Why Estate Lending is an Essential Way to Help You Through Probate
Key Takeaways:
- Access to funds: Estate lending gives you immediate access to funds to cover immediate costs.
- Avoiding distressed sales: Estate lending means there’s no need to rush to sell your loved one’s house.
- Covers estate maintenance costs: You can use estate lending to cover costs such as gardening and council tax.
- Covers taxes and debt management: Estate lending can give you cash to pay the deceased’s debts.
- No repayment strain: Unlike other financial products, you don’t have to stress about repaying estate loans, since the estate pays them after probate.
- Tailored solutions: Our estate lending loans are designed to suit you.
- No credit checks: Estate loan checks do not affect your credit score.
- Comprehensive support: Unlike a bank, we have the knowledge to help you through probate.
- Minimal upfront costs: There are no upfront payments with estate lending.
- Less emotional stress: You can remember your loved one without added strain.
Preparing for probate and waiting for it to be finalised is, unfortunately, a long and cumbersome process that usually drags on for many months. Not only this, after a loved one’s death, there are so many immediate expenses, like funeral costs, property maintenance, and legal fees, that need to be paid right away. For many, finding the extra funds to cover all of these expenses can be difficult, and many struggle to pay the $10,000 – $50,000 required to start the process, file court documents, pay off debts, engage a lawyer and more.
One flexible funding solution is estate lending. This specialised type of loan has been developed to remove the financial burden for executors managing an estate, and provides the liquidity needed to manage the estate’s assets, for example, cleaning and preparing a house, covering council fees and tax obligations long before the inheritance is formally distributed.
Access to funds
Of course, the main benefit of estate lending is how it gives you access to funds when you need them without having to dip into your own savings, rely on credit cards which require monthly repayments or borrow funds from friends and other family members. This means you can cover the immediate expenses as you move through the probate journey. During this time, the expenses just continue to accumulate while the assets remain frozen. This means you’re able to deal with any financial needs with no delay.
Avoiding distressed sales
Sometimes, families feel forced to sell their loved one’s property at below market value, simply because they need to cover tax liabilities or other immediate financial needs. With an estate loan, you don’t need to worry about selling so quickly. Instead, if you use estate lending, you can maintain the value of the estate. If you want to sell, you can sell at a much better price, preserving more of the inheritance.
Covers the estate maintenance costs
Your loved one’s estate may have expensive, ongoing costs. Council payments, house insurance, utilities, even gardening and maintenance for an empty home – it all starts to add up, and these costs have to be paid somehow before the house sells. Probate might delay your ability to do this. Estate lending gives you the capital to pay these costs as you need to.
Covers taxes and debt management
Estate lending loans can cover any immediate inheritance tax obligations, as well as estate liabilities, without you needing to set aside any of your own money.
To find out more about tax implications, check out our guide on how to get early access to inheritance.
No repayment strain
Our estate funding loans are designed to be repaid only when your loved one’s final estate funds are released. This frees you from worrying about more expensive forms of financing or depleting your cash resources. Beneficiaries can also apply for early access to their inheritance and use the funds to pay down mortgages, credit cards, health insurance, and car loans today rather than waiting for their final disbursement sometime in the future.
Tailored solutions
At JustFund, we understand the unique challenges your family faces during the probate process. That’s why we offer flexible solutions with our estate lending loans, tailored to your specific circumstances, whether you need to cover funeral costs, taxes, or property expenses.
No credit checks
Estate loans are secured against the future value of your loved one’s estate. This is why we don’t require a credit check. The application process for our estate loans only involves a “soft” check with no impact on your credit rating. This means the borrowing process is easier and more accessible for a beneficiary who is likely dealing with some financial stress.
Comprehensive support
If you reach out to your bank for a loan, you will need to provide income statements and a strong credit score to have the funds approved, and you will also need to meet monthly repayments. With JustFund, we give you the additional financial support and guidance you need to get through this time without a credit check, and repayment only occurs at the end. Our team of in-house estate law experts are here to guide you through the application and funding process.
Minimal upfront costs
An estate loan also reduces the burden of upfront costs, since the repayments are structured based on the estate’s payment timeline, when it finishes probate. This then allows you to focus on settling the estate and reduces the financial pressure you have to cover all the expenses.
Less emotional stress
When a loved one dies, and you start to manage their estate, it can already be an emotionally stressful time, even without financial worries. With an estate loan, you’re free to concentrate on what matters the most – remembering your loved one and honouring their estate wishes, instead of worrying about finding the money to manage their affairs.
Eligibility and Fees
At JustFund, your eligibility is based on your equity in the asset pool, rather than on your employment status, income or credit score. Most applications are assessed within one week, and all fees and charges are repaid at the end, once the estate is disbursed.
Interest – interest is calculated on the debit balance of your account. This means that interest is charged only on what you actually use from the date of each draw down – you do not pay interest on the unused credit on your account. The current variable interest rate for Executor loans starts from 9.85%
Assessment & Administration Fee – this covers our costs of conducting a full merits assessment of your application based on your unique circumstances. It depends on the complexity of your matter and the size of your line of credit, and typically starts from $560 for credit lines up to $15,000.
Invoice Processing Fee – this covers the cost of processing invoice payments on your behalf and reviewing updates on the status of your legal matter. The Invoice Processing Fee is 3.75% of each amount drawn on your account.
A caveat fee may also apply depending on your circumstances.
We provide a detailed breakdown of fees and charges to all applicants.
Pricing for beneficiary loans is similar but varies slightly depending on the matter.
Conclusion
Visit us at JustFund.com.au for more information and to find out what you are eligible for. Contact us today to learn how we can help you and find out more about our estate services.
