PROBATE

Probate is the legal process of transferring the ownership of the assets from a deceased person to their beneficiaries. When someone dies, the executor named in the deceased's Will must apply for a ‘grant of representation’ - (ie. ‘probate’) and depending on the jurisdiction is usually a complex time consuming process. The executor can apply or use a solicitor or person licensed to provide probate services.

Most cases follow the process as detailed below.

• Check if there’s a will. (If there’s not, intestate rules apply).
• Complete a Probate (or Grant of Representation) form (This gives you the legal right to access things like the deceased person’s bank account.) Again, depending on your jurisdiction, it is likely that you will need to attend an interview at the relevant government administrative office and you will have to promise that the information you give is true to the best of your knowledge. The estate must be valued and reported to the relevant tax authorities.
• Pay any Inheritance Tax that’s due.
• Collect the estate’s assets, for example money from the sale of the person’s property.
• Pay any debts, for example unpaid utilities bills.
• Distribute the estate to its beneficiaries.

Probate Assistance

We always recommend that wherever possible a close family member is named as an Executor on your Will however based on the responsibilities and complexity of the process of administering probate we are often asked to provide professional support which our team of experts are able to assist with and in some circumstances will be prepared to offer sole Professional Executor services. A professional Executor will spend on average 150 working hours to complete the probate process and therefore with the average solicitors high fees, if you make the wrong probate instruction you could end up paying out significant amounts. Our Professional Probate Assistance in association with our partners only costs on average only 1.5% of the estate value.

We are committed to our approach and to achieving the outcome you are seeking.

Contact us now so we can organise a free no obligation initial consultation.