Dealing with Probate

I appreciate there are a lot of articles about probate rolling around the world wide web, but I truly hope I have mastered breaking down the process to ensure that it is more understandable for those embarking on probate or those it may fall upon.

Probate is possibly one of the biggest responsibilities that could be asked of you.  It’s a little more complicated then ensuring that someone’s pet is taken care off.  And to top it all off it is a mind field so hopefully you’ll find this interesting and useful.  And where possible I have included the relevant links so that you can use this article as a resource.

Once you have been appointed as Executor for your friend or loved one it is your responsibility to distribute their assets after their death.  And it will never be an easy process – as you will also be coping with your own grief and suddenly you’ll be faced with mountains of paper work and you’ll need to be able to hold sensible conversations with businesses such as Banks, utilities and Local Authorities.

It has been our experience that banks have made this task even more onerous, with one bank asking to speak to the person to confirm their death! Yes, you read that correctly – one bank we dealt with actually asked to speak to the deceased to confirm that they had deceased – sometimes you just can’t make this stuff up!

When dealing with Probate it is likely you’ll need a Grant of Probate before you can distribute the estate – but this is not always necessary or the case.  It depends on whether the deceased’s assets are jointly owned and if they will automatically transfer to the surviving owner.

How the process should work

The task of probate can be laborious, and the process can vary depending on which organisations you deal with.  We know from personal experience that Santander (formerly Abbey National) can be quite difficult to deal with, and don’t get me started on the Post Office Money!

However, the key stages are:

1.    Assess how much the estate is worth. This may mean working through the deceased’s papers and approaching companies for account details including credits and debits – you will need proof of identity and that you are the nominated person responsible for dealing with the estate.

2.    Apply for probate. If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland you will need to complete a PA1 form, or in Scotland it is a C1 form. There is a fee of £215 in the UK and Wales, £200 in Scotland and £250 in Northern Ireland.  Unless the estate is worth less than £5,000.  At the same time you will need to complete an inheritance tax form – if the estate is below the £325,000 threshold it would be IHT205, or if tax is payable the form is IHT400

3.    If someone dies without a will you’ll only be able to apply for a grant of representation if you are next of kin – usually a spouse or child.

4.    Settle inheritance tax (IHT). Before probate can be granted this needs to be paid (the links are above), however, the deceased’s accounts may be frozen.  In some cases, organisations will release funds early to cover IHT and funeral bills.  You’ll need IHT423 and send it directly to the bank of the deceased, the bank will then send funds directly to HMRC.

5.    You’ll need an executors account. This is honestly one of the most convenient ways to gather the deceased’s assets all in one place.  This account will also enable you to manage payments to any beneficiaries.  If you use your own personal account this can slow down the process and make it difficult to keep track of everything.

6.    Notifying beneficiaries. Now this part I learnt about from Heir Hunters on TV as it is actually very important and acts as a back up for your own protection against liabilities.  You’ll need to contact those who are named in the will and notify them, but you should also consider placing an advert in the UK’s official register – The Gazette.  If you don’t, you could be liable for claims from unidentified creditors in the future.

7.    Distributing the assets. As executor it will be your duty to distribute the assets in accordance to the will.  It is recommended that you ask beneficiaries to sign a receipt for any payments you make.  You should also provide accounts for the estate to the people who receive the remaining assets.  Keep records of everything you do for a minimum of 12 years.

As an executor you will deal with a lot of different organisations and each organisation will have its own way of dealing with probate. 

Banks will usually release funds before you have a grant of probate, if its to cover IHT or funeral bills. Generally, these payments will be made directly to HMRC or the funeral director.

As for making the process easier I can only comment from my own experiences of probate.  I would say it is advisable to, where possible, make accounts joint accounts.  And order more copies of the death certificate than you think you’ll need, these are more expensive to order afterwards.

Grief or Gruff

This week I was talking to a member of the public who was still reeling from having been barred from visiting their mother who was now living in a care home.

Their mother had recently been diagnosed as having dementia and had been relocated from hospital to a local care home.

The care home on the CQC website is rated as requiring improvement and the CQC’s own report (published July 2017) had concerns regarding the safety of the service.

Mr B (who I was speaking to) had raised a number of concerns in the 8 weeks his mother had been living at the home, regarding his mother’s care and had asked a few questions of the staff involved in her care.

Last week he received a notice (not a letter) from the Manager of the home stating that he was no longer welcome on the premises or to speak to staff working in the home.  They had essentially prevented him from visiting his own mother.

Mr B is allowed to collect his mother on a Sunday so they can attend church together but he must be escorted to her room and escorted of the premises, all whilst not being able to even enter into common curtesy conversation…

Firstly, given that many homes are understaffed this doesn’t appear to be a good use of resources.

