person who’s making the probate application that you’re holding power reserved. You need to do this in writing.
Give up your right to apply.
Fill in form PA15 to give up your right to apply permanently. This is known as ‘renunciation’.
Appoint someone to apply on your behalf
Fill in form PA11 to appoint someone to apply for you.
Or you can appoint an attorney to apply for you with a signed enduring power of attorney (EPA) or a registered lasting power of attorney (LPA).
If an executor is unable to apply
If an executor has died, the other executors should apply in their place.
If an executor has a mental health condition or impairment that means they cannot apply, get a medical professional (such as a doctor) to fill in form PA14.
3. If there’s not a will
If the person did not leave a will, the most ‘entitled’ inheritor can apply to become the administrator of the estate.
This is the closest living relative - normally the husband, wife or civil partner (including if you were separated) followed by any children 18 or over (including legally adopted children but not step-children).
Use the inheritance calculator to work out who the closest relative is if there’s no husband, wife, civil partner or children.
You cannot apply if you’re the partner of the person but were not their husband, wife or civil partner when they died.
Contact the Probate Call Centre if you need more help to work out who can administer the estate.
Probate Call Centre
Telephone: 0300 303 0648
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Saturday, 8am to 2pm
Find out about call charges
Email: contactprobate@justice.gov.uk
The law decides who’ll inherit assets (for example, money or property) if there’s no will. Use the inheritance calculator to work out who’ll inherit
Before you apply
Before applying for probate you must estimate the value of the estate and work out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.
If you do not want to apply
If you’re the most entitled inheritor and you do not want to administer the estate, you can appoint someone else to do it.
Fill in form PA16 if you’re the husband, wife or civil partner of the person who died. A child of the person who died must apply to become the administrator instead.
If there are no children to apply, or if you’re any other relative of the person who died, fill in form PA12 instead. You can nominate up to 2 people to administer the estate.
Or you can appoint an attorney to apply for you with a signed enduring power of attorney (EPA) or a registered lasting power of attorney (LPA)
4. Before you apply
Before applying for probate you must estimate the estate’s value and find out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.
You’ll need to complete the following steps:
1. Contact organisations such as banks or utility providers about the person’s assets and debts.
2. Estimate the estate’s value to find out if you have Inheritance Tax to pay. Most estates are not taxed.
Check when you can apply for probate
When you can apply for probate depends on whether or not there’s Inheritance Tax to pay
If there’s no Inheritance Tax to pay
You must report the value of the estate to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online or by post.
If you report the value of the estate online to HMRC, you can apply for probate as soon as you’ve submitted the online form.
If you report the value by post, you must apply for probate:
- before submitting the Inheritance Tax form, if you’re applying for probate online
- at the same time as the Inheritance Tax form (post both forms together), if you’re applying for probate by post
If there’s Inheritance Tax to pay
Fill out and send form IHT400 and form IHT421 to HMRC and wait 20 working days before applying for probate.
You normally have to pay at least some of the tax before you’ll get probate. You can claim the tax back from the estate, if you pay it out of your own bank account.
What you’ll need to apply
You’ll need the death certificate or an interim death certificate from the coroner. You’ll also need the original will, if there is one.
5. Apply for probate
You can apply for probate yourself online or by post. This can be cheaper than paying a probate practitioner (such as a solicitor) to apply for you.
Read guidance from Money Helper about using a probate practitioner for information on hiring a legal professional.
Because of coronavirus (COVID-19), probate applications are taking up to 8 weeks to process. It’s taking longer to process paper applications than online applications
Probate application fees
You may have to pay a fee to apply for probate. Whether you need to pay depends on the value of the estate.
If the value of the estate is over £5,000, the application fee is £215. You may be able to get help to pay the probate fee and other court fees if you have a low income or are on certain benefits.
There’s no fee if the estate is £5,000 or less.
Extra copies of the probate cost £1.50 each. This means you can send them to different organisations at the same time.
Apply for probate online
You must have estimated the value of the estate to find out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.
If there’s Inheritance Tax to pay, you must wait 20 working days after sending the tax forms to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) before applying.
