Hi
We are waiting on probate being issued before we an proceed with a house purchase. IHT421 was sent to probate registry 2 weeks ago. Could someone share how they are finding the timeframes currently - is it reasonable to expect grant of representation issued in the next couple of weeks?
Thanks
Tristan McSweeney
I do not think you can send the papers to the probate registry until four weeks have elapsed from the date you sent the IHT papers to HMRC. Therefore the simple answer is no. But actually, experience is mixed at the moment - mostly good, in that estates with no issues are being dealt with promptly – well within three or four weeks of the application - but still waiting on one from February……
On one of my estates last month it took the Probate Registry 2 weeks to issue the Grant after HMRC had sent the IHT421 to them. So you may be in luck!
I am experiencing huge delays - some of mine are taking six months!
If your application doesn’t raise any enquiries (two of mine have been stopped because the Probate Registry didn’t examine my application correctly) yours may be quicker, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
If you have submitted an IHT400 to HMRC, you can’t complete the application until 20 working days later, whether or not you’ve received a letter from HMRC to say the IHT421 is on its way to the Probate Registry.
The system is getting worse, not better.