Probate application
PROBATE FORMS
You should know of the value of the estate by completing the Master Financial Summary or IHT400 Summary before you start to complete the probate forms.
The process varies depending on which form you are submitting so make sure you have gone through the previous sections on ‘Which HMRC Form Do I Use?’ and ‘Valuing the Estate’ first.
The Probate Forms tell the Probate Registry about the deceased and the value of the deceased’s estate. It is very important to be as accurate as possible.
If the estate is ‘borderline’ on which HMRC form you are going to use wait for every asset holder to confirm and get formal valuations of any property.
See ‘Valuing the Estate’.
Form PA1 should be easy to complete once you have completed the preceding steps. You should only need your Master Physical File and Master Financial Summary (or IHT400 Summary) in front of you to have all the information you need.
Just go through each section line by line using the information to hand.
If you have any questions, contact us for advice.
PROBATE FEES
The fee is currently £215 for estates over £5,000 plus £1.50 per copy of the grant. You should request as many copies of the grant as you think you will need to send at any one time, ideally one for each asset holder.
Probate Fee Summary Sheet (PA3)
You should send the completed PA1 and attachments to the Probate Registry.
PROBATE PROCESS
Is relatively straightforward once you’ve done the HMRC forms.
Probate Application Form (PA1)
GETTING THE GRANT
Once the Probate Registry have received the signed PA1 you then wait to receive the Grant in the post.
You should receive the number of copies of the Grant you requested in the PA1 application.