Apply for Probate
Return to an existing probate application.
Apply for probate by post
The form you need to fill in depends on whether the person left a will or not.
If there’s a will, fill in application form PA1P.
If there’s not a will, fill in application form PA1A.
[ Because of COVID-19, it’s taking longer to process paper applications than online applications. Use the online service to apply for probate if you can.]
6. After you've applied
The death certificate will be returned to you. The will and any additions to it (‘codicils’) will be kept by the probate registry and become a public record.
What you’ll get
You’ll get a document that allows you to start dealing with the estate. This will be one of the following:
a) a ‘grant of probate’ - if the person left a will
b) ‘letters of administration with will annexed’ - if the will does not name an executor or the named executor cannot apply
c) ‘letters of administration’ - if the person did not leave a will
You’ll usually get the grant of probate or letters of administration within 8 weeks of sending in your original documents. It can take longer if you need to provide additional information.
If you ordered copies of your probate document for use outside the UK, these will take longer to arrive than your UK copy.
If there’s anything wrong with the probate document, return it to the district probate registry listed on the grant or letters.
Once you have the grant of probate (or letters of administration) you can start :
What happens next
"dealing with the estate".
Send copies of the probate document to organisations that hold the assets of the person who died, for example their bank.
Dealing with the estate of someone who's died
https://www.gov.uk/probate-estate
You may need to apply for the right to deal with the estate of the person who’s died (also called ‘probate’).
If you already have the right or have probate (as an executor or administrator) you can start dealing with the estate.
1. Check if you need to apply for probate.
2. Value the estate
3. Deal with the estate
4. Update property records
1. Check if you need to apply for probate.
You may need to apply for the right to deal with the estate of the person who’s died (also called ‘probate’).
If you already have the right or have probate (as an executor or administrator) you can start dealing with the estate.
Check if you need to apply for probate.
You can hire a probate practitioner, such as a solicitor to help with some or all of the tasks of dealing with an estate. Money Advice Service has guidance on when and how to use a probate practitioner.
Get access to financial assets
You can ask for financial assets to be transferred to an agreed ‘executorship account’.
This can be either:
a) an executor’s bank account
b) an account that’s been set up only for dealing with the estate
Every executor named on the grant of probate may need to be present when you withdraw assets. Different asset holders have different rules, so check with them first.
Pay any debts and taxes
As the executor or administrator you must pay off any debts or outstanding payments before distributing the estate. This could include:
a) outstanding bills
b) tax owed
c) benefit overpayments
Place a notice in The Gazette to give creditors the chance to claim anything they’re owed. This will protect you from responsibility for any debts
You can use money from the estate to pay any solicitor’s fees as part of the probate process.
You may also need to pay Inheritance Tax.
Jointly owned property and bank accounts
Money in a joint bank account automatically passes to the other owners. You still have to include this money as part of the estate when you work out Inheritance Tax
If the person who died owned the whole of the home with another person (‘joint tenancy’), ownership passes to the other owner. Otherwise, their share goes to the beneficiary named in the will.
Contact the mortgage company, check with HM Land Registry or get legal advice if you’re unsure how a property’s owned - you may need to update the property records.
Distribute the estate
Once all debts and taxes have been paid, you can distribute the estate as detailed:
a) in the will
b) by the law if there’s no will
Beneficiaries may have to pay Income Tax if the assets they inherit generate income for them
After this you can prepare the estate accounts. These must be approved and signed by you and the main beneficiaries.
2. Value the estate
Valuing the estate of someone who's has died
Contents:
a) What you need to do
b) Contact organisations about assets and debts
c) Estimate the estate's value
d) If there's no inheritance Tax to pay or it's an execpted estate
e) If there's Inheritance Tax to pay
f) Records
a) What you need to do
As part of applying for probate, you need to find out if there’s any Inheritance Tax to pay. To find this out, you need to value the money, property and possessions (‘estate’) of the person who’s died.
You do not need probate for all estates. Check if you need it.
You need to complete 3 main tasks when you value the estate.
