The Assets Worksheet will hold details (description & value) of all Assets that belonged to the deceased. These will range from house value and Bank account balances to the value of motor cars and house contents etc.

In order to assist in determining the Asset values a series of pro-forma letters are available on this website. These can be amended and sent to the various institutions in order to determine the range of Assets and the value held in the accounts of the deceased. The search for the total Assets will need to be as vigorous and comprehensive as is possible. Apart from the standard enquiries to financial institutions such as Banks, Building Societies and Insurance companies the Executor will need to consider searches of Internet based companies. This particularly applies where the deceased has been actively dealing in Stocks and Shares or may have an account at a Bank based on the Internet.
The initial valuation of a property will probably come from an estate agent and this may differ from any sale price. The inheritance tax (IHT) can be adjusted to account for any overpayment where the sale is less than the original figure. Where this kind of adjustment is planned it must be agreed with the Inland Revenue.
In the case of stocks and Shares these will be valued as of the date of death and any gain or loss due to the estate may require an adjustment to the IHT. The gains or losses should be re-entered into the worksheet so that a new IHT figure can be calculated. This approach will apply to all assets where a final adjustment is required
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If the deceased has made gifts that exceed the limit of £3000 within the 7 years prior to death then these gifts are taxable. Since these will have been distributed the amounts will need to be entered under the category of taxable gifts in the Liabilities Worksheet. Once again it is important to keep any paper-based information to support your records.

If additional detail lines are required in the Spreadsheet, we would recommend taking a copy of the original Spreadsheet prior to introducing the new detail. This amended Spreadsheet can then replace the original once you are happy that the results are confirmed.

Note: the key totals are transferred to the Summary Worksheet automatically. Integrity of these numbers is important to ensure that the correct figures are generated for you.

Total Cash The total available cash in various Bank Accounts. There is space available to enter interest that has been accrued since the date of the death.

Total Non-Cash The total value of non-cash assets. This includes Assets that will be converted to cash.
We would recommend that any non-cash assets that are converted to cash are transferred to a bank account in the cash section and the transfer details are noted in the work-sheet; date, amount and the target account number.

Property Values The total values (or proportions) of all properties owned by the deceased. Note: Any outstanding mortgages are accounted for in the Liabilities worksheet.

Business Values The value of any business assets owned by the deceased. Establishing these values may require professional input from accountants and or solicitors.

Grand Totals This figure represents the total value of all assets owned by the deceased. This figure is automatically transferred to the Summary worksheet to be used in the IHT calculation.

The initial IHT is payable based on the best estimates that you have at the time. If the amounts realised when the assets are sold, differ from these estimates, then the differences will need to be advised to the Inland Revenue and any under/over payments should be negotiated with them.
We would recommend that printed copies of the original Worksheets are retained for reference at a later date. The new values can be entered in the appropriate Worksheet to provide the new IHT figure.