In Section 5 we gave you a list of all of the companies and organisations to contact. At this point you should have made a note of the balance on the date of the death which will indicate what they are owned or what debts need to be paid.

A valuation of the estate is as simple as total assets – debts owned (liabilities) = estate value.

Assets

We’ll go through each of the assets that make up a person’s estate.

Property, Land and Buildings

To value the deceased’s home, you can get a realistic valuation from a local estate agent. You will also need to find out how the property was owned and their share in it. This can be done by obtaining the Title Register from the Land Registry website – https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry. Once obtained, you can then see if the property was owned in their sole name or jointly with someone. If the property was owned jointly, you will need to see whether it is owned as beneficial joint tenants or as tenants in common.

Beneficial joint tenancy is when both owners of the property hold the property jointly, and when one person dies, it will automatically pass to the survivor.

Tenants in common is when each person owns a specific share of the property. Here, if one of them dies, then their share is included in the estate valuation, and they are also free to leave their share to their chosen beneficiary in their Will.

Cash

What was the value of the money they had in all bank accounts, stocks, shares, etc?

Open market value of household goods and personal items

What was the value in pounds of household goods and personal items i.e. Electrical goods, jewellery, furniture, motor vehicles, etc

Foreign assets

If the deceased’s permanent home was in the UK -Value of their share of any assets they owned outside the UK

Value of any assets held in trust that the deceased benefited from

Did they benefit from dividends from shares or have a right to live in a property that was held in trust?

Value of any money owed to the deceased

i.e., from utility companies, money owed to them from loans, unclaimed benefits, trusts, etc.

Liabilities

Once you have valued all assets, then deduct the liabilities.

Money owed to mortgage company

If there is a mortgage, ask the mortgage company for a redemption statement to see the money owed to them at the date of death

Debts – Value of any overpaid pension payments or benefits:

• Bank overdrafts
• Money owing to utility companies
• Money owed to a landlord
• Credit cards
• Personal loans

Funeral Expenses

Deduct all expenses relating to the funeral.