1. Contact organisations such as banks or utility providers about the person’s assets and debts.
2. Estimate the estate’s value. This will affect how you report the value to HM Revenue & Customs(HMRC),& the deadlines for reporting and paying any Inheritance Tax. Most estates are not taxed.
3. Report the value of the estate to HMRC by either completing form IHT205 if there’s no Inheritance Tax to pay or form IHT400 if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.
How long it takes
The process of valuing the estate can take 6 to 9 months, or longer for big or complicated estates (for example if they involve trusts or there’s tax to pay).
Deadlines
You do not need to value the estate straight away after someone dies. There are only deadlines if the estate owes Inheritance Tax.
If it does, you’ll need to: - send Inheritance Tax forms within one year
- start paying tax by the end of the sixth month after the person died - you can make a payment before you finish valuing the estate
Getting help
You can hire a professional (for example a solicitor) to help with some or all of the tasks involved with valuing an estate.
Money Helper has guidance on when and how to hire a professional. Law Donut has advice on keeping solicitors’ fees down.
b) Contact organisations about assets and debts
To help you value the estate of the person who died, write to organisations to find out about the person’s:
- assets, for example banks and pension providers
- debts, such as utility companies, mortgage lenders and credit card companies
In your letter:
- ask for the value of the asset or debt when the person died
- include a copy of the death certificate
Which organisations to contact
Find organisations to contact about the person’s assets and debts by searching through their papers. You can also ask friends, family and any solicitor or accountant they had.
Organisations that hold a person’s assets often include:
i) their bank
ii) their pension provider - ask if you should include any private pension when you value the estate
iii) their employer - the person may be owed wages
iv) any companies they held shares in - include the number of shares, company details and the share certificate number (if you have it)
v) National Savings and Investments (NS&I) for Premium Bonds - use the free tracing service if you cannot find certificates
vi) other organisations that hold assets like ISAs, shares, investments or assets in a trust
vii) their landlord, if they had one - the person may have paid rent in advance
In your letter to the bank, also ask for:
- any standing orders and direct debits to be stopped (or transferred if they were in a joint name)
- a list of any share certificates or deeds they were holding for the person who died
If the person had a mortgage
Ask the mortgage lender if they require payments to continue while you’re applying for probate. If they do, you need to either:
- pay these bills yourself - and reclaim them from the estate once you’ve got probate -
- check if the person had a life assurance or mortgage protection policy that covers these payments
c) Estimate the estate’s value
You need an estimate of the estate’s value to find out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.
The estate will not have to pay tax as long as one of the following applies:
it all passes to the spouse or civil partner of the person who died
it all passes to a charity or a community amateur sports club
it has a value below the Inheritance Tax threshold of £325,000
If the person who died was widowed or is giving away their home to their children, the tax threshold can be higher.
Working out your estimate
You need to estimate the total value of the estate. This includes:
- the value of the things the person owned - their assets
- any gifts they made, such as cash or items of value, in the 7 years before they died
- the value of any trusts where the person had a beneficial interest
At this stage, your estimate only needs to be accurate enough for you to know if the estate owes tax. You’ll need accurate valuations if the estate owes any tax.
You can work out the estimate yourself or you can use the Inheritance Tax checker.
Use the online Inheritance Tax checker
The checker will: - give you an approximate value of the estate
- help you decide whether any Inheritance Tax is likely to be due or not
The checker does not:
calculate the amount of Inheritance Tax that’s owed
tell HMRC about the estate’s final value
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Before you start
You’ll need the following information to estimate the estate’s value:
details of the person’s assets, including joint assets
details of any gifts they made
Valuing the assets
Start by listing the person’s assets - the things the person owned with a monetary value.
These may include:
i) their home
ii) any other properties, buildings or land
iii) money in banks, building societies or ISAs or cash in their home
iv) stocks and shares
v) household and personal items, including furniture, paintings and jewellery
vi) cars, caravans or boats
vii) foreign assets, such as property abroad
viii) money they’re owed, for example wages or refunds from household bills
ix) payments when they died, for example life insurance or a lump sum ‘death benefit’ from a pension
Then estimate the value of each on the date the person died. For items such as jewellery or paintings, work out how much you would have got if you’d sold them on the open market.
