{
 "_meta": {
  "description": "Claim -> source -> verification ledger for factual statements used across ni.clearlegacy.co.uk. Northern Ireland has its own fees, forms and succession law, so no entry here may be satisfied by an England & Wales source. Mirrors docs/data/claims-register.json for the E&W site.",
  "last_updated": "2026-09-14"
 },
 "claims": [
  {
   "claim": "No Northern Ireland probate court fee where the estate is valued at 10000 GBP or less; 326 GBP above that",
   "source": "Court of Judicature (Non-Contentious Probate) Fee Schedule, effective 1 April 2026 - https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/publications/court-fees-1-april-2026",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland",
    "guides/"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "A further 81 GBP personal-applicant fee is charged in addition where a personal applicant applies and the estate exceeds 10000 GBP, so a personal application costs 407 GBP",
   "source": "Same fee schedule, item 2: 'In addition to (1) on an application for a grant by a personal applicant where the value of the estate exceeds 10000'. Note this has no England & Wales equivalent.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland",
    "guides/"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "England & Wales comparison: 526 GBP application fee, no fee at 5000 GBP or less, extra copies 2 GBP with the application or 16 GBP after",
   "source": "GOV.UK - Applying for probate: fees - https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/fees. Already tracked for the E&W site by the source-watch cron (effective 13 July 2026).",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Other NI probate fees quoted: certified or sealed copy 17 GBP; plain copy up to 5 sheets 8 GBP then 50p a sheet; second, subsequent or duplicate grant 244 GBP; deposit of a Will 49 GBP; search of the grant index 33 GBP",
   "source": "Same fee schedule, items 9d, 9a, 9b, 3c, 3d, 6 and 7a.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "A grant is almost always needed where the deceased left around 20000 GBP in any one account, stocks or shares, certain insurance policies, or property or land in their own name or as tenants in common",
   "source": "nidirect - Probate - https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/probate. The page's own wording is 'around', and individual banks set their own release thresholds, so the page states this as nidirect's position rather than a hard rule.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Where there is no Will, the order of who may apply for letters of administration is spouse or civil partner, children, grandchildren where a child has died, parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles",
   "source": "nidirect - Probate - https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/probate",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Applications use forms NIPF1 (with a Will), NIPF2 (without a Will) and NIPF7 (estate summary); the personal online portal is apply-for-probate.nidirect.gov.uk with a separate professional portal",
   "source": "nidirect - Apply for probate - https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/apply-probate",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Two Probate Offices: Belfast, 2nd Floor, Royal Courts of Justice, Chichester Street, Belfast BT1 3JF; and Londonderry, The Courthouse, Bishop Street, Londonderry BT48 6PQ. About 6000 probate applications a year. The personal appointment service is not offered for second or subsequent grants, for which a solicitor in this jurisdiction must be instructed.",
   "source": "Department of Justice - Probate - https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/articles/probate",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "NO processing timescale is published for Northern Ireland probate",
   "source": "Neither nidirect nor the Department of Justice publishes a target or average. The page says so explicitly rather than importing an England & Wales figure. Re-check before ever stating a timescale.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Intestacy: statutory legacy 250000 GBP with children, 450000 GBP with no children but surviving parents or siblings; spouse takes one half of the residue with one child and one third with more than one",
   "source": "Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955, section 7 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/apni/1955/24/section/7",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/intestacy-rules-ni",
    "guides/",
    "homepage"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "70+ families helped (published social proof, sitewide)",
   "source": "First-party Stripe export, 8 September 2026: 70 orders, 98 Wills. Families and Wills are DIFFERENT counts because a Mirror Will is two Wills for one family; the earlier '100+ families' claim conflated them. Re-export before raising the figure.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2026-12-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "homepage"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Section 41 of the Administration of Estates Act (NI) 1955 requires distribution as soon after death as is reasonably practicable, but bars proceedings for failure to distribute, without leave of the court, before one year from the date of death; subsection 3 preserves creditors' rights within that year",
   "source": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/apni/1955/24/section/41 - quoted verbatim on the page",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-09-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/letters-of-administration-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Where no relative in the statutory order survives, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia, dealt with in Northern Ireland through the Crown Solicitor's Office",
   "source": "nidirect - What to do if there is no will - https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/what-do-if-there-no-will. NI-specific: this is the Crown Solicitor's Office, not the Treasury Solicitor / BV Division used in England & Wales.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/letters-of-administration-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "A claim that an estate fails to make reasonable financial provision must be brought within six months of the date of the grant of letters of administration",
