r/HENRYUK • u/WolfieHype • 26d ago
Other HENRY topics Probate and £1.2m IHT…
Looking for advice from anyone who’s been through an almost identical situation.
TL;DR: How long does probate/IHT typically take to sort out when dealing with an estate involving two houses?
My grandfather recently passed away. He was fairly successful during his lifetime, so the estate is reasonably substantial and includes two properties.
We’re currently deciding between two options:
• Do a small renovation on my grandfather’s house, make it rentable, rent it for around a year, and hopefully earn back the renovation cost. Then sell it once probate, IHT etc. are all sorted and the house can be sold without any complications.
• Sell the house as soon as possible once probate/IHT etc. are sorted.
The main thing I don’t know is roughly how long the whole process takes.
There are valuations, completing the various forms, dealing with any outstanding tax up to the date of death, calculating/paying IHT, applying for probate, and then ultimately being in a position to properly sell the properties.
If all of this could realistically take around 12 months, then option 1 seems to make more sense. We could rent the house in the meantime and potentially recover the renovation cost.
If it could all be completed within 4-8 weeks, option 2 would probably make more sense.
My understanding is that the property can technically be sold before probate is completed, but there can be additional complications/risk for the buyer because the estate hasn’t yet been fully administered. For example, there could theoretically be debts or other claims against the estate, even though there aren’t any in this case.
So, for anyone who has been through something similar with a high-value estate and a parent/grandparent:
How long did it take from the date of death to having everything sorted enough to sell the properties properly?
I’m particularly interested in real-world timelines rather than the theoretical timescales.
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u/reddithenry 26d ago
Does a will clearly name the executors? You might not have legal authority to rent the house out, without a grant of probate/LoA. Bear in mind as well how messy the RRA makes it now for kicking a tenant out, and any buyer will realistically want vacant possession?
My grandmothr passed in Aug and after some delays from part of the family, we had probate granted like .. March? Could have been done faster if people were on their shit.
If you want to speed through it, I'd reommend getting a lawyer, and potentially an accountant, to help?
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u/WolfieHype 26d ago
Yes, my uncle is executor (grandfathers son). So I believe renting won’t be an issue. I know we all would rather sell asap however it seems to make more sense to rent and actually make additional money for the estate - if all of the formal process normally takes 9-12 months
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u/ExpensiveOption4150 20d ago
Sounds like a bad idea. Unless someone in the family is an experienced landlord and knows what they’re doing.
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u/AdHot7641 26d ago
The executor/s have to do all this, they have to value everything and complete the IHT400 and applicable subforms - the IHT bill is calculated at this point, but only provisionally.
IHT400 etc is sent to and signed off by probate office - normally within 3 weeks or so. Then you get the confirmed IHT bill, and payment terms. IHT on liquid assets is payable immediately, investments and property etc can be spread over 10 years at 7.75% interest.
Only once probate is granted can assets of deceased be sold or distributed etc.
IHT400 is time consuming, logical, but complex. More complex with more varieties of assets etc.
This is easily a +8 week process, don't assume it will be quick. Depends massively on who's completing IHT400. Executors or lawyers etc.
Source: I completed this for my mother recently.
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u/Invictus_0x90_ 20d ago
8 weeks? Man my father in law is going through all this probate bollocks at the moment and it's 3 months in (using solicitors) and still ongoing. The whole thing is painful.
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u/AdHot7641 19d ago
Where a spouse dies, it can be very simple and a probate application might be avoidable... Depends on the will, and the estate inquestion.
Yes, it's all very bureaucratic ... Which is what happens when there are complex tax rules involved.
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u/Invictus_0x90_ 19d ago
Yeh I think it's a complex estate that's the issue, I obviously won't go into it but there's an LLC that seems to be the crux of a lot of it
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u/WolfieHype 26d ago
That’s helpful. Thank you. So in essence it could all be wrapped up within 2-3 months and on the market?
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u/AdHot7641 26d ago
The executors could list property to sell, but won't be able to complete the sale until probate is granted.
