Probate

When someone dies without making a Will there are rules which govern how their estate should be split and who can deal with the administration. We can help you understand these rules, known as the rules of intestacy and assist the relevant person to make an application to the Probate Registry to obtain the Letters of Administration which gives them authority to deal with the estate.

When somebody dies leaving a valid Will, it is the task of the appointed Executors to obtain what is called a Grant of Probate. People often choose relatives to be their Executors rather than solicitors, but it is not always easy to obtain a Grant of Probate or to act as an Executor without the help of a legal professional. With our assistance, you can make the probate process a lot easier and smoother.

Being an Executor can be easy and straightforward. But not always. It usually takes a lot of time and careful consideration. If it is your responsibility to deal with an estate and the deceased person has left you with up-to-date details of their property, where all their money is held, details of any debts as well as beneficiaries who are happy to wait in the background until they receive their money then fantastic, you may feel confident to deal with the matter yourself.

However, the reality when a person dies is usually much different. They may leave random pieces of paper relating to various accounts with numerous banks. They may have had debts no one was aware of. Inheritance tax may be payable, or tax reliefs might need to be claimed. They have been claiming benefits which they weren’t entitled to, as they didn’t fully understand the process. And you may be faced with beneficiaries who want their money straight away.

To ease the stress and make life easier for you, we can take care of the entire Probate process. Simply gather every item of post, scrap of paper and bank statement relating to the deceased person and drop them off for us to sort out.

We’ll contact banks, building societies, benefit agencies and any other relevant organisations to work out exactly how much the deceased person’s estate is worth. We will then arrange to make an application for the grant of probate, arrange for any debts to be cleared and for the payment of Inheritance Tax if required, there are sometimes other tax issues to be dealt with as well.

Once the grant is received, we will collect in all of the assets and assist you with arranging for the sale or transfer of any property. We prepare full estate accounts for you to check and then the beneficiaries will be paid their share of the estate. With us at your side, you will have the reassurance that all your Executors duties are being carried out correctly and in accordance with UK law.

Although we don’t know the beneficiaries, we are happy to speak to them to keep them updated. But we will not feel pressured into giving them their money before the matter has been dealt with properly. If they have any questions about their share of the estate, let them contact us and not you.