Plain-English definitions of the probate and inherited property terms you will meet as an executor or beneficiary, from grant of probate and letters of administration to assent, bona vacantia and below market value. Each entry links to the official GOV.UK guidance where one exists.
A
- Administrator
The person who administers an estate when there is no valid will, or no named executor able to act. An administrator is appointed under the rules of intestacy through Letters of Administration, and has the same core duties as an executor: collecting assets, settling debts, and distributing the estate to those entitled.
- Assent
The document a personal representative uses to transfer an inherited property to a beneficiary instead of selling it. An assent moves legal ownership out of the estate and into the beneficiary’s name. Once assented, the beneficiary can keep, let, or themselves.
B
- Below market value (BMV)
A sale price lower than what a property would achieve on the open market. Cash buyers, including Augusta Probate, typically buy below market value because they take on the risk, cost, and speed that an open market sale avoids. We name this trade off openly so you can weigh certainty against price. See our.
- Beneficiary
A person or organisation entitled to receive something from an estate, either under a will or under the rules of intestacy. Being a beneficiary does not give you authority to deal with the property. That authority sits with the executor or administrator until the estate is distributed.
- Bona vacantia
Ownerless property that passes to the Crown when someone dies with no valid will and no traceable relatives. Estates on the government’s Bona Vacantia list can be claimed by entitled heirs, sometimes many years later, by proving their relationship to the deceased.
C
- Capital Gains Tax on inherited property (CGT)
Tax on the increase in a property’s value between the date of death and the date you sell it. If you sell close to the probate valuation, there is usually little or no gain and little or no CGT. A long delay before selling can create a taxable gain. This is general information, not tax advice.
- Cash buyer
A buyer purchasing without a mortgage, using funds already available. A cash buyer can complete quickly, does not depend on a lender’s survey or valuation, and can buy properties that are unmortgageable or in poor condition. This is why estates under time pressure often.
- Caveat
A formal notice entered at the Probate Registry that stops a grant being issued, usually because someone disputes the will or who should administer the estate. A caveat lasts six months and can be renewed. It will hold up any until it is resolved.
- Chain free
A sale with no other linked purchase or sale that it depends on. Because nothing else can collapse the deal, a chain free sale gives more certainty. Selling an inherited property to a cash buyer is chain free, which matters when the estate needs a reliable completion date.
- Codicil
A document that amends an existing will without replacing it. A codicil must be signed and witnessed in the same way as the original will. When probate is applied for, the will and any codicils are read together to establish who inherits and who the executors are.
- Conveyancing
The legal work of transferring ownership of a property from seller to buyer, carried out by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer. In a probate sale, conveyancing includes proving the grant, checking the title, and completing the transfer. Augusta Probate can cover your solicitor fees on the properties we buy.
D
- Deed of Variation
A legal document that lets beneficiaries change who inherits from an estate, within two years of the death. It is often used to redirect part of an inheritance or to reduce an inheritance tax bill, and it can change how an inherited property is dealt with.
E
- Estate
Everything a person owned and owed at the date of death: property, money, investments, possessions, debts, and any unpaid tax. The total value of the estate decides whether is due and whether a grant is needed before assets can be released or sold.
- Estate accounts
The financial record of everything that came into and went out of an estate during administration, including the proceeds of any property sale, debts paid, and tax settled. Beneficiaries are usually entitled to see the estate accounts before the estate is finalised and distributed.
- Executor
The person named in a will to administer the estate. An executor’s authority comes from the will itself, but in practice banks, the Land Registry, and buyers’ solicitors require a as proof before they will release funds or complete a property sale. See our page for.
G
- Grant of Probate
The court document issued when there is a valid will, confirming the executor’s legal authority to administer the estate. Banks, the Land Registry, and a buyer’s solicitor will require sight of the grant before an inherited property can be transferred or sold.
H
- HMRC clearance
Confirmation from HMRC that the inheritance tax position on an estate has been settled. Personal representatives often wait for clearance before making the final distribution to beneficiaries, because they can be held personally liable if further tax later turns out to be due.
I
- Inheritance Tax (IHT)
A tax on the value of an estate above the tax free threshold, normally charged at 40 per cent on the amount over the nil rate band. Tax on most assets is due within six months of death, which is often what creates pressure to quickly. See.
