Probate Advice and Help

If you are the Executor of a will or the Administrator of someone who has died and needs help collecting the Deceased’s persons estate, we can help.

Probate is the legal term given to the process that is followed after someone has died. It ends with the Probate Registry issuing a legal document that  called a Grant Probate, once issued the estate assets can then be collected and the estate administered.

The probate process explained

There are a number of steps that need to be followed.

The starting point is to find the deceased will and see who is the Executor, this person will have responsibility for the administration of the estate. If there is no will, then the estate will be subject to the Intestacy Rules which set out who will administer the estate and inherit the various assets. Typically the administrator of the estate will be the next of kin, but you can see the Intestacy Rules by clicking here .

Probate is obtained following an application made to the Probate Registry they are the Court who are responsible for the issue of a Grant of probate when there is a will or a Grant of Letters of Administration

How We Can Help You

We specialise in obtaining probate and help executors, beneficiaries and administrators throughout the UK as well as overseas, with probate in the UK, we have particular expertise in the following areas :-

1. Obtaining probate to release monies in a bank account, shares or a death benefit under a pension scheme
2. Probate for the sale of a House
3. Probate for the sale of shares
4. Probate to bring a claim eg. PPI or Care Home Fees
5. Issues with wills. We help when the original will is lost, there might be a problem with the signature of the Deceased, the witnesses may have signed the will in the wrong place or the will may have been written on.
6. Contesting a will. If you are unhappy with a will we can advise you on whether Contest the Will

Why choose us ?

1. We probate quickly
2. We charge a simple, straightforward fee fixed fee
3. No interview at the probate registry will be required
4. No fees are charged until the end of the case or the beneficiaries are in receipt of funds from the estate.
5. We operate across the UK
6. All our staff are friendly approachable – you will always speak to case handler who knows your case well

Probate Questions and Answers ?

Our National Probate Helpline answers lots of questions relating to the Probate Process, please feel free to call us or e-mail with your query and we will always reply. We post recent questions answered on our Probate Blog while our questions and answers page contains lots of useful answers to the most commonly asked probate questions, such as :

Closing a Deceased’s bank account

If a deceased person died and left a bank account, how do you close the account and seek the release of assets. The starting point is that a bank account should be frozen immediately following a persons death. the bank will normally send a letter confirming that the account is frozen together with their requirements for closure. Confusion can be caused because a lot of the banks have differing policies dependant upon the date of death balance, for example, NSI will require probate if the balance exceeds £5,000 whilst Santander will require probate if the account exceeds £25,000.

If the balance does not require probate, then the bank will require a small estates form to be completed this will require a certification that probate is not being obtained and the person signing the form has the responsibility to administer the estate.

Probate and inheritance Tax

Inheritance also known as death Duties can cause a lot of confusion. But what are key issues and what do you need to know ?

The starting point is the Inheritance tax threshold in other words the limit when Inheritance tax becomes due. the threshold for inheritance tax is £325,000, which any assets exceeding the threshold to be taxed at the rate of 40%. There are various reliefs which mean that no tax is payable. These include the spouse exemption. Thus any assets passing  between spouses will be totally exempt. from tax. In other relief is the transfer of the spouse exemption. This means that on the death of the second spouse the exemption will be transferable which means that the total threshold will be £650,000. Other reliefs include business property relief, and agricultural relief.

What is a Caveat ?

A caveat is simply the legal term given to the procedure to stop probate being issued. It is a fairly straightforward task to obtain a caveat which is issued by the probate registry following an application. Once obtained it lasts for a period of some 6 months after which it can be renewed for a further 6 Months. If you are unhappy with a will issuing a caveat is very useful as it enables time for investigations to be undertaken to establish whether there is sufficient grounds to contest a will. When issuing a caveat you must be aware of the risk of a warning being issued.

1. What happens when the will does not appoint an Executor ?
2. Contesting a Will Time limits
3. How long does it take ?
4. How can obtain a copy of a will ?
5. The Deceased owned a property can I sell it
6. How much does Probate cost ?
7. When do I need probate ?
8. Contesting a will : what can I do if am unhappy with a will ?
9. Does an Inheritance Tax return need to be filed with every case ?
10. Do I need the original will to apply ?
11. I am the next of kin and cannot find a will what happens to the estate ?