Right to view will and accounts

[ostell]

Some verification please. My wife is executor of a will of a friend. The daughter was specifically excluded from any benefits from the estate on the grounds that she had previously been adequately provided for. The daughter had been given a large sum of cash to assist with the purchase of a house in New Zealand plus other lump sums later, together with gifts to the grandchildren and transfer of the flat into her daughter's name.

I have just received the following email:

Please provide a scanned copy of the Will for Pxxxxxx Fxxxxx

Please also supply copies of the related Inheritance and Capital Gains Tax Returns relating to the estate.

As an immediate family member, Axxxxx Txxxx is entitled to view a copy of the will and related financial information.

I would appreciate your completing this request promptly.

My first response to this was a polite BOGOF, they are not entitled to anything. Was this correct?

My later response was that the estate was small and that any Inheritance tax would be payable by the daughter on the gift of the flat. In addition there was no capital gains tax due on the estate but the daughter would be liable for same on the sale of the flat and that is estimated to be in the order of £24,000.

What was left was some money in the bank, not a lot as she was eligible for means tested benefits, and the goods and chattels in the house. What value second hand soiled beds, chairs and clothing?

I hope my thinking is correct and the daughter and son in law have gone away with a good flea in the ear.

The background to all this is that the daughter and son in law deceived mother by saying that they couldn't afford to buy a house and move mother in with them when in fact they had purchased a property. The NZ equivalent of the land registry is easier to use than the UK lot. Mother changed the will after finding out about this.

Daughter didn't attend her mother's funeral, son in law came but that was with the intention of clearing up the house and getting it on the market. All they wanted was the money.

My attitude seems a bit harsh but the daughter has been very unpleasant with us throughout so I'm not willing to concede to her demands.

I was concerned that they may be trying to contest the will, as the email was also copied to a UK solicitor, local to us. 6 months from date of death is up in a couple of weeks

[Joanna C]

It depends on when the monies for the New Zealand House and Flat were gifted by your wife's friend. IHT tax is due on gifts made during the last seven years before her death (tapering) and the people who received the gifts must pay the tax due. If they can't or will not pay, the amount due then comes out of your estate. The estate can then recover if from them through legal proceedings.

If there is Inheritance Tax to pay, its charged at 40% on gifts given in the 3 years before your wife's friend died. Gifts made 3 to 7 years before your death are taxed on a sliding scale known as taper relief. Between 3 -4 years 32%. 4 to 5 years 24%, 5 to 6 years 16%, 6 to 7 years 8 %.Gifts are not counted towards the value of your wife's friends estate after 7 years.

[Kati]

Peridot ??

[ostell]

The flat was a UK flat which she had purchased for herself and lived there until her death. She gifted it to her daughter approx 7 years earlier, with a value of about £107, 000. I couldn't find a definitive date. The money was given about 10 years ago, I believe. Estate was worth about £14,000, mainly as savings. The estate, even with the flat included, came nowhere near the inheritance tax threshold.

think they are building up to challenging the will because the daughter is pi****ed of with being writen out of the latest will. Nasty couple.

[Peridot]

Hi Ostell,
If even with including the full value of the flat and the subsequent monetary gifts there was no inheritance tax to pay then no need to worry on that score.
So the daughter legally owned the flat when the lady passed away? HM Land Registry details her as the owner? There should be a date on the official copies of the register held at HMLR confirming the legal owner and when that happened. If she was the legal owner I am unsure what involvement the executor would need to have other than dealing with the personal chattels at the property and bank accounts etc? The property (if in daughter’s name) is her problem and shouldn’t be something you would need to be involved in.
If the daughter is not a beneficiary then she doesn’t have a ‘right’ to see the will or IHT forms. From your comments about the estate value I assume a Grant was not required?
Any further information about the beneficiaries under the Will and whether a Grant has been obtained would be useful and clarify things so we can point you in the right direction.

[ostell]

No grant was sought, the daughter and her husband are just being there usual nasty selves and trying to stir up trouble. Most of the estate was gifted to charities, with specific amounts, with the residual estate divided between named friends. All settled this end, with some held back to cover the cost of restoring the grave stone (buried with her ex-husband).

I did believe that she had no rights in the matter but was just checking in case I was wrong.

Yes the daughter legally owned the flat when her mother passed away. I estimate that capital gains tax of about £24,000 is due. There are no allowances to give relief on this as she is non domiciled.

I did have a response from one well known charity requesting a copy of the will. I'd heard of this before. I believe that if they have been gifted a residual estate then they will ask for the accounts for the estate to make sure they have the last possible amount. Letter ignored, heard nothing more.

Thanks everyone for your assistance. The lady will be smiling n her grave knowing the ungrateful couple are getting their comeuppance at last. They will not be happy about paying that CGT.

[Peridot]

Hi Ostell,
Just as an aside, there is no reason not to disclose a copy of the Will to any charity receiving a legacy, that requests it. The charity that contacted you previously may chase again at some point. They are more than likely just checking there is nothing else they are due. They can be a bit slow in acting however so may be some time before they chase. As you correctly point out, provided they were only to receive specific legacies and not part of the residue, they have no 'right' to see estate accounts. Some charities are more thorough than others of course and can become quite demanding so just flagging for future reference.