Probate Valuation
For purposes of probate, it is recommended that you obtain the valuation of the deceased’s Estate if the value exceeds the current threshold set by the Government.
Current Inheritance Tax threshold is £325,000
- Everything passes to the deceased’s spouse or a civil partner, a charity or a community amateur sports club
- All assets in the Estate have a value below the Inheritance Tax threshold of £325,000
Inheritance Tax Threshold Can Be Higher In Some Circumstances
- The threshold can increase to £475,000 (if married or in a civil partnership can be £950,000) if the deceased owned a main home or share of it and the Estate is passed to the deceased’s children or grandchildren (including foster, adopted and stepchildren). and;
- Deceased’s Estate has to be worth less than £2m
It is necessary to obtain a valuation of assets for several reasons:
- The value of the Estate needs to be determined for Inheritance Tax application as well as the Probate process
- Estate value is needed to calculate any Capital Gains Tax due if assets were sold and increased in value after death
- Obtaining an accurate valuation of the Estate allows debts to be repaid and the remaining Estate passed to the Beneficiaries
Probate Property Valuation
In the majority of Estates, the property is often a single largest asset and HMRC requires that value of the property is assessed and reported accurately. You might feel that estate agent valuation would be sufficient to determine the value of the property. However, this approach is now largely redundant due to increased risk of inaccuracies that may be found in valuations produced by estate agents.
It is a requirement that property value is assessed of what it could fetch if sold on the open market at the date of death. This also applies to other assets in the Estate.
In most cases, estate agents are unable to provide retrospective valuations to the date of death. Valuations produced by estate agents tend to be higher than Chartered Surveyor produced RICS Red Book valuations resulting in you overpaying on Inheritance Tax.
When valuing the property it is important to assess all facts that might have an effect on the property value. Within the property, these can be development opportunities, significant repairs or legal encumbrances. These facts are not always visible to the unqualified and untrained person. Having professional valuer by your side can help you save significant sums on Inheritance Tax.
Erikas Grig Chartered Surveyors are expert valuers of property and contents for Probate purposes. We understand that in times such as these when emotions are high trying to navigate the process can be a daunting task. We can be your ideal professional partner leaving you with a secure sense of feeling that all assets will be correctly appraised and removing the possibility of HMRC penalties for incorrect Estate valuation.
We undertake residential and commercial property Probate valuations in a forensic way and by having experience behind us and access to the market-leading and most sophisticated property databases in the UK we leave no stones unturned.
Probate Valuation of House Contents
The first step would be to make a list of any items that you think are of value. The common items that hold value are cars, jewellery, electronics, antiques and collectables.
If contents and chattels within the Estate have a combined value of over £1,500. HMRC requires that these items are appraised and reported for levying Inheritance Tax.
We have experienced contents and chattels valuers who will be able to inspect and appraise the left possessions seamlessly and provide you with the HMRC compliant house contents valuation report.
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