What is Probate?
When a loved one passes away, dealing with the administration of their estate can often feel overwhelming. Our expert Wills & Probate team is here to support you for every step of the journey, including arranging Probate as part of your duties as an executor of the person’s Will.
If you are named in someone's Will as an executor, you may have to apply for probate: a legal document that gives you the authority to share out the estate of the person who has died according to the instructions in their Will.
When do I need to get a Grant of Probate?
When a person’s estate (the estate is everything owned by the person who has died) has many assets that are solely in their name and not jointly owned, you will usually need a Grant of Probate.
A good example of needing a Grant of Probate is to facilitate the sale or transfers of a person’s stocks and shares when they have died, to sell a property that is in the sole name of the person who has died, or to transfer the share of the property belonging to the person who has died, when the property is held as tenants in common.
Usually, a Grant of Probate is required for bank accounts with funds of £50,000 or more in them, but it can sometimes be required for accounts with less than this amount; it is all dependant on the bank.
What happens when you have been granted Probate?
When probate is granted, the people named on the grant document (sometimes called the ‘personal representatives’) can use it to deal with the estate of the person who has died.
This might include closing down bank accounts, cashing in a pension, claiming insurance lump sums, selling or transferring property, and paying any estate debts before distributing to the beneficiaries of the estate
For information on our Probate price and service information, click here.