Taking care of all the arrangements after someone’s death can be draining. Not only could you be having to manage emotional upset and make sure the family are ok; you may also be juggling financial and legal problems. With that in mind, Anne Forrester, from Jackson Lees’ Wills, Trusts and Probate team, explains a little more about probate. Understanding it may make your life, at a typically stressful time, a little easier.
So, what exactly is probate?
‘Probate is a legal process you need to go through to enact a person’s Will, if the person who has died has an estate with a value of over £5,000 (after funeral costs).’ Says Anne.
‘The grant of probate essentially gives the executors of a Will permission to wind up and distribute the estate of a friend or loved one. Even if there is a Will, you will still need a Grant of Probate (often shortened to just Probate) before you can distribute the estate of the deceased. Not having Probate is not really an option.’
If you’ve just been appointed as an executor or just want to find out where you stand with regard to Probate, then our specialist team is here to help.
If you’d like to find out more about Probate before speaking to someone, then please read on. Anne has answered a couple of the more common questions that she’s often asked.
Do I need a Probate?
In a nutshell, yes you do. It’s not really possible to wind up the estate of a deceased individual without going through the Probate process.
How do you get Probate?
The process of getting a Grant of Probate can be quite complicated.
To get Probate, someone will first have to establish & document a complete financial picture for the deceased. This task includes contacting all banks, building societies and other financial institutions where you think the person may have had accounts. This establishes what the assets and debts were at the date of death. It also involves obtaining formal valuations for items with no set financial value, such as vehicles, antiques or shares.
The work required for this initial part of the process depends on the complexity of the deceased’s circumstances. You may have as little as a small handful of papers and as much as a suitcase full of documents to go on, in order to complete just this first stage of the process.
Once the picture is clear, then all of the relevant financial institutions need to be contacted to arrange for formal valuations of any assets. This information needs collating and documenting on the correct probate forms.
If Anne’s team at Jackson Lees are acting on behalf of you as the executor, they can complete this entire process for you. They’ll let you know what it all means and how you and any beneficiaries of the Will may be affected by their findings.
Once all of the documents are signed, an application is sent to the Probate Registry and they are asked to issue the Grant of Probate. When the Grant of Probate is received, the assets of the estate will be distributed, as per the Will. This is one of the reasons why making a Will is so important.
Our personal experience has shown us that sometimes, when money is involved, and the process is this complicated, it can be beneficial to have a neutral party dealing with the details.
Remember - you must have probate for these important assets
- If there is a house to sell, the executors cannot sell the property without the Grant of Probate.
- If there are shares to sell, the share dealing company will likewise want to see the Grant of Probate before they proceed.
- A Grant of Probate protects you as an executor, as it confirms that the estate is being properly dealt with by the right people.
How can a Probate solicitor help?
We can help as little or as much as you want. At Jackson Lees we offer a tailored probate service to our clients. You can choose the areas that you would like us to deal with, or we can manage the whole process for you.
We have an experienced team that is used to dealing with many different cases with different circumstances. So, whether it’s because you don’t have the time or you don’t want to get lost in what can be an extremely complex process, we’d be happy to guide you through it.
If you would like to talk with us now, you can call us free on 0151 282 1700.