Project Description
Probate and Estate Administration Services
Dealing with a death in the family is the most stressful thing that any of us faces in a lifetime. At a time of great emotion the thought of dealing with an administrative process is too much to deal with and where inheritances are involved there can also be friction.
This is where we come in, we can deal with the Estate Administration, the legal formalities and act as a mediator to ensure that any disputes or potential friction in the family is kept under control.
One of the most common misconceptions that we come across is that if you have a Will nothing needs to be done after you die and one of the most common questions we are asked is :
Why Do I need Probate?
A Will is the document that sets out a person’s wishes for after their death, it will appoint people to deal with their affairs – Executors and will set out how the want their Estate (the things that they owned when they died) distributed. But if the Estate is worth more than £5,000 it is highly likely that you will need to do more.
On the face of it, having a Will makes everything straightforward but if you have been appointed as an Executor for someone who has died you will need to carry out the Estate Administration and the most important part of this is Obtaining the Grant of Probate which will give you the legal authority to distribute the estate according to the instructions in the will.
If a Will has any sort of Trust in it, for example money left to a child or a nil rate band trust then there is yet more to do to ensure that the trust is correctly set up. Inevitably this needs to be done properly to keep the beneficiaries and the Taxman happy, so you will need professional help and advice.
As an executor you answer to the beneficiaries and the potential beneficiaries of the deceased and you are personally liable for any action that you take. The worst thing you can do is – do nothing.
Will and Probate can help you with the following:
- Arranging The Funeral and arranging settlement from the estate
- Dealing with all of the forms required by HM Revenue & Customs so that it can be established whether any Inheritance Tax is payable or if any Income Tax is due to be rebated to the estate. We will complete the Probate forms required by the Probate Registry.
- If required, we can arrange to sell the deceased’s house, arrange specialist insurance whilst the building may be empty and deal with conveyancing issues on your behalf.
- Help with applying for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration – We will advise if this is necessary and then liaise with both the Inland Revenue and the Probate Courts to ensure this is done in a timely fashion.
If you need help or advice with an Estate, or if you have suffered a bereavement and want to know what you should be doing call Wills in Northampton on 01604 659 771 and we will help you.
OPENING HOURS
| Monday – Friday | 9:00 – 17:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00 – 17:00 |
| Sunday | Closed |
01604 659 771
OFFICE LOCATIONS
OUR CLIENTS SAY
We have worked with hundreds of clients across many different areas of the law.
Here are just a few things that our clients say about us:
Our circumstances were complex – or so we thought, no children and no family to speak of. Nick worked with us to identify the best options for our estate and recommended setting up a charitable trust, we can now be certain that our estate will benefit all of the causes that we support after our deaths.
Our experience of Will and Probate Services has been excellent, they are knowledgeable and always happy to help. They are definitely specialists in Wills and planning for later life. But the best thing about them is that they are much cheaper than the local solicitors and offer a better service.
Mum’s health hadn’t been so good and she was becoming frail and confused. Because I live out of the country I needed help and advice from someone I, and more importantly Mum, could trust. Nick and his team have been great they set up lasting powers of attorney for her so that we can look after her home, her bills and her care.