I am doing my first online application for a grant in an intestacy, where the applicant is the only child of the deceased (who was widowed), so he is the only person entitled. My client has a child, who is therefore a grandchild of the deceased, but has no interest in the estate.
The application form asks if the deceased had any other issue. I initially answered yes, because I have always understood issue to mean all descendants, but if I answer yes to this question I am told I can’t apply online and must submit a paper application. This surely can’t be correct in what should be a very straightforward application, so I now wonder whether I should answer no on the basis that there are no other children. The guidance notes don’t help.
Can anyone advise me of the correct answer to this question in these circumstances?
I believe ‘issue’ in the application refers to immediate children only, (and not all descendants). Therefore, as there is only one child, who is entitled to the entire estate, my understanding is that the online application form should be used.
I would interpret “issue” in this context as “issue having a beneficial interest in the estate”, in line with NCPR r.22(1), and/or “children of the deceased and the issue of any deceased child who died before the deceased” in line with NCPR r.22(1)(b).
To avoid issues like this I am completing paper applications for any Grants of Letters of Administration. The timescale between submitting an application and the Grant being issued, based on recent experience, seems to be about the same for both online and paper applications.