Is a Jersey grant required?
If a person dies domiciled in a jurisdiction outside Jersey, with movable estate situated in Jersey with a date of death value exceeding £10,001 (‘the Jersey estate’), a Jersey grant will be required.
Janina Porter, Senior Associate
If there is a Will dealing with the Jersey estate, a Jersey grant of probate will be required. If there is no Will in place, a Jersey grant of letters of administration will be required.
Subject to a few limited exceptions, if any person takes possession of or in any way administers the Jersey estate, without obtaining a Jersey grant, that person will be guilty of the offence of ‘intermeddling’ and liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year, or both. In 2018, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC was found guilty of the offence of ‘intermeddling’ and ordered to pay a fine in the sum of £25,000 and over £2,000 in compensation.
If the Jersey estate was held in joint names with another, or perhaps in trust, a Jersey grant may not be required.
Domicile is key
The deceased’s Jersey estate is governed by the law of the deceased’s last domicile.
Domicile is typically the place where the deceased last lived and intended to remain indefinitely.
If a grant is required in the deceased’s last domicile, estate proceedings generally must be finalised there, before the application in Jersey can proceed. The grant issued in the deceased’s last domicile cannot be resealed in Jersey.
The documents typically required by the Registrar of Probate include:
An original or certified copy of the death certificate.
A court sealed and certified copy of the will; or a notarised copy, if applicable.
A court sealed and certified copy of the grant (or equivalent document) issued in the deceased’s last domicile; or a notarised copy of the notarial deed or inheritance certificate issued, if applicable.
A power of attorney (which we prepare) signed by the person entitled to administer the Jersey estate, in favour of Pinel Advocates. Jersey is unique in its position that applications for a Jersey grant must be submitted in person, before the Registrar of Probate, or Assistant Registrar of Probate. Unless the person entitled to administer the Jersey estate intends to visit the Island to submit the application, a power of attorney will be required in every case.
Additional documents may be required such as an affidavit of law from a lawyer practising in deceased’s last domicile; if an executor nominated in the will predeceased the deceased or renounced, a certified of his/her death certificate or renunciation will be required; official English translations of all documents submitted with application.
The documents typically required by Pinel Advocates
A copy letter or statement from the Jersey asset holding confirming the date of death value of the Jersey estate.
A signed letter of engagement.
Identification for the person entitled to administer the Jersey estate.
Information on the source of the deceased’s funds in Jersey.
Additional documents may be required.
Costs
We will provide you wish a fixed fee to consider.
There will in addition, be stamp duty to pay to the Royal Court when the application is submitted, together with an £80 application fee. Stamp duty is calculated on the net date of death value of the Jersey estate, rounded up to the nearest £10,000. Stamp duty is charged at a rate of 0.5% for the first £100,000 and 0.75% thereafter, up to a maximum of £100,000.
We may, on request, be prepared to pay the stamp duty and application fee on behalf of the estate. The stamp duty and application fee will then be added to our fixed fee, which can be paid using funds in the Jersey estate once the application has been finalised. Decisions are made on a case by case basis.
The first step
Please confirm the deceased’s domicile and provide us with copies (by email) of all relevant documents in the first instance to review (death certificate, will, grant issued in the country of domicile/notarial deed or inheritance certificate, together with translations where applicable). Please also confirm the the date of death value of the Jersey estate.
We will then be in a position to confirm with certainty:
The documents that will be required by the Registrar.
The documents we will require.
Our fixed legal fee.
Confirm the stamp duty.
By reviewing the copy papers before confirming the way forward, we can ensure that the application, once underway, proceeds in a predictable and timely manner. It will also allow you to send us all that is required on the one occasion, minimising costs and the risk of documents being lost in the post.
Why chose Pinel Advocates to assist?
You will be assisted by Janina Porter, Michele Laurent and the rest of the team at Pinel Advocates. Our expertise in this specialised area means you will be in safe hands.