I honestly cannot believe nor understand how in 2017 we are still hearing about Relatives being banned from visiting their loved ones in care homes across the UK, despite an increase in awareness not just of how wrong this truly is but of how the standard of care could improve across the care industry.

In 2016 the CQC (regulators of Care Services) published Visiting Rights for Relatives to somehow prevent these care providers banning loved ones yet somehow a tear later we are still learning of loved ones being prevent from visiting.

So, you’re thinking how then with guidelines by the regulators of Care Services that states Care Homes are people homes and their family and friends should not live in fear of being penalised for raising concerns (as quoted from Andrea Sutcliffe Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care) are relatives still being barred from Care Homes across the country?

Our Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, Andrea Sutcliffe, said:

“Care homes are people’s homes. They, their family and friends should not live in fear of being penalised for raising concerns.”

In the letter received by Mr B it stated that the home and the manager was invoking their Habitual and Vexatious Complainants Policy*.  This apparently enabled the Manager to barred Mr B from the premises.

They were kind enough to enclose a copy of their policy in their notice, from the moment you start reading it raises concerns

*Extract from Policy

1.    INTRODUCTION

Habitually demanding or vexatious complainants, and/or people who exhibit habitually demanding or vexatious behaviour, are an increasing problem for [name of Service] staff.  Handling such people or complainants could place a strain on time and resources and cause unacceptable stress for staff, who may need support in difficult situations.  The following procedures set out the [Providers Names] policy in dealing with such people or complainants.  It must be stressed that the vast majority of people who do come into contact with staff employed by [name of service] do not display such behaviour.  This procedure is for the small minority who do.  Execution of these procedures would only take place in exceptional circumstances.

Having spoken to Mr B and taking the time to actually listen I felt that this was an important point to make

Was Mr B being Gruff or was he experiencing Grief?

The Facts of the matter:

Mr B’s mother was diagnosed with dementia 11 weeks ago, 3 weeks later she was transferred from hospital to a care home where she has now been living for 8 weeks.

His mother is living in a service rated as Requires Improvement by the CQC in their published report dated July 2017.

The CQC Inspector also had concerns regarding the Service regarding its ability to provide Safe and Effective Care.

I spoke to Mr B about his complaints and concerns they did not appear to be out of the ordinary nor did I think that they were unrealistic or unreasonable:

      i.        Mr B’s mother’s movement sensor mat was in front of the TV in the room, whilst she was sat on the opposite side of the room in a lazy chair – Mr B asked whether or not it should be placed in front of her chair.

    ii.        Mr B’s water jug and cup was on a cabinet near the door – not in easy reach for Mr B’s mother to easily hydrate herself – Mr B asked for it to placed on the table next to his mother.

   iii.        Mr B’s mother’s teeth were in a glass in the en-suite not in her mother at 10am – Mr B asked how his mother had managed to eat breakfast and the biscuits the carer had apparently given her when she had no teeth in.

   iv.        In relation to iii. Mr B raised concerns over when his mother had last been fed or able to eat.

My take on the situation:

When I was talking to Mr B, I found he was still quite tearful when discussing his mother.  He spoke so fondly of her and of his wishes for her.

In my experience I found Mr B still to be in the throughs of grief.  Grief does not begin at death.  Grief is a natural response to losing someone or something that's important to you. You may feel a variety of emotions, like sadness or loneliness. And you might experience it for a number of different reasons.

There are 5 stages to grief

o   denial,

o   anger,

o   bargaining,

o   depression and acceptance are a part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with the one we lost

Mr B I felt was still in the initial stages denial and anger.  So, when dealing with the Care Home he was being blunt in his discussion and it is important to remember that in truth anger has no limits. It can extend not only to your friends, the doctors, care professionals, your family, yourself and your loved.

However, instead of the Care Home supporting Mr B deal with these emotions and providing him with time and comfort they impacted his grief by barring him from visiting his mother.

Care Providers have a responsibility to both their service users and to their families yet they appear ill-equipped and lack training in the basics of grief.

Yes, we need to treat staff and the service with as much dignity and respect as we can, but in turn respect is earnt and not a given.

None of Mr B’s concerns appeared to be Habitual and Vexatious but the manager was still able to instigate the policy and prevent him from visiting his mother.

If the staff or the manager had been better equipped to recognise the signs of grief and deal with grief this banning and many others like it may never have occurred.  The failing here is quite clearly the Home, the Service Provider and the Manager for not better training their staff to be able to manager and deal with this natural set of emotions.

I also personally feel that Mr B was well within his right to question the safety of the home and to question its staff in their “care” of his mother.  An open relationship with staff is best for your loved one.

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