   "source": "nidirect - What to do if there is no will, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) (NI) Order 1979 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1979/924",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/letters-of-administration-northern-ireland",
    "guides/intestacy-rules-ni"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "NO administration bond, guarantee or surety requirement is asserted anywhere on the NI site",
   "source": "Deliberate omission. The fee schedule carries an 81 GBP 'guarantee supervision' item, which suggests guarantees exist in NI probate practice, but no such requirement was found in the Administration of Estates Act (NI) 1955 and nidirect does not mention one. Do NOT add a bond claim without a primary source; the fee item alone is not one.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": []
  },
  {
   "claim": "Every FAQPage JSON-LD question on the NI guides also appears visibly on the page, and vice versa",
   "source": "Enforced by regenerating the visible FAQ section from the JSON-LD (see the commit adding the letters-of-administration guide). Google's FAQPage guidance requires the Q&A content to be visible. Re-run the sync after editing any guide FAQ.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "rolling",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/probate-northern-ireland",
    "guides/letters-of-administration-northern-ireland",
    "guides/intestacy-rules-ni"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Macmillan Cancer Support runs a free will-writing service all year round, for anyone over 18, available to people living in Northern Ireland, with no obligation to leave a gift",
   "source": "https://www.macmillan.org.uk/donate/gifts-in-wills/free-wills-month - their own wording: offered 'all year round', 'to everyone over the age of 18', 'available 365 days a year' to those 'living in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland', and 'There is no obligation to leave a gift in the will that you write'",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2026-12-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/what-a-will-costs-northern-ireland",
    "guides/"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Free Wills Month runs in March and October, is limited to people aged 55 and over, covers simple Wills only, and the autumn 2026 campaign begins 1 October; appointments are limited and first come first served",
   "source": "https://freewillsmonth.org.uk/ . NOTE: the site does NOT list Northern Ireland among the nations it covers and is internally inconsistent about which it does, so the page says to check that a participating solicitor is taking part rather than asserting NI coverage. Age NI's guidance does point NI readers at the scheme.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2026-12-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/what-a-will-costs-northern-ireland",
    "guides/"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Will Aid runs every November with a suggested donation of 120 GBP for a single basic Will and 200 GBP for a pair of basic mirror Wills",
   "source": "https://www.willaid.org.uk/ - 'we suggest 120 for a single basic Will and 200 for a pair of basic mirror Wills'. Worth keeping current because it is HIGHER than the 69/99 ClearLegacy price and the page says so.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2026-12-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/what-a-will-costs-northern-ireland",
    "guides/"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "NO solicitor fee range is stated anywhere for Northern Ireland",
   "source": "Deliberate omission. There is no published fee scale and Age NI's own guidance on making a will gives no figures - https://www.ageni.org/information-advice/money-matters/legal-issues/making-a-will/ . Every 'X to Y for a will in NI' figure online is an estimate, not a source. Do NOT add one without a primary source. Age NI's quotable position is that 'it's usually best to get advice from a solicitor, except in very simple cases'.",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-12",
   "review_due": "2027-03-12",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/what-a-will-costs-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Inheritance tax nil-rate band 325000 GBP; up to 500000 GBP where a home passes to children or grandchildren and the estate is under 2 million GBP; 40% rate, 36% where 10% of the net estate goes to charity; unused allowance transfers between spouses/civil partners",
   "source": "GOV.UK - How Inheritance Tax works (Overview and Passing on a home) - https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-03-14",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/inheritance-tax-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "From 6 April 2026 a 1 million GBP allowance applies to the combined value of property qualifying for 100% agricultural or business property relief; 50% relief above it; 50% relief on shares designated 'not listed'; ten-year interest-free instalments extended to all APR/BPR property",
   "source": "HMRC policy paper - Reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief, published 21 July 2025 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-03-14",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/inheritance-tax-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "In a Northern Ireland probate application an excepted estate (death on or after 1 January 2022) needs no HMRC form - asset details and inheritance tax information go on Estate Summary Form NIPF7; otherwise HMRC form IHT400 is completed first",
   "source": "nidirect - Apply for probate, 'Before you start' - https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/apply-probate",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-03-14",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/inheritance-tax-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Nil-rate band frozen until April 2031",
   "source": "HM Treasury / HMRC policy paper \"Inheritance Tax thresholds\" (published 26 Nov 2025): NRB £325,000 and RNRB £175,000 fixed through 2030-31; CPI indexation resumes from 6 April 2031 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-thresholds/inheritance-tax-thresholds",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-04-06",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/inheritance-tax-northern-ireland"
   ],
   "note": "Verified 14 Sep 2026 against the gov.uk policy paper. Re-check after each Budget."
