G-14 · FREE DOWNLOADEstate administration · England & Wales

A blank inventory of assets for probate — free to print and fill in

Everything the estate owns and everything it owes, on one sheet. Six asset sections cover all ten categories GOV.UK names. Then debts, gifts and a summary that totals itself. Nothing is filled in — you write the figures. No account required.

FreePDFSpreadsheetEngland & WalesEdition 2026

Download the template →

PDF and spreadsheet · No account required · A blank to complete yourself — not legal advice

Planning guidance only. Thresholds, fees and deadlines change, and each figure below carries the date it was checked. This sheet covers England and Wales; Scotland (confirmation, and a different joint-property rule) and Northern Ireland differ. Estates with trusts, business or agricultural property, foreign assets or a possible dispute need professional advice before anything is submitted.

The template, free and with nothing held back

This is a blank. Nothing in it is filled in for you. Nothing here is prepared from your records. It is the sheet — every category named, every subtotal laid out — for you to complete yourself. Print the PDF and write on it, or open the spreadsheet and let it add up. Both cover the same ground.

FreeA4 PDFSpreadsheet (.xlsx)England & WalesEdition 2026

Probate Inventory of Assets — blank template

Fourteen A4 pages. Six asset sections, covering all ten categories GOV.UK names. Then debts, gifts in the last seven years, a joint-ownership worksheet and a summary. Every subtotal carries forward to it. A valuation-evidence log at the back, so you can show where each figure came from.

Download — Probate Inventory (PDF)Spreadsheet edition (.xlsx) →

Starting point only. Not legal advice. England and Wales.

Figure watch

The figures on this page change.

Court fees rise, thresholds move, deadlines shift.

Every figure on this page is dated and carries its source, and we re-check them against those sources. Leave an email and it reaches us directly.

Every other page we could find on this makes you read about an inventory. This one hands you the sheet.

If you would rather not start from a blank sheet, Executor's First Hour (£179) is the prepared version — a personalised first-day sequence for newly-appointed executors.

Checked against gov.uk guidance on valuing an estate and the HMRC schedules it names — 11 September 2026.

What it is, and who can require one

An inventory of assets lists everything the person owned and everything they owed on the day they died. It is not a form anyone sends you. It is the working document you build first. Every later step reads its totals — the probate application, the inheritance tax position, the estate accounts.

The statutory duty is narrower than most pages suggest. A personal representative must collect and get in the estate and administer it according to law. Then, when required to do so by the court, exhibit a full inventory on oath and account for the administration. That conditional clause is the whole of it. No one has to file an inventory with a court by default.

A beneficiary has no direct right to demand one. The route is to ask the court to require it. An application for an inventory and account is made by summons to a district judge or registrar. A wider claim about how the estate is being administered goes to the Chancery Division instead. In practice the summons alone usually settles it.

HMRC is the party that always sees the figures. The estate's value has to be reported within 12 months of the end of the month of death. That report has to happen before probate is granted.

Administration of Estates Act 1925 s.25 (as substituted by the Administration of Estates Act 1971 s.9) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 11 September 2026.

Inventory and account by summons: Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 (SI 1987/2024) rule 61(2) — legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/2024/rule/61, checked 11 September 2026.

Administration claims in the Chancery Division: CPR 64.1(3) and 64.2 — justice.gov.uk, checked 11 September 2026.

Reporting deadline: IHTA 1984 s.216 · gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died — checked 11 September 2026.

The court.

Can require a full inventory on oath, and an account of the administration. Only when it orders it.

A beneficiary.

No direct right to demand one. Asks the court, by summons, to require it.

HMRC.

Sees the totals either way. Through the IHT account, or through the excepted-estate declaration in the probate application.

Who can require an inventory, and on what footing

Five rows.

