Valuables found during a probate house clearance must be included in the estate's inventory and declared to HMRC as part of the Inheritance Tax assessment. This applies regardless of whether the items were expected or discovered unexpectedly - every asset belonging to … [Read more...]
Who pays for probate house clearance when there is no money?
When there is no money in an estate, the cost of probate house clearance typically falls to the executor to fund initially, with reimbursement from estate proceeds once assets are realised or the property is sold. If the estate is genuinely insolvent, clearance costs … [Read more...]
English Probate Property Sales: A Practical Guide for Families
Losing a close family member or friend can be one of life's most difficult experiences. Understanding English probate property sales can be a challenge too, unless you understand the principles. We wrote this article to help you understand how probate affects you in … [Read more...]
What items cannot be removed during a probate house clearance?
During a probate house clearance, certain items cannot lawfully be removed until the estate has been properly valued and, in most cases, until probate has been granted. This applies to all assets forming part of the deceased's estate, including furniture, jewellery, … [Read more...]
What Happens to a House When Someone Dies?
When someone dies, ownership of their property does not transfer automatically to beneficiaries. The house typically becomes part of the deceased's estate and must pass through the legal process of probate before it can be sold, transferred, or otherwise dealt with. The … [Read more...]
What Counts as a Personal Chattel When Somebody Dies?
What counts as a personal chattel when somebody dies, is everything they owned, could touch and move, and could go with them when they moved elsewhere on earth. When they died they obviously could not take them with them. Their family now faces an important question: … [Read more...]
Five Stages of Hoarding: Warning Signs For Friends
The five stages of hoarding are more than simply collecting possessions at an accelerating rate. We are speaking here of a recognized mental health condition. Hoarding that we see in action during our hoarder home clearances. Hoarding is a progression, not just … [Read more...]
How Leasehold Reform Could Affect the Value of Your Property
The UK Government's proposed reforms to leasehold ownership, are among the most significant changes to England's property market in decades. We share our thoughts, as professional valuers, regarding how we believe this leasehold reform could affect the value of … [Read more...]
Hoarding In The Context of Society and Culture
Compulsive hoarding, stripped down to the basics, is an unstoppable urge to collect and hang on to possessions. However, this hoarding does occur in isolation. To understand it fully we need to view hoarding in the context of society and culture. We share our own … [Read more...]
What Probate Means and How to Apply For It
Losing a family member or a close friend is tough enough, without having to deal with the paperwork. Yet many ordinary people suddenly find themselves appointed as the executor of a deceased person's estate. One of the first legal terms they encounter is ‘probate’. … [Read more...]
