If you’re scheduled to receive an inheritance in the UK, this will usually land in your designated account in around six to 12 months.
This can be beneficial in some instances, as it affords you time to properly grieve for your loved ones and make plans for how you intend to use the money going forward.
However, it’s during this period that the total amount of inheritance tax will be charged to the estate, creating a vacuum that may make it difficult for beneficiaries to manage financially in the interim period.
The good news is that you can seek out financial help in the form of executor loans or similar lending products, which provide a fiscal safety net while you’re waiting for the estate to be administered.
How Does This Compare With Ireland?
The process is largely the same in Ireland, although it’s generally thought that beneficiaries get their money a little quicker on the Emerald Isle.
In short, it takes approximately three months to collate the necessary details and submit the relevant documents to the Probate Office, depending on the precise value of the estate in question and its complexity.
Once this has been formally issued, it will generally take between three and four months to complete the administration process and receive the funds into your bank.
What About Europe?
Ireland’s template is largely followed by France, where it takes an average of six months for beneficiaries to receive their inheritance.
Interestingly, this is also the exact time-frame in which beneficiaries have to meet their inheritance tax liabilities (where applicable), and the authorities take a strict approach to ensuring that you comply with existing laws.
There’s a good reason for this too, as you’ll be liable to pay interest at a rate of 0.40% per month to the taxman if your contribution is delayed.
In Spain, probate laws are a little harsher in terms of cost and the complexity of paperwork involved, while people have precisely six months to pay any necessary inheritance tax. Once again, a daily rate of interest is applied here in the case of late payment, and your liability can accumulate rapidly within a relatively short period of time.
Interestingly, Spanish authorities only have a specific number of years to collect any due inheritance tax, which is why some beneficiaries choose to let this period of time elapse before collecting their funds.
The Last Word
It’s interesting to note that there are diverse probate laws and requirements in Europe, while countries like Italy even see variable wait times within their own borders.
What’s clear, however, is that UK beneficiaries typically have to wait longer to bank their inheritance than those in other countries, although much depends on the size of the estate and whether inheritance tax is payable at all.