Five rows.
Who	What they can require	Where it comes from	Applies when	Source
The court	A full inventory of the estate exhibited on oath, and an account of the administration	Administration of Estates Act 1925 s.25(b)	Only when the court requires it	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
A beneficiary	No direct right. May apply by summons for an inventory and account	Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 r.61(2)	Where an executor will not account voluntarily	Statute11 Sept 2026
A beneficiary (wider claim)	An order about how the estate is being administered, not an inventory as such	CPR 64.2 · High Court proceedings go to the Chancery Division (CPR 64.1(3))	Where the dispute is about the administration itself	Statute11 Sept 2026
HMRC	The estate's value, reported on the IHT account or through the probate application	IHTA 1984 s.216 · gov.uk valuing-an-estate guidance	Within 12 months of the end of the month of death	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026
The probate application itself	Gross and net figures, and the excepted-estate declaration	gov.uk/applying-for-probate · PA1P / PA1A	Every application	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026

Everything that belongs on the inventory

GOV.UK names ten kinds of asset when it explains how to estimate an estate. The template uses the same ten, in the same order. Nothing you write here has to be re-sorted later. Cryptoassets are on that list now. So is money owed to the person who died — a refund, the last wage, a loan to a relative.

gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value — checked 11 September 2026.

The ten categories, and where each value comes from

Ten rows.

Ten rows.
Category	What belongs in it	Where the value comes from	Schedule	Source
The home	The deceased's share of the main residence	Open market value at the date of death — estate agent, or a RICS valuation where the property is unusual	IHT405	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Other property and land	Second homes, let property, land, garages, business premises	Open market value; a RICS “Red Book” valuation where commercial, agricultural, unusual, or over £2m	IHT405	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Money	Current and savings accounts, building society accounts, ISAs, NS&I, cash in the house	The bank's bereavement letter: balance at the date of death, plus interest accrued to that date	IHT406	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Stocks and shares	Listed shares, OEICs, unit trusts, investment platform holdings	Listed shares: the quarter-up rule. OEICs and unit trusts: the bid price	IHT411 · IHT412	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Household and personal goods	Furniture, jewellery, paintings, antiques, electrical goods, stamp and coin collections, items on loan or in storage	Resale value, not replacement value; a professional valuation where one item is worth more than £500	IHT407	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Cars, caravans, boats	Anything in the deceased's name	Trade guide value at the date of death (Glass's, Parker's)	IHT407	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Foreign assets	Property, accounts and investments held outside the UK	Local value converted at the date-of-death exchange rate	IHT417	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Cryptoassets	Cryptocurrency and other digital holdings	Market value at the date of death; keep the exchange record	IHT400 and the relevant schedule	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Money owed to the deceased	Unpaid wages, tax refunds, rent due, loans made to others	The amount outstanding at the date of death	IHT416	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Payments arising on death	Life insurance payable to the estate, pension lump sums and death benefits	The amount payable — and note whether the policy is written in trust, in which case it usually falls outside the estate	IHT409 · IHT410	Our est.11 Sept 2026

Sources: gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value, checked 11 September 2026; schedule numbers per our own /forms/iht4xx walkthroughs.

Debts, and the one thing the estimate leaves out

Debts belong on the inventory even though they are left out of the first estimate. GOV.UK asks you to estimate the value without deducting debts. Then, where full details are needed, the debts have to be reported anyway. So record them from the start. The alternative is finding a credit card in March that changes the picture you filed in November.

gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value — checked 11 September 2026.

Debts and liabilities to record

Eight rows.

Eight rows.
Debt	What to record	Evidence to keep	Reduces the estate?	Source
Mortgage or secured loan	Balance outstanding at the date of death, and the property it is secured on	Lender's redemption statement as at the date of death	Yes — against that property	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Personal loans and car finance	Balance at the date of death, lender, account number	Lender's closing statement	Yes	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Credit and store cards	Balance at the date of death, not the balance today	Statement covering the date of death	Yes	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026
Overdraft	The overdrawn balance at the date of death	Bank's bereavement letter	Yes	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026
Household bills to the date of death	Utilities, council tax, phone, broadband — apportioned to the date of death	Final bills from each supplier	Yes	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026
Unpaid bills for work already done	Building work, decorating, accountancy — anything received but not yet paid for	Invoice, and evidence the work was done before death	Yes	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026
Funeral expenses	Reasonable funeral costs, paid by the estate	Funeral director's invoice	Yes	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Tax owed to HMRC	Income tax and capital gains tax to the date of death	HMRC statement or the final self-assessment	Yes	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026

Do not deduct the estate's debts when you estimate its value. Deduct them only in the full account, where one is required.

