Transcript
Katie: Ed, you've worked with families for a long time. What surprises them most about the probate process?
Ed: I think what surprises families most about the probate process is a mixture of things. There's firstly, the time that probate actually takes. A lot of people assume that it will be quite quick. And often it's6-12 months, if not more, before probate is granted.
Secondly, is there is the cost around the whole probate process, professional fees, people's time. That all costs money and that can add an additional layer of complexity to the process.
Thirdly, it's actually the timing of the Inheritance Tax bill itself. Very often the Inheritance Tax bill would arrive before the end of probate, which adds another bit of uncertainty – if you're not aware of what that bill is going to be, how much is that going to cost, and how are we going to pay it when probate is not finished?
And lastly, I think the executor is very often not a professional executor. It's a member of the family and it's a really stressful job. They're dealing with the same emotions that the rest of the family might be dealing with. And they've got to make sure that they find where everything is and make the reporting to HMRC as accurate as possible and not get that wrong.
Katie: What do families wish that they'd asked earlier?
Ed: I think the main questions that they wish they'd asked earlier is: where is everything and what is everything for? Having those discussions about what these policies are for and where are those bank accounts, where are those investments held, and how do we access them, are probably the two biggest questions that people ask.
Katie: What do people get wrong that can often end up causing problems later?
Ed: Thinking that having a will is enough and not revisiting that will, not updating that will, not keeping that will active – and also letting your beneficiaries know about that will.
And I think secondly is, your legacy planning (the same as your will) not evolving as life changes. So marriage, births, grandchildren, divorces – all those sorts of things need to be taken into consideration. So keeping your legacy planning actively looked at and up-to-date with your current life cycle.
Katie: What do people assume will be simple, but very rarely is?
Ed: I think working out the actual value of the estate itself is something that you should really do as part of your conversations and legacy planning. It is quite complicated delving in and finding all of the accounts, all of the investments, all of those little pots that are spread out over your life – and really narrowing it down and working out how much that estate is worth.
Then secondly, I think is underestimating family dynamics. And that's where early conversations and people knowing what policies are in place, why certain beneficiaries are involved, is a really important part of the legacy planning. Just to ease that during a really difficult time for a family.
Katie: Absolutely. So to sum up, it's really important to have those difficult conversations earlier.
Ed: Yes, definitely have those difficult conversations. And then keep that legacy plan updated and seek some professional financial advice to discuss it further.
Katie: That's really helpful Ed. Thank you so much.