When a person dies, there will also be a person who is responsible for their estate. This person may be an executor appointed through a Will or an administrator for the estate under the intestacy rules. Whether you are an executor or an administrator you will be in charge of sorting out the deceased person’s property, money, and possessions and you may find that you need to go through a process known as applying for probate.
For many people, they will do a quick google search as to the process for applying for Probate, and come to the conclusion that the process is cheap and simple to do yourself. However, this is rarely the case and often you should consider appointing an experienced and qualified professional to assist you in Applying for Probate. Appointing a professional will help you administer the estate, navigate the delays and issues with the Probate Registry, and deal with any element of contention between beneficiaries.
When a person dies and leaves property, money, and possessions, this is known as their Estate and the executors or administrators need to arrange who gets what in line with the Will or the rules of intestacy. The rules of intestacy apply where there is no Will and Brethertons recommends that you take professional advice to ensure that the Estate is distributed to the correct beneficiaries under the intestacy rules.
In order to distribute an estate properly, you may need a document known as a Grant of Probate (if a person died with a will) or Letters of Administration (if the person died without a will).
What is a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration?
A Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration proves your authority to administer the estate whether a Will has been left or not.
If there are no complications or issues with the Will, you will generally need to wait up to 11 weeks for a Grant of Probate to be issued following the application. These timelines are based on the recently issued June 2024 GOV UK statistics. For the Grant of Letters of Administration even without complications, this is taking on average 27 weeks from date of submission to be issued. [AH1]
Having said that, in some cases individual executors and administrators are finding their applications are taking in excess of a year due to extra information required, or because there are issues with the Will. Some of these issues may relate to the executor or administrator identifying themselves incorrectly, the Will being misinterpreted, the estate being misvalued, the wrong forms submitted, or assets being prematurely distributed.
Therefore, applying for probate yourself may at first appear to be a relatively straightforward process. However, it can easily become mired in complication and delay. Therefore, we suggest you seek the advice and support of a qualified professional who deals specifically in this area of law. Solid professional advice at the outset is likely to alleviate most complications and lessen the impact and pressure on the executor and administrator.
Additionally, executors and administrators may have questions relating to any property such as how that can be marketed for sale, when it can be marketed, and what the process is for distributing the estate once a Grant of Probate has been issued.
How we can help
Being an executor or administrator is an onerous role and we will advise you based on the circumstances of the estate. Brethertons will assist you with any aspect if administering an estate and will tailor our services to your specific needs.
Full estate administration service
Brethertons will take on the tasks on behalf of the executor or administrator. This may involve us writing to all third parties including banks, investment companies, pension companies and any other third parties with whom the deceased had assets or liabilities. We collate these into a Probate application and apply for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration and once issued, we will release any assets, and distribute those to the beneficiaries named in the Will or the beneficiaries under the rules of intestacy.
Grant only service
Brethertons applies for the Grant of Probate and if required, a full Inheritance Tax return to HM Revenue & Customs.
Once the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration have been issued in the estate, we will hand it over to the executors or administrators for them to release the assets and distribute the estate once those assets have been realised.
General estate advice service
The executors or administrators will meet with one of our specialist solicitors and have the opportunity to ask any questions regarding the estate. Our solicitor will then advise on the process and also the timescales involved in administering the estate.
Every estate is different and has it’s own unique circumstances. As such, following the meeting we can provide you with a quotation for assisting with the full estate administration or our Grant of Probate only services tailored to your specific needs. Our role is to make the complex simple for our clients.
Contentious Probate
When a person dies, this can heighten emotion and tensions within a family, and an estate can seem straightforward at the start, but can develop into a complex contentious matter whether that be a claim against an estate or a will dispute, for example.
In these circumstances, having a professional involved in the estate can help alleviate any sources of contention, and can help keep the probate process calmer.
However, despite having a professional involved, that contentious element remains, but that professional can also advise you on how that dispute is going to impact the estate.
Take professional advice from one of our team
Please email info@brethertons.co.uk or phone 01295 270999 (Banbury Office), 01869 252161 (Bicester Office), or 01788 579579 (Rugby Office) to speak to a member of our team who can discuss the next steps with you.
Annabel Burchett