WHAT IS A GRANT OF PROBATE AND DO I NEED ONE TO MANAGE MY LOVED ONE’S AFFAIRS?

 Someone you know may have died and appointed you as an Executor in their Will. You may have heard or been told that you need to get on with obtaining a Grant of Probate, but are unsure what Probate is or how to go about getting it.

Applying for Probate gives you the legal right to deal with someone’s possessions, property and money (their Estate) when they die.

In England and Wales the type of Grant required depends on whether the person died with or without a Will.  A Grant of Probate is required if someone has died with a valid Will. A Grant of Letters of Administration is required if the person died but did not leave a valid Will. In both circumstances, however, the application process is largely the same and referred to as ‘Probate’.

You don’t always need Probate in order to deal with a person’s estate after they have died.

If the deceased left a small estate worth less than £5,000 or only had savings or premium bonds, or had jointly owned property, shares, accounts etc then a Grant of Probate may not be required.

We will advise you at the time if you do not need to go through the process of applying for Probate as some banks and building societies will release monies without having first seen the Grant.

You may need to apply for Probate if the deceased’s estate was worth more than £5,000, or if they held any stocks or shares, owned a house or land solely, or held certain insurance policies.

We can assist you with the next steps in obtaining a Grant and dealing with your loved one’s estate should you need us to. We also have a tiered range of Probate services and prices depending on what level of advice you require.

To find out more please call Amye Aris on 01908 542677 or email [email protected]