How each kind of asset is valued

Every figure on the inventory is a value at one date: the date of death. Not what a thing cost, not what it would cost to replace, and not what it is worth now. Getting the basis right the first time is what keeps the whole sheet consistent.

The rule that surprises people most is for household goods. They are valued at what they would fetch second-hand, not at what replacing them would cost. A three-year-old sofa is worth what a three-year-old sofa sells for.

HMRC asks for a professional valuation once a single item passes £500. That threshold is per item, not per room.

IHT407 guidance notes (published 4 April 2014, last updated 27 July 2018) — via our own /forms/iht407 walkthrough, checked 11 September 2026.

Valuation rule by asset type — nine rows.
Asset	The rule	The trap
The home and other property	Open market value at the date of death	The District Valuer can challenge a low figure, and typically revises upward by 5–15%
Property sold soon after death	A sale within 12 months is strong evidence of the date-of-death value	A sale at a loss within four years may allow relief under IHTA 1984 s.191. It does not rewrite the date-of-death figure by itself
Listed shares	The quarter-up rule: the lower quoted price, plus a quarter of the difference between the lower and higher	Using the closing price instead. If the market was shut, use the nearest trading day
OEICs and unit trusts	The bid price on the date of death	Using the offer price, which is the buying price, not the selling one
Household and personal goods	Resale value, second-hand, not replacement value	Insuring value and probate value are different numbers with different jobs
Any single item over £500	Get a professional valuation	Splitting a set — a pair of paintings valued separately to stay under the line
Cars, caravans, boats	Trade guide value at the date of death	Quoting the advertised asking price of a similar vehicle
Bank and building society accounts	Balance at the date of death, plus interest accrued to that date	Forgetting the accrued interest, which the bank will state if asked
Cryptoassets	Market value at the date of death	No record of the rate used, and no evidence of which wallet held what

Jointly owned property and accounts

A jointly owned asset is not simply halved. Three things decide the share: who the co-owner was, where the property is, and how the ownership was set up. Three different arithmetic rules follow from that. Use the wrong one and the total the tax position is read from is wrong too.

How to value the deceased's share

Five rows.

Five rows.
How it is held	How to value the deceased's share	Worked example	Source
Joint tenants with a spouse or civil partner	Divide the asset's value by 2	A £300,000 house held with a spouse: £150,000 on the inventory	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026
Joint tenants with others (England & Wales)	Divide by the number of owners, then take 10% off the deceased's share	£200,000 ÷ 4 = £50,000; less 10% (£5,000) = £45,000	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026
Joint tenants (Scotland)	Take £4,000 off the whole value first, then divide by the number of owners. No 10% reduction	£200,000 − £4,000 = £196,000 ÷ 4 = £49,000	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026
A joint bank account	Divide by the number of account holders. Where a holder was added for convenience only, record what the deceased actually owned	A parent's account with an adult child added to help: the parent's own money, in full	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026
Tenants in common	Value the deceased's own share only. It does not pass automatically to the other owner	A 60% share of a £250,000 property: £150,000, passing under the will	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026

gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value — checked 11 September 2026.

Gifts in the seven years before death

A gift can come back onto the inventory. It counts if it was made in the 7 years before death. It also has to take that tax year's total over the £3,000 annual exemption. Survive seven years and the gift falls away entirely.

One kind of gift never falls away: a gift the person kept using. A house given to a child, but still lived in rent-free, is a gift with reservation. It stays in the estate.

gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts — checked 11 September 2026 · registry IHT_ANNUAL_GIFT_EXEMPTION, IHT_PET_CLT_7YEAR_PERIOD.

Gift exemptions to record against

Eight rows.

