Probate assistance for a fallen IT contractor who did their own company accounts

[Prismatic]

Hello

I am looking for a probate accountant who can also perform full accounting calculations and paper work submissions to HMRC, VAT, companies house & other government departments for a contractor limited company.

The issue is that my IT contractor brother, who did not employ an accountant, took his own life, and I do not have the password to get into his laptop to see his accounting calculations. I am the company secretary. His company did not have any employees other than him.

I know his company bank account bank, sort code & account number, so I will be able to get historic bank statements. I can also ask government departments for historic accounting submissions.

I am looking for a probate accountant who also has in house forensic accounting skills who can combine the bank statements and previous company financial submissions to government to infer the current financial position of the company. I would also need them to take over government filing tasks until the company is wound up.

The valuation of the company would then contribute to the value of my brothers estate, enabling probate to be completed.

So I am looking for a probate accountant who also provides full accounting services to single person contract limited companies.

Does anyone know of a probate accounting firm which has these capabilities?

Thanks in advance

- Prismatic

[WTFH]

Hi Prismatic, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear about your brother.
I'm not sure how quickly you'll get a recommendation on here for an accountant, but in terms of the company, a good place to get information is Companies House.
https://find-and-update.company-info...service.gov.uk
If you know the name of the company, search for it that way, otherwise search by your name or his name.
You will see the past submissions for his company and current status, also if any documentation is outstanding.

[Dorkeaux]

Condolences.

Here is the advice I got from Googling "How to access HMRC website for a company whose director has died".

It all sounds like good advice to me, probably you have done much of it.

Accessing the
HMRC online account for a company after a director has died requires immediately notifying government authorities to transition authority to the executors or new directors. If the deceased was a sole director, the company’s ability to operate is paused until a new director is appointed.

Here is how to access and manage the HMRC company account:

1. Notify HMRC of the Death

• Use "Tell Us Once": If the death was registered in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, use the "Tell Us Once" service. This notifies HMRC regarding the personal tax of the deceased, but you must still contact HMRC separately for business taxes (Corporation Tax, PAYE, VAT).
• Direct Notification: If "Tell Us Once" cannot be used, contact the HMRC Bereavement Helpline (0300 322 9620) to report the death and notify them of who is dealing with the estate.

2. Update Companies House (Crucial Step)

Before full access is restored to HMRC, the company must update its records.

• Form TM01: File form TM01 ("Termination of appointment of director") with Companies House within 14 days of the death.
• Appoint a New Director: If it was a sole director, the executors/administrators of the estate have the authority to appoint a new director, allowing the company to resume operations.

3. Accessing HMRC Online Services

• Use Existing Credentials: If you have access to the company's Government Gateway user ID and password, you can continue to log in.
• Executor Access: If you are the executor or personal representative, you may need to use the deceased's personal credentials temporarily until a new director is appointed and registered.
• Update Business Tax Account: Once a new director is appointed and Companies House is updated, use the Business Tax Account "Manage Account" feature to update who has access.

4. Handling HMRC Obligations

• Corporation Tax/VAT: The company is still required to pay tax and file returns even if there is no director.
• Appoint an Agent: If you are an executor trying to manage the company, it is highly recommended to appoint an accountant or agent to handle HMRC submissions, as they can use their own Agent Services Account to access records.
• If you cannot log in: Contact the HMRC online services helpdesk at 0300 200 3600.

Important Considerations

• Bank Accounts: Banks will likely freeze the company account until a new director is appointed or probate is granted.
• Late Filing: If the director's death causes a delay in filing accounts, you can appeal penalties to HMRC on the grounds of "reasonable excuse".

You should get advice from a professional, as you are trying to do.
But in the meantime you could notify HRMC and Companies House as noted above and appoint a new director.

[Dorkeaux]

I should mention, I had a chat with my accountant some time ago about what would happen should I die unexpectedly.
He tells me that it happens a lot, and that he had processes in place for his existing clients.
I have no idea if they would take on this sort of work for a new client, but I'll drop you a private message with their details.

