In the past, wills and probate services have been performed by solicitors and family lawyers. However there are now specialised accountants like ourselves who are trained in Estate Planning and can carry out probate services.

In England and Wales, the word Probate is used to describe the legal and financial processes involved in dealing with the property, money and possessions of a person who has died.

When a person dies, the first reference point is whether there is a valid will or not. This is why it is important that if you have a valid will, you tell your family members and executors appointed, where the will is stored so it can be referred to.

It may be that your estate does not need to pay Inheritance tax and does not need a grant of probate to distribute assets (which is the case if you do not own any property for example). However this must be confirmed.

As property disposal is the key part of probate services, it is important that a professional valuation is obtained on any property as close to date of death as possible. This is also vital to be able to calculate whether any Inheritance tax is due on the estate, which must be reported and paid to HMRC before any property can be distributed to beneficiaries (people entitled to the estate as part of the will or via Intestacy rules).

Here at KFH Accounting, we are very used to dealing with HMRC and best placed to calculate any Inheritance Tax payable. We also can take care of any outstanding pre death tax returns which must be accounted for as any liabilities (ie money that is owed) at the date of death, must also be taken into account to the estates value.

It is a sad and stressful time when a loved one passes away and dealing with financial numbers and HMRC can add to that. We can help take that stress away and ensure the estate is dealt with as smoothly and quickly as possible.

To book an appointment to find out more information, please head over to our Contact Us page.