Ease the financial burden of estate administration
With Level’s Estate Expense and Inheritance Tax (IHT) Loan, executors can meet their financial responsibilities by unlocking estate funds to pay for IHT and other Testamentary Expenses.
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Why choose Level’s Estate Expense and IHT Loan?
Level’s Estate Expense funding and IHT Loans allow to you settle your administration expenses and financial liabilities without waiting for probate. You can get access to cash in advance of the estate being settled.
Reduce your financial responsibility
As an Executor, you are personally responsible for paying Inheritance Tax and other Testamentary Expenses. Fulfil your responsibilities by releasing liquidity from the estate in advance, all without personal recourse.
Speed up the probate process
Our funding offers assistance in meeting financial obligations, help to avoid delays in the probate process and allowing you to meet your legal responsibilities quickly.
Access funds as and when you need them
Unlock estate funding to align with the administration process and only pay interest on the amount drawn down from your loan facility.
Calculate your IHT liability and find out how much you might need to pay on the estate
This is simplified calculator based on a simple IHT calculation. This should not be used in place of speaking with a qualified advisor to understand your inheritance tax liabilities. Level may be able to provide a list of solicitors in your area.
How does an Estate Expense and IHT Loan work?
Our process is straightforward, and our friendly team is always on hand to guide you. Applications are free and we can usually offer a decision in principle within 1-2 working days.
Our team will call you back within 24 hours. We need a small amount of information about yourself and the estate and you’ll get a free, no-obligation quote from us.
After your initial call, you’ll submit a full application online and provide any additional information required for our underwriters.
A member of our team will talk you through how the loan works and you’ll be formally offer estate funding.
You’ll get access to your funds once you have signed the documentation.
The loan is set up as a draw-down facility, so you can request funds as and when you need them.
You will only pay interest on the amount drawn down and from the date that funds are transferred.
We will never make a payment without written approval from your estate administrators.
If the loan is to be used for IHT, we will make the payment directly to HMRC once the loan is live. For any estate expense draw-downs, we pay funds directly to the professional administrator.
Interest is rolled up, so there are no monthly instalments to pay.
The loan itself becomes a Testamentary Expense of the estate. The administrator will repay it directly out of the estate assets before any beneficiary receives their settlement.
You can repay your loan early, in full or in part, at any time with no early redemption fees.
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020 7205 2870Estate and IHT loan FAQs
An Estate Expense & Inheritance Tax Loan is available to executors and personal representatives who can’t fund the costs associated with administering an estate.
Unlike some traditional loans you do not need to own a home or go through extensive credit checks.
These are costs that an Executor or Personal Representative is obliged to pay as part of their duties. Level’s Estate Expense & Inheritance Tax Loan is designed to allow Executors and Personal Representatives to pay these costs, without having to use their own funds, or take out a personal loan.
Funding can be used for Estate Expenses, such as:
- Funeral expenses
- Property repairs, maintenance and any costs associated with the sale or clearance of a property
- Professional fees such as probate, valuers and surveyors
- Insurance
- Any other Testamentary Expenses
If you’re an Executor and have an inheritance tax liability, there might be a lack of funds readily available. In this situation, you can get access to funds to pay HMRC quickly via an IHT Loan.
Information on Fees and Pricing is available in our product guide.
All of our loan facilities have a 1-2% administration fee. The interest rate can vary depending on the size and complexity of your loan, but you’ll only pay interest on the funds that you draw.
No. It’s a key part of our security that a Solicitor (or other professional probate administrator) deals with the estate.
This is so we know that the estate administration will be handled professionally and that we don’t have to place any personal liability on you to repay the loan.
At Level, we can lend up to 60% of the net estate value to enable you to pay your financial liabilities without waiting for the settlement of the estate.
Yes, you have the option to do so. Often HMRC will only require you to cover 10% of Inheritance Tax before allowing an estate to be administered.
Yes, we do not assess credit in the same way as most traditional lenders, so you could access estate funding without having to pass the usual credit checks.
If you can provide the documents required for our underwriting process, we can issue loan documentation within 24 hours. We can then distribute funds within a matter of days.
The loan is repaid directly out of the estate assets, so there are no monthly repayments and it can be repaid anytime with no additional charges.
Yes, a Will is not required to take out an Estate Expense and IHT Loan. But we’re unable to provide funding for an estate with a Will that has an unresolved dispute.
It’s important to weigh up any downsides of accessing Estate Expense and IHT Loans. While they offer a solution for paying liabilities before accessing estate funds, a lengthy probate or overestimation of estate value can increase the costs associated with the loan. Taking out these types of loans can also lower the amount of inheritance beneficiaries receive.
