An Inheritance Advance is for beneficiaries of an estate who want to access a proportion of the inheritance earlier. IHT Loan is for executors (or a person applying to be a Personal Representative when there is no will) who need money to settle the IHT liability on an estate so that they are able to get a Grant of Probate.

Inheritance Advance is designed for beneficiaries who want to get hold of their inheritance sooner for any reason – this could be to pay off current debts, free up disposable income, make home improvements, pay for education/social care costs or move house.

It all depends on how complicated the estate is – and all cases are different. Based on our market research, the average time for an estate to be distributed is around 12 months.

Once we’ve given you the Advance, we take the risk if the estate takes longer to liquidate or the assets sell for less than expected. The interest rolls up on the outstanding Advance (only for the first 30 months) but the balance to be repaid out of the estate will never be more than the inheritance you will receive.

Not at all. There are rules that apply when there’s no Will – this is called intestacy and it sets out how much each beneficiary gets.

You don’t have to make any repayments. The Advance (plus all fees and interest) are repaid directly from your proceeds of the estate – there is no personal liability.

We will lend against a percentage of the value of assets that can be reliably valued and are expected to be sold by the executor(s) of the estate. This will include things like property in the UK, bank accounts, investments and quoted shares but not foreign property or unquoted shares.

There’s no set minimum for an Advance, but the maximum will be up to 60% of the net assets that can be valued and will be sold.

Yes – the Advance is for individual beneficiaries and can be taken out individually or by several of them, but there is no link between them.

It won’t affect you. Once we have made an Advance, any changes to the distribution of the inheritance is our risk.

Your credit history isn’t relevant because the Advance is repaid from your inheritance and is not related to your credit profile; we will only check for (undischarged) bankruptcy.

No – we don’t do any assessment of your income and affordability as the Advance is repaid out of the proceeds of the estate.

Because the Advance is repaid from your inheritance we do not have an upper age limit.

No, the Advance is made based on a percentage of your expected inheritance and is repaid once the estate is ready to be distributed to you.

No, the Advance is linked to your inheritance, so it’s not secured on any property or land.

Absolutely – anyone that is a beneficiary can apply for an Advance.

No – an IHT Loan becomes a Testamentary Expense, which means that it becomes a liability of the estate, not a personal liability for you. There are no monthly repayments, no requirement to do a credit check on you or take a charge over any property.

No – we will settle the IHT liability with HMRC directly.

No – any one executor (or Personal Representative) is able to take out an IHT Loan.

No – payment of the IHT is the responsibility of the executor (or Personal Representative). However, the beneficiaries cannot get any of their inheritance until the IHT is paid.

Yes – as the Loan is repaid by the estate, it does not matter who the beneficiaries are.

There is an origination fee (which covers our cost to underwrite the product) which is 2% of the size of the Advance/Loan (this is capped at £1,500 and can be added to the balance).  There is also interest of 1.5% per month which rolls up and is added to the balance, which is repaid when the Advance/Loan is repaid. There are no other fees, e.g. for early repayment.

It depends on a couple of things.  Firstly, the size of the Advance/Loan – under the Consumer Credit Act, any loan that is less than £60,260 requires us to give the customer a ‘cooling off’ period of 14 days after the loan is agreed in case they wish to change their mind. For loans that are greater than £60,260 there is no requirement to offer a ‘cooling off’ period. Secondly it depends on how quickly the professional firm can provide us with the information we require on the estate. If you are eligible for an Inheritance Advance or IHT Loan, and if we get all the information from the firm, and the Advance/Loan does not have a ‘cooling off period’ the funds can normally be released within 48 hours of it being approved. If there is a ‘cooling off’ period and/or the firm takes longer to reply, it can be longer.

We do require that there is a professional firm managing the estate – we can help you find one, please get in touch.

The firm managing the estate – they will pay us back the Advance/Loan (plus rolled up fees/interest) before any other money is paid out.

We’re a lender focused on designing innovative financial products for people who are inheriting money and we are passionate about our customers and their needs. We are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 912334.

Most people experience grief when they lose someone close to them. Support is available to you if you are finding it hard to cope. The following websites and organisations can assist you:

Cruse: https://www.cruse.org.uk/get-help/about-grief/how-to-help-someone-bereaved

At a Loss: https://www.ataloss.org

NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/coping-with-bereavement

If you are struggling with debt or require advice on how to manage your finances then there are organisations that can help:

StepChange: https://www.stepchange.org

Christians Against Poverty: https://www.capuk.org

Give us a call on 0343 504 7100 and we will talk you through the process, or email us at info@towerstreetfinance.co.uk.

Please find a copy of our complaints procedure here