Wills, Trusts and Estates FAQs

Firstly, values of the assets need to be gathered to determine if there is any Inheritance Tax to be paid. Once this has been dealt with the application for the Grant of Probate can be completed and submitted to the Probate Registry. Once Probate has been issued by the Probate Registry the estate can be administered. This includes gathering in the assets (such as closing bank accounts) and distributing the estate to the beneficiaries in accordance with the Will or the Rules of Intestacy.

You may need probate if your husband/wife/civil partner dies. It will depend on what assets they had and who they are passing to under the Will or the Rules of Intestacy.

Usually jointly owned assets automatically pass to the surviving owner without the need for probate. There are however certain assets which may still require probate. For example, probate may be required for a house owned jointly as tenants in.

Probate is the process of proving that a Will is valid (f there is one) and confirming who has authority to administer the estate of the person who has died. If the estate is anything other than very small or simple, you will need to apply for a grant of probate. Probate is definitely required If you need to sell property on behalf of the estate or, if any banks or organisations where the deceased held sole accounts with advised that a grant was required. If you are unsure whether or not a Grant of Probate is needed, a solicitor will be able to advise you whether or not it is needed.

It is best practice to obtain a grant of representation in order to protect the personal representatives in this situation. This is due to the fact the property will form part of the deceased’s estate and will need to be distributed in accordance with the terms of the Will or rules of intestacy (if there is no Will). Therefore, our advice would be to obtain a Grant.

If the person who has passed away left a valid Will then the executor or executors appointed in this Will are responsible for applying for probate. If there isn’t a Will, the estate passes under intestacy and the rules of intestacy will determine whose responsibility it is to get probate.

A personal representative, also known as an executor or administrator, is the person legally responsible for the money, property and possessions of the person who has died. The personal representative is responsible for the assets from the date of death until the date everything has passed on to the beneficiaries.

If you are named as an executor you are entitled to decline the appointment should you wish to do so. You may feel unable to act for any number of reasons such as health, your age or family or work commitments although it is worth noting that you do not have to give a reason when refusing to act.

If there is property in a deceased’s estate to be sold a grant of probate will definitely be required. Even if there is no property to be sold, some banks or organisations may require the grant of probate to release the funds from a deceased’s accounts. The thresholds to which banks or organisations will release funds without a grant of probate do vary and can change.

A grant of probate will not always be required to cash in premium bonds but it will depend on the value of the deceased’s premium bonds.

The time to obtain a Grant of Probate will depend on the complexity and the value of the estate, and if inheritance tax is payable. At the moment Grants of Probate are taking on average of 16 weeks to obtain once applied for.

Generally, there is no need for probate if the estate is small. A small estate normally contains no property and a small amount of money. Different banks and building societies have their own threshold for probate so they would need to be contacted initially to establish this.