Routine probate examination uncovers £53m vase

A routine probate process led to the discovery of a Chinese vase worth £53 million, whose unsuspecting owners had been displaying it on a bookshelf.

Probate solicitors valued the treasure several times, with an early estimate putting the 18th century piece at around £1.2 million, the Daily Telegraph reports.

But enthusiastic Chinese bidders pushed the price of the royal porcelain higher, with the elderly owner apparently forced to leave the auction when she became overwhelmed as the sum leapt upwards by increments of £1 million at a time.

Carrying out probate can help individuals hoping to make a will, as well as occasionally uncovering such unlooked-for windfalls.

The owners - who received the piece when a relative died earlier this year - will be subject to capital gains tax of around £12 million, but Chas Roy-Chowdhury, of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, stated: "The vendors are unlikely to have to pay inheritance tax because all that should have been sorted out in probate after the death."

Published by Tessa Jones