Eight rows.
Exemption	Limit	What it means in practice	Source
Annual exemption	£3,000 per tax year	Unused, it carries forward one tax year only	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Small gifts	£250 per person, per tax year	Cannot be combined with the annual exemption for the same recipient	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Wedding or civil partnership gift to a child	£5,000	Must be given before the ceremony, and the ceremony must happen	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Wedding or civil partnership gift to a grandchild or great-grandchild	£2,500	Same condition	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Wedding or civil partnership gift to anyone else	£1,000	Same condition	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Gifts to a spouse or civil partner	Unlimited	Exempt whatever the value or the date	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Gifts to charities, political parties, housing associations and heritage bodies	Unlimited	Exempt whatever the value or the date	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Regular payments out of income	No fixed limit	Must be regular, out of income, and leave the giver's standard of living intact	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026

Registry keys IHT_ANNUAL_GIFT_EXEMPTION · IHT_SMALL_GIFT_EXEMPTION · IHT_WEDDING_GIFT_EXEMPTIONS — gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts, checked 11 September 2026.

Whether full details are needed at all

Most estates never file a full inheritance tax account. They are excepted estates, and they report through the probate application itself. The inventory still has to be built — the figures are what the declaration is made from. The paperwork that follows is simply far lighter.

IHT205 is gone. It was abolished for deaths on or after 1 January 2022. It survives only for deaths between 6 April 2011 and 31 December 2021. Any page still offering a choice between IHT400 and IHT205, with no date of death, is out of date.

What tips an estate out of the excepted category is usually a limit, not a total. Gifts over £250,000 in seven years. Foreign assets over £100,000. A trust. Each of those requires the full account even where no tax is due.

gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/check-type-of-estate · gov.uk/guidance/reporting-inheritance-tax-for-excepted-estates · HMRC manual IHTM06013 — all checked 11 September 2026.

The excepted-estate limits — eight rows.
Test	Limit	What it means
Value below the IHT threshold	£325,000	The ordinary route for a small estate
With a full transferred spousal band	£650,000	Where 100% of a late spouse's nil-rate band is unused and claimed
Everything to a UK spouse, civil partner or qualifying charity	Gross estate under £3,000,000	The exempt-excepted route; £1,000,000 for deaths before 1 January 2022
Foreign assets, where the deceased was UK-settled	£100,000	Above this, full details are needed
Foreign domiciliary, UK assets only	£150,000	Where the person lived permanently outside the UK when they died
Chargeable gifts in the 7 years before death	£250,000	Above this, full details are needed even with no tax to pay
Assets held in trust	£250,000, and one trust only	More than one trust, or a larger trust, requires the full account
IHT205	Abolished for deaths on or after 1 January 2022	For earlier deaths only, sent to HMCTS Probate, PO Box 12625, Harlow, CM20 9QE

Registry keys EXCEPTED_ESTATE_EXEMPT_GROSS_CEILING · EXCEPTED_ESTATE_FOREIGN_ASSETS_LIMIT · EXCEPTED_ESTATE_SPECIFIED_TRANSFERS_LIMIT · IHT205 abolition SI 2021/1167 — checked 11 September 2026.

What the totals actually meet

The inventory produces two numbers: what the estate owns, and what it owes. The difference is what every threshold below is read against. Both the nil-rate band and the residence nil-rate band are frozen until 5 April 2031.

The residence band is the one that disappears quietly. Above a net estate of £2,000,000 it reduces by £1 for every £2. By £2,350,000 it is gone. A rate table that does not show that is telling half the story.

The thresholds the totals meet

Nine rows.

