I have been pleasantly surprised in that most the instituitions involved have been accommodating with me acting on their behalf, and have been making good progress. There are 12 life policies across about 6 different companies. The only life insurance policy documents I could find are related to a policy that was cancelled... therefore I don't know any details of the policies, and am dependent on the companies providing the information
![Crying or Very Sad :cry:](./images/smilies/icon_cry.gif)
I'm starting from the assumption that life insurance that is not in a trust will form part of the estate for IHT purposes, unless the insurance company tells me otherwise.
I have now received a claim form for the Scottish Widows, which states in different places that my wife was named as beneficiary, and that the policy proceeds are not part of the estate. However, there is also a statement "Please be advised that if Grant of Probate is being applied for, we will need sight of this for settlement along with the enclosed Claim Form completed by the named personal representative(s) on this document".
1. Why would they need to see sight of the Probate if the proceeds are excluded from the estate? Do the proceeds of the trust still need to be included in the assets of the estate, even though they are excluded from IHT? The gov.uk doesn't go into this detail.
2. The form is to be completed by the claimant (my wife), who is not the personal representative of the deceased. Or am I missing something?
It's not the first form I've completed where the instructions are poor or even contradictory.
TIA
elkay