Include all assets in your estimate. This includes any left to the person’s spouse, civil partner or a charity - you will not pay tax on these assets.
Valuing joint assets
You need to find out what assets the person owned with someone else and how they were owned.
The rules for valuing joint assets, such as property, jewellery or paintings, are different depending on whether they were owned as:
‘joint tenants’ (known as ‘joint owners’ in Scotland)
‘tenants in common’ (known as ‘common owners’ in Scotland)
Joint tenants
Joint tenants automatically pass on any assets, such as land or property, to the other owners if one of them dies.
If the asset, such as land or property, was owned as a joint tenant with the person’s spouse or civil partner, divide the value of the asset by 2.
If land or property was owned with other joint tenants, for example friends or siblings, do both of the following:
divide the value by the number of owners
take 10% from the share of the person who died
Example
The deceased owned a property as a joint tenant with 3 other people. The property is worth £200,000 on the date they died, giving them a £50,000 share (£200,000 divided by 4)
After 10% (£5,000) is deducted from the deceased’s £50,000 share, the final value is £45,000 (£50,000 - £5,000 = £45,000).
To value a joint bank account, divide the amount by the number of account holders, unless it’s in joint names for convenience only. For example, an older person may add their child to help them with the account. If so, use the amount the deceased actually owned instead.
Tenants in common
The rules are different for tenants in common as they do not automatically pass on any assets they jointly own.
If the deceased jointly owned property or land as a tenant in common, work out the value based on their share.
Working out the value of any gifts
You need to work out the value of any gifts made by the person who died.
Gifts only count towards the value of an estate if they were made in the 7 years before the person died and the total value of the gifts was over the £3,000 annual exemption.
>> If a person lives for 7 years after making a gift, there’s no Inheritance Tax to pay.
Any gift a person continued to benefit from before they died also counts towards the value of an estate - for example, if they gave away a house but lived in it rent-free (known as a ‘gift with reservation’).
There’s no Inheritance Tax to pay on gifts to charities or political parties.
What counts as a gift
A gift can inlude: money
household and personal goods, for example, furniture, jewellery or antiques
a house, land or buildings
stocks and shares listed on the London Stock Exchange
unlisted shares held for less than 2 years before the person’s death
Checking for gifts
You can check for gifts by:
going through bank statements
talking to family members
looking through financial documents
Record the value of any gift and the date it was made.
Estimate the gift’s value
To estimate the value of each gift, use either:
i) the approximate value of the gift at the time it was made (realistic selling price)
ii) the realistic selling price of the gift if the deceased continued to benefit from the gift after giving it away (a ‘gift with reservation’)
Debts
Do not include the estate’s debts when you estimate the gross value. You will however need to tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about any debts when you report the value of the estate.
Check for records of debts when the person died, for example:
their mortgage, loans, credit cards or overdrafts
‘liabilities’ like household bills or bills for goods or services they’d received but not yet paid for (like building work, decorators, accountants)
Tell HMRC about the value of the estate
How you tell HMRC about the value of the estate depends on whether there’s:
no Inheritance Tax to pay
Inheritance Tax to pay
d) If there’s no Inheritance Tax to pay or it's an excepted estate
Report the value of the estate to HMRC by completing form IHT205 if the value of the estate is below the current Inheritance Tax threshold. This is known as an ‘excepted estate’.
Also complete this form if either of the following are true:
everything was left to a surviving spouse or civil partner, or to charity and the estate was worth less than £1 million
the estate is worth £650,000 or less and the full unused Inheritance Tax threshold has been transferred from a spouse or civil partner who died first
You do not need to complete form IHT205 if both the following apply:
there’s no Inheritance Tax to pay
you do not need probate
Report the value of the estate online
You’ll need to complete a different form (IHT400) if the person who died gave away over £150,000 in the 7 years before they died or inherited part of the Inheritance Tax threshold from a previous spouse or civil partner.
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You can also continue a form you’ve already started.
If you need help completing the online form
Contact HMRC’s Probate helpline for help with completing the online version of form IHT205.
