The Final Balance / Arithmetic
One estate, from the statement to the money the family gets
One estate, carried through to money
This page takes one invented estate and does the whole calculation on it, from the figure on the statement to the figure that reaches the family. Every number below is derived from the samples on the overview, and every step is shown so it can be redone with different figures.
Desk spec
- statement
- 412.60
- bonus forfeited
- 61.90
- fees
- 31.90
- released
- 335.30
the authorityThe document that lets an operator deal with an estate. Of 600 sampled claims, 372 were made on a grant of probate, 148 on letters of administration after an intestacy, 54 under a small-estate exemption, and 26 were refused for producing none of them.
the balance layersWhat the number on the statement is made of. The mean sample balance is 412.60: 318.40 of real money, 61.90 of a bonus whose wagering was never met, and 32.30 of stakes sitting in open bets. Only the real money and the settled bets reach the estate.
the clockThe time the claim takes. A median 9 days from the death to notification, 61 days from notification to a grant being proved and 23 days from there to release, so 84 days from notification and 93 from the death; nine claims in ten close within 310 days.
Direct answer
On the invented estate: a balance of 412.60 made of 318.40 real money, 61.90 of an uncleared bonus and 32.30 of open-bet stakes. The bonus is forfeited, the open bets return or settle to 36.50, the fees come to 31.90, and the estate receives 335.30 - which is 81.3% of the figure on the statement, in 93 days.
What the estate starts with
412.60on the statement
318.40real money
61.90bonus forfeited
31.50the in-play bet, won
31.90fees
335.30released to the estate
The order of the steps matters. The real money is taken out whole. The bonus is removed before anything else is counted, because the condition on it was never met and no winnings derived from it can survive it. The open bets are then resolved on their own results and their returns added. Only then do the fees come off, and only after that is the estate's figure settled.
What the samples show
| Step | Movement | Running total | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real money at the death | +318.40 | 318.40 | Unconditional, paid in full |
| Bonus, wagering unmet | -61.90 | 318.40 | The condition was never met |
| In-play bet, 15.00 at 2.10, won | +31.50 | 349.90 | Stake returned and winnings paid |
| Antepost bet, 5.00, event after death | +5.00 | 354.90 | The stake returns; the bet is void in effect |
| Void market, 12.30 staked | +12.30 | 367.20 | A void bet returns its stake |
| Administration and currency fees | -18.40 | 348.80 | 12.00 plus 6.40 |
| Three months of inactivity | -13.50 | 335.30 | 4.50 a month to the freeze |
| Released to the estate | -31.90 in total | 335.30 | 81.3% of the 412.60 statement |
the estate - from the statement to the release
statement at the date of death = 412.60
real money 318.40
bonus, wagering unmet 61.90
stakes in open bets 32.30
step 1: real money +318.40
step 2: bonus removed - 61.90
step 3: in-play bet 15.00 x 2.10 won + 31.50
step 4: antepost stake returned (void) + 5.00
step 5: void market stake returned + 12.30
subtotal before fees = 318.40 + 31.50 + 5.00 + 12.30 = 367.20
step 6: administration fee 12.00 + currency 6.40 = 18.40
step 7: inactivity, 3 months x 4.50 = 13.50
total fees = 18.40 + 13.50 = 31.90
released = 367.20 - 31.90 = 335.30
as a share of the statement: 335.30 / 412.60 = 81.3%
the 18.7% that did not arrive is 61.90 of forfeited bonus,
31.90 of fees, and 15.00 of a stake that stayed in a lost bet.
the estate - the clock, in days
death to notification = 9
notification to a grant proved = 61
grant to release = 23
total = 93 days
the operator's own part of that is the last 23 days:
valuation, the fee calculation and the estate's bank details.
if the estate had sat unfrozen for three years first:
inactivity at 4.50 x 36 = 162.00, and the release
would have been 335.30 - 162.00 + 13.50 = 186.80,
which is 45.3% of the statement rather than 81.3%.
the estate - the same figures, discounted
the estate receives 335.30 in 93 days
if the executor needed it today and borrowed against it at 8%:
335.30 x 0.08 x 93/365 = 6.83 of interest on the delay
so the true value of waiting 93 days is 335.30 - 6.83 = 328.47
and the bonus that was forfeited (61.90) is 18.5% of the
gross the estate was told it had:
61.90 / 335.30 = 18.5% of what actually arrived.
the single most useful thing an executor can do is ask the
operator to split the balance into the three layers, because
the forfeited part is invisible until it is asked about.
Five checks on your own estate's arithmetic
- Whether the released figure is 81.3% of the statement or something quite different, and why.
- Whether the bonus was removed as a layer or as a deduction from a single balance.
- Whether each open bet returned its stake or settled on a result.
- Whether any fee was charged after the date of death, and how many months it ran.
- Whether the released figure can be rebuilt from the layers, as the table above does.