The probate application requires the executor to provide a detailed list of ALL the assets owned by the deceased. This includes real estate properties, bank accounts, vehicles, investments… and their value. So how does one get this information?
Ideally, the deceased would have kept a list of assets owned during his/her life (as is the case when clients do estate planning with our firm). If not, then the executor must spend a lot of time searching for the assets:
Real Estate
If the executor knows the address of the deceased’s real estate, then as lawyers (in both real estate and wills & estate), we can easily get the deed from the Land Registry Office (LRO). If not, then we must go through the long process of searching the deceased’s name in each municipal LRO office. Also, when multiple property owners have the same name, we must examine each deed to ensure we get the right one.
Once we find the properties, the executor should hire a realtor or professional appraiser to prepare a comparative report, which will provide a good estimate of how much the property is worth in the year of the deceased’s death.
If there is a mortgage on title, then we must get a mortgage information statement from the bank, to know the amount of mortgage outstanding. This is the only value that may be deducted from the total estate value for Estate Administration Tax purposes.