What is Probate?
Probate is the process which involves the full estate administration of a deceased person’s estate. Where the deceased person had written a Will, then the process involves:
- Firstly, obtaining Grant of Probate from the Probate Court; followed by
- The administration of the estate, which includes the distribution of assets to beneficiaries.
If no Will exists or if the Will is invalid, then letters of administration (also known as letter of administration) will need to be obtained by applying to the Probate Court.
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What is a Grant of Probate?
A Grant of Probate is relevant where a deceased person has a written a Will. Where this is the case, the executor will need to apply to the Probate Court in order to obtain a Grant of Probate. The Grant of Probate allows the executor of the estate to conduct the estate administration for the deceased’s estate.
What is an executor?
An executor can refer to one or more persons, named in the deceased’s Will, who is or are responsible for the estate administration and distribution of assets to the beneficiaries named in the Will.
How long does it take to obtain a Grant of Probate?
Depending on the processing times of the Probate Court, obtaining a Grant of Probate can take up to 8 weeks.. Once a Grant of Probate has been obtained, the estate can be distributed in accordance with the deceased’s Will.
What happens if the deceased passed away without a Will?
Where there is no Will, administrators will need to obtain letters of administration in order to have the authority to conduct estate administration. In order to obtain letters of administration, an application will need to be made to the Probate court to obtain a grant of the letters of administration.
How long does the whole process of Probate take?
There are various moving parts in a Probate case, which means it is difficult to give accurate timescales of how long Probate takes. Applying for probate and receiving a Grant of Probate can take up to 8 weeks, although the ensuing duties including to distribute the estate to beneficiaries and to settle bills, mean that the process can last for many months.
How much does Probate cost?
For all Private Client Law services, we charge fixed fees where we can. This gives both executors and administrators capped fees to budget for. For straightforward estates, we charge a fixed fee of 2.5%, however for more complicated estates, then our fees may vary. To receive a fixed quote from our Private Client lawyers, please leave your contact details on this page and one of our Team shall be in touch with you by the next Working Day. Please note that we currently partner with trusted firms to obtain the Grant of Probate for the deceased’s estate, however this does not affect the fees which we have quoted above.
How do I get started?
To arrange a confidential chat regarding your requirements, please leave your contact details on this webpage and one of our Estate Lawyers shall be in touch.