Nine rows.
Figure	Amount	What it does	Registry key	Source
Nil-rate band	£325,000	Tax-free on every estate	IHT_NRB	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Residence nil-rate band	£175,000	Extra, where a home passes to direct descendants	IHT_RNRB	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Combined, one person	£500,000	Nil-rate band plus residence band	—	Our est.11 Sept 2026
With a full transferred spousal band	£650,000	Where a late spouse's band is unused and claimed	IHT_TRANSFERRED_BAND_THRESHOLD	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
RNRB taper threshold	£2,000,000	Above this, the residence band reduces £1 for every £2	RNRB_TAPER_THRESHOLD	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
RNRB fully gone at	£2,350,000	No residence band at all above this	RNRB_FULLY_TAPERED_AT	Our est.11 Sept 2026
Standard rate	40%	Charged on the value above the threshold only	—	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Reduced rate	36%	Where 10% or more of the net estate goes to charity	—	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Freeze	Until 5 April 2031	Both bands and the taper threshold, per Autumn Budget 2025	note on IHT_RNRB	Statute8 Sept 2026

gov.uk/inheritance-tax · gov.uk/guidance/inheritance-tax-residence-nil-rate-band — checked 11 September 2026 · registry last verified 8 September 2026.

How the residence band tapers

Four rows.

Four rows.
Net estate	Tapered away	RNRB left	Combined, one person	Source
Under £2,000,000	None	£175,000	£500,000	Our est.11 Sept 2026
£2,100,000	£50,000	£125,000	£450,000	Our est.11 Sept 2026
£2,300,000	£150,000	£25,000	£350,000	Our est.11 Sept 2026
£2,350,000 and above	All of it	£0	£325,000	Our est.11 Sept 2026

Values from our own IHT Calculator's live taper table.

Fees and deadlines the totals trigger

Nine rows.

Nine rows.
Item	Amount or deadline	What it applies to	Registry key	Source
Probate application fee	£526	Estates over £5,000	PROBATE_FEE	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Fee-free threshold	£5,000 or less	No application fee at all	PROBATE_FEE_THRESHOLD	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Extra sealed copies, ordered with the application	£2 each	One per institution saves weeks of posting	PROBATE_SEALED_COPY_FEE	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Extra sealed copies, ordered later	£16 each	Eight times the price for the same document	PROBATE_SEALED_COPY_FEE_LATER	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
A second application	£22	For example after power was reserved — payable even on a small estate	PROBATE_SECOND_APPLICATION_FEE	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Certified copy of the death certificate	£12.50	Each copy, from the registrar or GRO	DEATH_CERTIFICATE_FEE	GOV.UK11 Sept 2026
Inheritance tax payment deadline	End of the sixth month after death	Interest runs from then, whether or not probate has issued	IHT_PAYMENT_DEADLINE	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Inheritance tax reporting deadline	12 months from the end of the month of death	And it must be done before applying for probate	note on IHT_PAYMENT_DEADLINE	Statute ↗11 Sept 2026
Help with fees	Before applying	Apply online or on form EX160; the fee is paid upfront and refunded if granted	PROBATE_HELP_WITH_FEES_EX160	GOV.UK ↗11 Sept 2026

gov.uk/applying-for-probate/fees · gov.uk/paying-inheritance-tax — checked 11 September 2026 · registry last verified 10 September 2026.

§10

What goes wrong

Seven mistakes account for most of the figures that get queried later.

Valuing at replacement cost instead of resale.

Household goods are worth what they would sell for second-hand. Insurance values belong on an insurance schedule, not here.

Using the closing share price.

Listed shares use the quarter-up rule. Take the lower quoted price, then add a quarter of the gap to the higher one.

Halving a joint asset that was not held with a spouse.

With other co-owners in England and Wales, divide by the number of owners and then take 10% off. In Scotland, take £4,000 off the whole value first and take nothing off afterwards.

Leaving gifts off because no tax seemed due.

Chargeable gifts over £250,000 in seven years force the full account on their own, tax or no tax.

Forgetting interest accrued to the date of death.

Every bank will state it. The balance alone is not the figure.

Recording the estate as it is today.

Everything on the sheet is a value at the date of death, including debts.

No note of where a figure came from.

Eighteen months later, “£11,400” with no valuer, no date and no document is a figure you cannot defend. The template's last page exists for exactly this.

Where each section goes next

Nothing on the inventory is wasted work. Each section maps to a schedule of the inheritance tax account, or to a box on the probate application. The sheet is built in that order so the copying across is mechanical.

Inventory section to HMRC schedule

Ten rows.

Ten rows.
Inventory section	Schedule	What that schedule asks for	Our walkthrough	Source
A — Property and land	IHT405	Houses, land, buildings and interests in land	/forms/iht405	Our est.11 Sept 2026
B — Money	IHT406	Bank and building society accounts, NS&I, cash	/forms/iht406	Our est.11 Sept 2026
C — Investments (listed)	IHT411	Listed stocks, shares and investments	/forms/iht411	Our est.11 Sept 2026
C — Investments (unlisted)	IHT412	Unlisted stocks, shares and control holdings	/forms/iht412	Our est.11 Sept 2026
D — Pensions	IHT409	Pensions, continuing payments and lump sums	/forms/iht409	Our est.11 Sept 2026
D — Life policies	IHT410	Life assurance and annuities	/forms/iht410	Our est.11 Sept 2026
E — Household goods and vehicles	IHT407	Household and personal goods	/forms/iht407	Our est.11 Sept 2026
F — Foreign assets	IHT417	Foreign assets held outside the UK	/forms/iht417	Our est.11 Sept 2026
F — Money owed to the estate	IHT416	Debts due to the estate	/forms/iht416	Our est.11 Sept 2026
H — Gifts	IHT403	Gifts and other transfers of value	/forms/iht403	Our est.11 Sept 2026

The totals then go two places. The full account is IHT400, walked through at /forms/iht400. The probate application is PA1P where there is a will and PA1A where there is not.

Take it with you

Take the probate inventory template with you.

We'll email you the probate inventory template as a PDF — for when you're at a printer, or to pass to the person who'll need it. The download above stays free either way.

Working for a hospice, charity, council or carers' service? You're welcome to link the template, print it, or put it in a bereavement pack — free, no permission needed, nothing expected in return. See everything that's free

§12

Questions, answered plainly

No — not unless a court orders you to. The statutory duty says a personal representative must exhibit a full inventory on oath when required to do so by the court. Most estates are never asked. What you do have to do is report the estate's value to HMRC. That is due within 12 months of the end of the month of death, and before probate is granted. Keep the inventory anyway. Beneficiaries are entitled to see the estate accounts, and the accounts are built from it. (s.25 AEA 1925, IHTA 1984 s.216, checked 11 September 2026.)

Both, though they are used differently. GOV.UK asks you to estimate the estate's value without deducting debts. Then, where full details are required, every debt has to be reported. So record them from the start. That means the mortgage, cards, loans, overdraft, household bills to the date of death, unpaid invoices for work already done, funeral costs and any tax owed. The template gives debts their own section for that reason.

Yes, at its open market value on the date of death, not the sale price. If the sale completes within 12 months, the price achieved is strong evidence of that value. If the property sells at a loss within four years, relief under IHTA 1984 s.191 may apply. But that is a claim made afterwards. It is not a reason to write a different figure in now.

For a single item worth more than £500, yes — HMRC's own guidance for IHT407 asks for one. For property, a formal RICS valuation is expected where the property is commercial, agricultural, unusual, or worth more than £2m. Otherwise two or three estate-agent appraisals are the usual approach. The District Valuer can challenge a figure that looks low. Revisions are typically 5–15% upward. (Via our /forms/iht405 and /forms/iht407 walkthroughs, checked 11 September 2026.)

It depends who it was held with. With a spouse or civil partner, divide by two. With other co-owners in England and Wales, divide by the number of owners, then take 10% off the deceased's share. So £200,000 between four becomes £50,000, less £5,000, so £45,000. In Scotland, take £4,000 off the whole value first and then divide, with no further reduction. A joint bank account is divided by the number of holders. Where someone was added for convenience only, record what the deceased actually owned.

Write down what you do know and mark the line unresolved, rather than guessing. For missing accounts, mylostaccount.org.uk searches banks, building societies and NS&I at once, free. For an item with no obvious market, an auction house will usually give an indication without charge. The template's last page is a valuation-evidence log. It records who gave the figure, on what date, and where the paper is kept. An unexplained number is the one that costs you eighteen months later.

Plate R · Related