IWC are regulated by the Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning Practitioners

 

If a person passes away owning assets in excess of £5,000 or if an institution is likely to pay the estate of a deceased person a sum in excess of £5,000 then either a Grant of Probate or Letter of Administation will most likely need to be applied for in order to obtain these monies, this procedure is generally known as applying for probate.

If you make a Will or if the person who died made a will the Will would appoint executors. One of the executors duties who would be to apply for what is referred to as the Grant of Probate. If there was no will the person who is dealing with your affairs will become your estate administrator also known as your Personal Representative and they will apply to the Probate Division of the High Court for a Letter of Administration. However this cannot be anybody, there is a strict hierarchy as to who can apply for Letters of Administration

There are several major confusions over the whole matter, perhaps the biggest misunderstanding is that the probate forms are the same whether you are applying for the Grant of Probate or applying for Letters of Administration.

 

Another common misconception is that probate, in one form or another, must be done whether you make a will or not. If you are automatically thinking that you need not make a will in that case, then please cast that thought from your mind. If you do not have a will, you are deemed to die intestate which is often worse for the family that you left behind. The law dictates who gets what and the law dictates who will deal with your affairs, this often causes arguments leading to a contentious probate matter, certainly not the lasting legacy most of us would like to be remembered by.

 

Lastly some people think that a Letter of Administration is a standard letter than any legal advisor, solicitor or lawyer can prepare and hand to you. This is certainly not the case, an application for Letters of Administration must be submitted to the High Court Probate division and can only be submitted with an Inland Revenue account detailing the assets of the deceased person.

On smaller estates some financial institutions will accept what is known as a "small estates indemnity" instead of probate if the estate of the deceased person is under a certain amount. Regrettably however every institution is different and they each have their own policy. For example the Post office would insist on probate if the monies was over £5,000 whereas the Halifax would allow the amount to rise to £15,000 before they asked you to obtain probate.

 

 

Contact Us for advice on obtaining Letters of Administration, probate or Making a Will:
Name
Email
Tel
Message:
Please enter the security code above: