Find a solicitor
While we can offer guidance on administering an estate, we cannot offer legal advice. We recommend that you seek independent legal support during this process.
You can find a solicitor in England or Wales in the Law Society’s database.
You can also search the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioner (STEP) directory to find a specialist who can help with administering estates.
Inheritance tax
As a registered charity, any gift left to Shelter is normally exempt from inheritance tax. If an estate leaves more than 10% to charity, it qualifies for a 36% reduced inheritance tax rate.
Read the government guidance to find out more about inheritance tax and how it might apply.
Gifts left to charities are normally exempt from Inheritance Tax. When you apply for probate, you should make sure that you write this on the appropriate HMRC form. When it comes to distributing gifts, it may seem that the charities are receiving more money than individual beneficiaries. This is because they receive the additional amount that they would have paid in tax.
Capital gains tax
Capital gains tax may apply to assets of an estate which have grown in value since the date of the death of a person by more than the allowance given to you in your role as executor. To mitigate any potential capital gains tax liability beyond this allowance, you may pass the asset title to charity beneficiaries before you sell it by ‘appropriating’ it to them.
You can do this by making a formal declaration that you’ve passed the legal title of the asset to the beneficiary and have been instructed to sell it on their behalf. As charities are exempt from capital gains tax, no tax would become payable on their respective share. A solicitor should be able to help you do this.
Dealing with property
Deciding what to do with property can be difficult. Here are a few questions to consider to get you started:
is the property insured?
have the executors taken out an insurance policy in their names or transferred the existing policy?
what are the terms of the insurance policy? (Companies often require you to visit the property at least once a week)
who has a spare key? Do you need to change the locks?
does someone need to disconnect the utilities? For example, pipes may freeze in winter if you do not turn off the water
Before selling a property, we suggest getting at least two valuation reports from different agents or surveyors. This will help you assess the property's value before listing it for sale.
Personal belongings
We have charity shops across England and Scotland and an online shop. We can take items for sale and offer a house clearance service at a small number of our stores. We can also negotiate reduced commission rates with some of the large auction houses. If you have questions, please get in touch.
Shares
Shelter does not normally accept shareholdings, so we would be grateful if you would arrange to sell any shareholdings during the estate administration.