- Intestacy
What happens when someone dies without a valid will. The estate is shared under fixed legal rules, known as the rules of intestacy, which decide who inherits and in what order, starting with a spouse or civil partner and children before moving to other relatives.
J
- Japanese knotweed
An invasive plant that can damage structures and is treated seriously by mortgage lenders. Its presence often makes a property unmortgageable and must be declared when selling. Affected homes commonly because the usual buyer pool shrinks.
L
- Letters of Administration
The equivalent of a Grant of Probate when there is no valid will, or no executor able to act. Letters of Administration give the administrator legal authority to deal with the estate, including selling property, under the rules of intestacy.
M
- Market value
The price a property would realistically achieve on the open market, with full marketing and a willing buyer. A cash offer is normally below market value, in exchange for speed, certainty, and a purchase in any condition. Comparing the two routes honestly is the right way to decide.
N
- Next of kin
The closest living relatives of the deceased. Next of kin status matters under intestacy, where it decides who inherits and who can apply to administer the estate. On its own, being next of kin does not give you legal authority to sell an inherited property.
- Nil rate band
The threshold below which no inheritance tax is due, currently £325,000 per person. Value above it is usually taxed at 40 per cent. Any unused nil rate band can often be transferred to a surviving spouse or civil partner, which can double the threshold for the second death.
P
- Personal representative (PR)
The umbrella term for whoever is legally responsible for administering an estate, whether an executor (where there is a will) or an administrator (where there is not). Personal representatives owe legal duties to beneficiaries and creditors and can be personally liable for mistakes.
- Probate
The legal process of proving a will and obtaining authority to deal with a deceased person’s estate. In England and Wales, probate confirms who can collect the assets, pay the debts, and distribute the estate. A property usually cannot be sold until probate has been granted.
- Probate property
A property that forms part of someone’s estate and is being dealt with through probate. It usually needs a grant before it can be sold, and is often unmodernised, empty, or legally complex. These are the properties.
- Probate valuation
A valuation of the estate’s assets, including any property, as at the date of death. It sets the figures used for inheritance tax and the estate accounts. For property, an open market or RICS valuation is often recommended so the figure stands up to HMRC scrutiny.
R
- Residence nil rate band
An extra inheritance tax allowance, up to £175,000, available when a main home is passed to direct descendants such as children or grandchildren. It can raise the effective tax free amount, but it tapers away for larger estates above £2 million.
- Restrictive covenant
A binding condition written into a property’s title that limits how it can be used or altered, for example a ban on further building. Covenants can reduce value or complicate a sale, and they must be disclosed to buyers during conveyancing.
S
- Selling before probate
Agreeing a sale of an inherited property before the grant has been issued. You can market the property and exchange contracts subject to probate, but completion normally cannot happen until the or Letters of Administration is confirmed.
- Sitting tenant
Someone living in a property under a tenancy that continues after the property is sold. A sitting tenant can make a property difficult to sell on the open market, but a cash buyer may purchase with the tenancy in place, with no vacant possession required.
- Subject to contract
A label on any agreement to buy or sell made before contracts are exchanged, meaning either side can still withdraw without penalty. Offers on inherited property are usually accepted subject to contract while probate is obtained and legal checks are completed.
- Subsidence
Downward movement of the ground beneath a building, causing cracks and structural damage. Subsidence can make a property hard to insure or mortgage, which shrinks the buyer pool and often pushes the sale toward a who buys as is.
T
- Title defect
Any problem with the legal ownership records of a property, such as missing deeds, a boundary dispute, or unregistered land. Title defects can delay or derail a normal sale, but are often resolvable during a specialist purchase by an experienced legal team.
U
- Unmortgageable property
A property a normal lender will not lend against, for reasons such as serious disrepair, a short lease, non standard construction like concrete or steel frame, Japanese knotweed, or flood risk. These properties usually need a to complete a sale.
- Unregistered land
Property not yet recorded at HM Land Registry, common with older homes that have not changed hands for decades. Selling unregistered land requires the original deeds and extra legal work to prove ownership, which can slow down a probate sale.
V
- Vacant possession
Handing over a property empty of people and belongings on completion. Many sales require it, but a specialist buyer may purchase without vacant possession, for example with tenants still in place or the property still full of belongings you are not ready to clear.
W
- Will
A legal document setting out how a person wants their estate distributed after death, and naming the executors who will carry it out. A valid will determines who inherits and is the basis for the application for a Grant of Probate.