  },
  {
   "claim": "Unused pension funds brought within inheritance tax from 6 April 2027",
   "source": "HMRC policy paper \"Inheritance Tax: unused pension funds and death benefits\" (published 26 Nov 2025, updated 14 Aug 2026): takes effect for deaths on or after 6 April 2027, legislated in Finance Bill 2025-26; death-in-service benefits and dependants' scheme pensions excluded - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-unused-pension-funds-and-death-benefits/inheritance-tax-unused-pension-funds-and-death-benefits",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-04-06",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/inheritance-tax-northern-ireland"
   ],
   "note": "Verified 14 Sep 2026 against the gov.uk policy paper. Re-check after each Budget."
  },
  {
   "claim": "Inheritance tax is normally payable by the end of the sixth month after the death, with interest thereafter",
   "source": "GOV.UK - Pay your Inheritance Tax bill - https://www.gov.uk/paying-inheritance-tax",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-03-14",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/inheritance-tax-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Northern Ireland has enduring powers of attorney (Enduring Powers of Attorney (Northern Ireland) Order 1987), not lasting powers of attorney; an EPA covers financial matters only and is registered with the High Court (Office of Care and Protection) when the donor becomes incapable; anyone over 18 with capacity may make one; it takes effect on the attorney's signature unless restricted; it can be cancelled or amended while the donor has capacity",
   "source": "nidirect - Managing your affairs and enduring power of attorney; Department of Justice - Information on Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) - https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/managing-your-affairs-and-enduring-power-attorney",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-03-14",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/enduring-power-of-attorney-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Office of Care and Protection (Patients Section) fees: EP2 application to register an EPA 189 GBP; EP3 application pursuant to court direction 326 GBP; EP4 search of register 33 GBP; EP4 copy of registered EPA 17 GBP; EPA account fee 244 GBP; payable to NICTS; office at Royal Courts of Justice, Chichester Street, Belfast BT1 3JF, tel 0300 200 7812, epa@courtsni.gov.uk",
   "source": "Department of Justice - Information on Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA), 'Fees to be made payable to NICTS' - https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/articles/information-enduring-powers-attorney-epa",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-03-14",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/enduring-power-of-attorney-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "NO claim is made about the controllership process, its cost or timescale where there is no EPA, beyond that an application to the Office of Care and Protection is required",
   "source": "Deliberate omission - no primary source with figures was consulted",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-03-14",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/enduring-power-of-attorney-northern-ireland"
   ]
  },
  {
   "claim": "Depositing a Will with the Probate Office costs 49 GBP",
   "source": "Court of Judicature (Non-Contentious Probate) Fee Schedule, effective 1 April 2026 - https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/publications/court-fees-1-april-2026",
   "verified_date": "2026-09-14",
   "review_due": "2027-03-14",
   "pages_using_claim": [
    "guides/how-to-make-a-will-in-northern-ireland"
   ]
  }
 ]
}