What Is Probate?

Probate is the process whereby a Will is “proved” in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document; or where there is no will, the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy.

A Grant of Probate is the official confirmation issued by the court of the validity of a Will and the executors named in it. Where there is no Will it is referred to as a Grant of Letters of Administration. Where there is a Will but no surviving or validly appointed executors it is referred to as a Grant of Letters of Administration with the Will annexed.

The granting of probate is the key early step in the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, prior to resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person’s property under a Will.

Probate is required where the deceased owned:

a) Property (houses, flats etc) which needs to be sold or transferred

and/or

b) Savings or shares which exceed a minimum value (this can be anywhere between £5,000 and £50,000 depending on the financial institution concerned)

What else can we help you with?

Full Estate Administration Service

Dealing with a bereavement can be challenging and time-consuming. As well as the Probate process itself there are often banks, banks, building societies, share registrars and estate agents to deal with, as well as the Inheritance Tax paperwork (which is required whether or not it is a taxable estate!).

If you need help with other aspects of the process then we offer a full estate administration service, whereby we can handle the entire process for you, from commencement through to distributing inheritance to beneficiaries. Or we can assist you just at the key stages you need help with. We’ll support you both professionally and sympathetically every step of the way, giving you peace of mind.

We are happy to provide a free no obligation consultation to advise as to likely costs and complexity of the process so that you know the cost right from the outset.

Trusts

If you are the executor or trustee of a Will containing a trust, we can guide you through all aspects of trust fund management including set up, ongoing management, your duties as a trustee and the registration of trusts with HM Revenue and Customs.

Post Death Variations

We can help with post-death Inheritance Tax planning, for example, a Deed of Variation. A Deed of Variation allows one or more beneficiaries of an estate give up all or part of their entitlement in favour of someone else. This could be for reasons such as:

  • Inheritance Tax planning, to reduce the tax payable by the estate or the beneficiary
  • Providing for someone not included in the Will, for example grandchildren
  • Providing for someone not included under the Intestacy rules, for example a step-child, partner etc.

Other Services We Offer

  1. Fixed fee property transfers including:
    – Transferring the ownership from the name of the deceased to the beneficiaries
    – Transferring the ownership of jointly owned property from the deceased to the sole name of the surviving owner.
  2. Placing statutory notices in the London Gazette and local newspaper to protect you from unknown creditors. This allows you to use Section 27 of Trustee Act 1925 to protect you against any claims against the estate from creditors.
  3. Doing bankruptcy searches against the beneficiaries prior to distribution to establish whether any beneficiary is subject to a bankruptcy order. In your role as Personal Representative you may be held personally liable to creditors of a bankrupt beneficiary if you pay out to the beneficiary direct.
  4. Stop unwanted mail by registering with The Bereavement Register.

Why do I need to use a Solicitor?

A fully-qualified and experienced solicitor will save you time and trouble, and give you peace of mind that everything has been done correctly and effectively.

We’d always recommend the use of a solicitor when it comes to Probate, but we’d particularly suggest using a solicitor with specialist probate knowledge in cases such as:

  1. The value of the estate is over the inheritance tax threshold or where the estate is still earning a regular income.
  2. The deceased died without a will, particularly where it’s a complicated estate to administer.
  3. There are doubts about the validity of the will.
  4. The deceased had dependants who were deliberately left out of the will, but who might want to make a claim on the estate.
  5. The estate has complex arrangements, such as assets held in a trust.
  6. The estate is bankrupt (also known as insolvent).
  7. The estate includes foreign property or assets.
  8. The deceased lived outside the UK for tax purposes.
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