[hobnob]

Firstly, just to echo WTFH and Dorkaux, I'm sorry for your loss. This is also a topic that we should all have a plan for.

Here are a few questions - hopefully they'll point you in the right direction, and you don't have to post your answers here.

Are you (Prismatic) the executor of your brother's will? If not, you'll need to talk to whoever that is. Also, did your brother leave a will?

When was the company formed? I'm guessing that it used the model articles of association (but it's worth checking that). However, it depends whether these were based on the Companies Act 1985 or the Companies Act 2006. See:

"For example, under article 17(2) of the Model Articles, the executor/administrator of the last shareholder to have died can appoint, by notice in writing, a person to be a director. In contrast, a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1985 with Table A articles of association does not give an executor/administrator authority to appoint a director until the executor/administrator is added to the company’s register of members which typically cannot happen until a grant of probate/ grant of letters of administration (as appropriate) is issued. Once the executor/administrator is registered as a member of the company they can then pass a shareholder resolution to appoint a new director. However, this process will be delayed by waiting for the relevant grant to be issued."
The death of a sole director/shareholder of a private limited company - Reading solicitors, corporate, property and family advice | Field Seymour Parkes

"Companies incorporated under the Companies Act 2006, which have adopted the Model Articles, allow an executor of a deceased shareholder to appoint a new director.
Companies incorporated under the Companies Act 1985, which have adopted the Table A standard Articles, do not allow an executor to appoint a new director until the executor is registered in the company’s register of members as the holder of the deceased’s shares, which cannot take place until a grant of probate is obtained in respect of the deceased’s estate."
Death of Sole Shareholder Directors: Potential Perils for the Company - Thompson Smith and Puxon

In the meantime, since you have access to the company's bank account, I'd look for any regular payments. E.g. there might be a software licence which gets paid via Direct Debit, in which case you can try to cancel that. (Obviously it's best to contact the company directly rather than just blocking payment.)

I assume that the laptop is running Windows. Is it using a local account or a Microsoft account (e.g. xyz@outlook.com) ? If it's a Microsoft account, you can contact them for help:
Accessing Outlook.com, OneDrive and other Microsoft services when someone has died - Microsoft Support
If it's a local account, there are ways to bypass the login screen. (However, these methods won't work if the laptop has BitLocker hard drive encryption.) I won't go into details here, but you might be able to get help from a penetration tester (aka a "white hat hacker"). See if you can find one in your local area, because they'll need physical access to the laptop.

[Snooky]

If it's a local account, there are ways to bypass the login screen. (However, these methods won't work if the laptop has BitLocker hard drive encryption.) I won't go into details here, but you might be able to get help from a penetration tester (aka a "white hat hacker"). See if you can find one in your local area, because they'll need physical access to the laptop.

Even simpler, depending on your tech ability, you should be able to boot the laptop from a thumb drive with Linux installed and either directly access the hard drive in place or change the password. This won't help if the hard drive is encrypted though.

Google "access locked windows pc with linux thumb drive" for lots of useful guides.

[willendure]

Sorry to hear about your brother.

The LTD has to submit accounts to companies house every year, so the amount of missing information may be less than you think. Under small company rules the accounts only have to consist of basically a balance sheet. So the last submitted accounts plus bank statements since should enable you to construct the up to date balance sheet. Hopefully you get any data off the hard drive too. You might only be looking at writing up a years accounts or something like a £1K to £2K worth of work depending on how far back the accountant wants to go to satisfy themselves everything is above board. Probably a bit more for the winding up work. Best of luck.

I used to do my own accounts but then wanted a bank loan to buy a commercial property. That meant getting an accountant to prepare the last 3 years in retrospect. It was a while back (10+ year), but I think it was something like £1500 for it all, since it was all being done as a single job, and I could give them all bank statements and receipts everything else in one go. After that, I always got an accountant to do everything yearly.