Inheritance Tax Bill Probate Finance for London Estate

The Scenario

We were approached by two young siblings who had sadly lost both parents in quick succession.

Because of the stress caused to the family, the estate had not been effectively managed, and HMRC’s deadline to pay the £350,000 Inheritance Tax bill in instalments had been missed.

To go down the instalments route, the first payment is due at the end of the sixth month after the death, which for many families doesn’t leave enough time to get their affairs in order and establish a plan.

Within the estate was a £2m main residence which accounted for the majority of the wealth passed onto the clients.

However, the beneficiaries could not afford to retain the property long term, and were looking to acquire Grant of Probate to sell the house which could adequately cover the inheritance tax bill.

The Solution

After reviewing our client’s best options, a probate loan was recommended to both to pay HMRC and assist with Inheritance Releases for both beneficiaries to fund their living expenses.

Not only did it release pressure from their living and tax situation, it also allowed the £2m London property a healthy amount of time on the market to reach achieve full value – something they may not have reached if rushing a sale.

Note: it’s not uncommon for probate loans to be used to refurbish inherited properties before sale for this exact reason.

The clients had no monthly repayments to worry about, and the funder was simply repaid, with the interest, from the funds released from the estate prior to the inheritance being distributed.