What is a small estate?
A small estate is an estate where the total value of the deceased’s money and property is £36000 or less. A ‘large estate’ is an estate where the total value is above this. In calculating the total value, you should not deduct any debts, such as funeral expenses, gas or electricity bills, balance of mortgage, owed by the deceased. The values of bank accounts etc must also include interest to date of death.
Help from the sheriff clerk
If you would like help from the sheriff clerk, to apply for confirmation in a small estate, you should contact the sheriff clerk's office in the area where the deceased last resided. However, if that is not convenient for you, you can ask your local sheriff clerk to complete the inventory for you, even if the person who died lived in an area covered by a different sheriff court. You should contact the
sheriff clerk’s office to make an appointment.
Before attending the appointment with the sheriff clerk, it would be helpful for you to complete the
small estate checklist. This may help you to remember what to bring to court and will make sure that you have the information the sheriff clerk needs to complete the inventory.
Guidance notes:
Guidance notes are available explaining the small estate procedure in more detail.
Which forms do I need?
Application forms for small estates can be accessed on the HMRC website
You will need to complete the C1 form and the C5(SE) form.
Bond of Caution:
If the deceased did not leave a will and you are not their spouse, you will need to obtain a bond of caution before confirmation can be issued. The bond of caution is an insurance against someone applying for confirmation when they are not entitled to do so and against an executor failing to distribute the estate according to law. Further information on this can be found in the guidance notes, or you can contact the sheriff clerk at your
local sheriff court.
How much does it cost?
The fees for applying for confirmation will depend on the value of the estate and the number of certificates you need to provide for different banks, insurance companies etc to allow them to release the funds. The current fees can be accessed in the Sheriff Court Fees section.
You cannot apply for fee exemption when applying for confirmation.
You should note that these fees do not include any fees you may need to pay if you have instructed a solicitor to help you. The solicitor can give you information on these costs.
Where can I get legal advice?
Scottish court service staff are not legally qualified and therefore cannot provide you with any legal advice. If you do need to get legal advice, the Law Society of Scotland can provide contact details for solicitors in your area.