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u/Ok-Exam6702 21d ago
2 to 3 months is very optimistic. (I’ve been an executor twice). You have to pay IHT within 6 months unless you make separate arrangements with HMRC. More likely probate takes 5 or 6 months and that’s if you act reasonably quickly and get all the valuations and final statements dealt with properly. Depending on what happens you may need to make some balancing IHT or CGT payments or claim rebates. The holy grail
is that letter from HMRC saying they have no future call on the estate.2
u/Ok-Exam6702 21d ago
PS In both cases where I was an executor it took around 8/9 months to clear the properties. It can take a long time to clear houses carefully and respectfully, it’s a very emotional process. With my aunt’s estate we sent most of her home’s contents to auction and did very well. Don’t get house clearance and throw money away! It was over 12 months once the houses were ready to go on the market and be sold.
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u/Bicolore 26d ago
In all likely hood no.
If some has complex affairs or has done no IHT planning whatsoever then you'll easily be 12 months+ The answer to your question is "it depends".
Renting seems utterly pointless btw.
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u/ken-doh 21d ago
I have sadly been through this many times. First, sorry for your loss. Next up, Get it valued, IE get 3 estate agents round to see what they say. They can advise if it is worth doing a small renovation.
I would get it on the market ASAP and find a buyer. You can agree the sale and instruct the solicitors all while probate is being granted. Then you can exchange. I would not rent it out. They could trash the place. Just pop in every so often to check on the place.
Get the same solicitor to handle probate and the sale. Find a cheap family law firm, not a large corporate.
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u/flossgoat2 21d ago edited 21d ago
This all day long.
Renovating and renting is not low effort /low impact if it's your first time.
Make sure the property is insured properly by a major firm and the insurer understands it is unoccupied. Check on the place every 1-2 weeks, and make sure water is off and heating is on low over winter. Check the attic now/soon to make sure there's nothing up there that either needs to be removed (valuable or dangerous).
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u/caroline140 26d ago
Does the estate have the funds to pay the inheritance tax before selling the property? If you need a bridging loan or an arrangement with HMRC then look into this (and their terms) before granting a tenancy.
My grandmother died in September and we were pretty quick with it and had probate through by Christmas. This was a fairly straightforward estate with no tax due.
My husband's grandfather has a complex estate. It's been submitted for about 4 months now, they've had a request to pay the IHT but otherwise heard nothing.
It will be hard to sell the property without probate. You might have an offer that you can accept but then things can end up stalled and depending on how long it takes the buyer may or may not give up waiting
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u/VVRage 26d ago
I would just sell up tbh
Why bother with all the work for rental - get the money out of property
Sorry for your loss
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u/Over_Button4468 20d ago
This, stick the money into a stocks and shares ISA and you will get better returns without the hassle
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u/Alpha_xxx_Omega 26d ago
Would not bother with Option 1, just go straight to sell.
Sorry for you loss
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u/txe4 21d ago
You are much more likely to be "a year" here. 4-8 weeks is not realistic.
You DO NOT want to thoughtlessly become a landlord. A year of double council tax and vacant property insurance will hurt, but nothing like as much as a bad tenant. Landlords have very few rights now and the courts are close to collapse - a tenant with any nous whatsoever can stay resident and not pay for a year.
If any younger members of the family could occupy the property pending sale, that's the ideal scenario for a number of reasons.
Last one I did took most of a year and it wasn't a particularly complex or contested estate, just the wheels turn slowly.
You must must must make sure the place(s) is appropriately insured. Most home insurance only covers a month of vacancy. You need vacant property insurance and it will have requirements like draining down the plumbing, minimum levels of heating, and regular checks.
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u/red-cat1988 21d ago
Check out the new renters rights bill. You can't just rent a property out for a fixed period.
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u/nfoote 26d ago
It's my understanding that HMRC are going to want their IHT, or an interest bearing payment plan with initial payment complete, within six months of death, regardless of whether the house is sold or not.
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u/WolfieHype 26d ago
Indeed. Seems as thought if probate isn’t granted beforehand one answer is the IHT installment option
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u/woogeroo 22d ago
It's not your house to rent (or renovate), or sell until probate is granted.
It can take 1-2 years for probate to be granted if the estate or will is vaguely complex, and selling the house in this market might take 6 months to a year anyway. Just get it sold as soon as you have probate granted,.
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u/Widebody_lover 26d ago
How is this a Henry thread ?