Applying for probate if you’ve completed the online form
You can apply for probate as soon as you’ve submitted the online form. You’ll get an Inheritance Tax identifier number, which you need to include when you apply for probate.
Report the value of the estate by completing a paper IHT205 form
You need to download and complete a paper form if any of the following apply:
the deceased lived in Northern Ireland
you’re an agent completing the form for a client
you’re not able to report the estate value online
If you need help completing the paper form
Where to send the form
If the deceased lived in England or Wales, send the IHT205 form to:
HMCTS Probate
PO Box 12625
Harlow
CM20 9QE
If the deceased lived in Northern Ireland, send the form to:
The Probate Office
Royal Courts of Justice
Chichester Street
Belfast
BT1 3JF
Applying for probate if you’ve completed the paper form
How you apply for probate depends on whether you apply for probate online or by post.
If you apply for probate online, you need to complete the probate form before you submit the IHT205 form. Once you’ve completed the probate form, you’ll be given a 16-digit reference number which you need to include when you send the IHT205 paper form.
If you apply for probate by post, you need to send the completed probate form together with the IHT205 form.
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e) If there’s Inheritance Tax to pay
You must report the value of the estate to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by completing form IHT400 if the value of the estate is above the current Inheritance Tax threshold.
You must also complete form IHT400 if the person who died:
gave away over £150,000 in the 7 years before they died
gave gifts then continued to benefit from them in the 7 years before they died
inherited part of the Inheritance Tax threshold from a previous spouse or civil partner
had foreign assets worth more than £100,000
held assets worth over £150,000 in trust
You must submit the form within 12 months of the person dying.
Working out the estate’s net value
Before you report the value to HMRC, you need to work out the estate’s detailed net value. This is the estate’s total or gross value minus any debts or reliefs, such as Business Relief or Agricultural Relief.
To calculate the estate’s net value add the value of the things the person owned (their assets) to any gifts they made in the 7 years before they died. Then take away any debts or reliefs.
Getting accurate valuations
You can get any property or land valued by an estate agent or chartered surveyor.
You can also get a professional valuation for anything worth over £1,500.
For ordinary household goods and personal items such as furniture, paintings, jewellery and electrical items, you can estimate their value
Report the value of the estate by completing form IHT400
You need to download and complete form IHT400. Send it to the address on the form.
You can read guidance on how to complete form IHT400.
You can ask HMRC to work out how much Inheritance Tax is due if you’re filling in the form without the help of a probate professional, such as a solicitor. You can do this when you fill in the form.
If you need help completing the form:
Contact HMRC’s Inheritance Tax helpline for help with completing form IHT400.
How to amend a form after it’s been submitted:
You need to fill in a corrective account form and send it to HMRC if you need to make any changes to information you’ve already submitted.
Paying Inheritance Tax
You must pay Inheritance Tax by the end of the sixth month after the person died. For example, if the person died in January, you must pay Inheritance Tax by 31 July.
You can pay in yearly instalments on certain things that may take time to sell, such as a house.
You’ll need to get an Inheritance Tax reference number from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at least 3 weeks before paying any tax.
When you can apply for probate
Once you’ve sent your completed IHT400 form to HMRC, you need to wait 20 working days before you can apply for probate.
f) Records
You must keep certain records after you value an estate.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can ask to see your records up to 20 years after Inheritance Tax is paid.
You must keep copies of any:
i) will
ii) copies of signed Inheritance Tax forms and supporting documents
iii) records showing how you worked out the value of assets in the estate, for example an estate agent’s valuation
iv) documents showing any unused Inheritance Tax threshold that can be transferred to a surviving spouse or civil partner
iv) final accounts
Final Accounts
Include any documents showing how you distributed money, property or personal belongings from the estate, for example:
i) letters from HMRC confirming that you paid Inheritance Tax
ii) receipts showing debts paid, for example utilities bills
iii) receipts for your expenses from dealing with the estate
iv) written confirmation that ‘beneficiaries’ (anyone who inherited) received their share of the estate
Send copies of the final accounts to all beneficiaries.