Probate question

[blueriver]

My father is involved in a dispute over his late wife's estate. In her Will she left him some money (£40,000) which he is unable to access as a caveat was put on by a family member. If the dispute went to court and the family member won then my father would not receive this money. Depending on the outcome of the dispute, my father may or may not receive this money. We were discussing the dispute a few days ago and he brought up a good question that neither of us had thought about before. I told him I would ask on this forum for some information and advice. The question is: If he died before the dispute was settled, would his estate be able to be administered and probate obtained or would that not be possible until the dispute over his late wife's estate was dealt with and probate obtained first (the reason being that it would not be possible to value his estate without knowing if he would eventually receive the £40,000)? Would it make a difference if when including the £40,000 in the estate calculations, it does not put the value of his estate over the £325,000 threshold anyway? Would that be a factor as to whether his estate could be administered/probate obtained? Or would this potential future asset of £40,000 (if ever received at a later point) be dealt with separately at a later date and after the original probate was dealt with/granted? I hope these questions make sense! Thanks for advice.

[atticus]

My father is involved in a dispute over his late wife's estate. In her Will she left him some money (£40,000) which he is unable to access as a caveat was put on by a family member. If the dispute went to court and the family member won then my father would not receive this money. Depending on the outcome of the dispute, my father may or may not receive this money.

We were discussing the dispute a few days ago and he brought up a good question that neither of us had thought about before. I told him I would ask on this forum for some information and advice.

The question is: If he died before the dispute was settled, would his estate be able to be administered and probate obtained or would that not be possible until the dispute over his late wife's estate was dealt with and probate obtained first (the reason being that it would not be possible to value his estate without knowing if he would eventually receive the £40,000)?

Would it make a difference if when including the £40,000 in the estate calculations, it does not put the value of his estate over the £325,000 threshold anyway?

Would that be a factor as to whether his estate could be administered/probate obtained? Or would this potential future asset of £40,000 (if ever received at a later point) be dealt with separately at a later date and after the original probate was dealt with/granted?

I hope these questions make sense! Thanks for advice.

Use of paragraphs makes walls of text easier to read!

Q1. This should not be a reason to delay probate of your father's estate when he dies.

Q2. As described by you no difference is made - or have I misunderstood the question?

Q3. The asset represented by this claim - if still unresolved - will have to be valued. But the way you have described it, IHT is unlikely to be an issue.

[blueriver]

I appreciate your reply Atticus.
So just to confirm I understand, upon my father's death, if the dispute is still ongoing and unresolved, the probate on his estate will not be delayed and could still go ahead, just as long as we include the £40,000 as a potential future asset?

[atticus]

yep.

[blueriver]

Thanks for clarifying.