Complete Probate Services

While certain aspects of dealing with Probate can be relatively simple, they come with a range of potential pitfalls and possible delays that can make the whole process far more confusing and stressful than one might imagine. By using our Complete Probate Service you can rest assured that all of the critical steps that must be made in order to complete the process will be done so professionally and swiftly, reducing unnecessary delays and the stress that comes with them.

There are essentially four main areas that our Probate Complete Service will deal with:

Legal

The first step when dealing with Probate is to get the legal side of things moving with preparing the necessary documentation for the Grant of Probate application and taking the relevant steps to find a Will and prove that it is valid. We would assess any variations to the distribution of the estate and deal with the placing of any statutory adverts to establish any claims against the estate. In the absence of a valid Will we would assist in applying the Rules of Intestacy to the estate to ensure the correct personal representatives and beneficiaries are identified.

Tax

There are a variety of forms that must be filled in accurately in order to stay on the right side of HMRC. In addition to filling out the forms, there is a certain amount of correspondence necessary to find which forms must be filled out in particular circumstances. Any tax relief or exemptions that are applicable to the estate must be identified, alongside calculating any Inheritance Tax, Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax that might be due.

Estate Administration

Just dealing with the volumes of correspondence when administering an estate can be a daunting and time-consuming process. Through our Complete Probate Service we will deal with identifying and corresponding with Personal Representatives and Beneficiaries, Financial Institutions and Organisations relevant to the estate. We will identify, verify and value any assets based in England and Wales, pay any debts and liabilities from the estate, prepare the accounts for the estate and transfer all jointly held assets into one name. When all of this is achieved we can deal with distributing the estate to the beneficiaries and the trustees of any trusts created by intestacy or the Will itself.

Property

If the estate includes a property we can assist in making sure that insurance remains valid by liaising with relevant companies as well as appointing a conveyancer if any land is unregistered with HM Land Registry. We can also deal with Royal Mail to ensure any post is redirected to an appropriate address. If the property needs to be sold we can assist with appointing reputable estate agents to handle the marketing and sale for the property alongside getting necessary certificates such as an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate – now mandatory when selling any property). We can also appoint and manage a specialist conveyancer to deal with the transfer of ownership of a property.

In some cases the granting of Probate and the subsequent responsibilities can be done without professional assistance, but while that route might seem less expensive, in a great deal of cases the use of a professional Probate service such as ours can save a huge amount of time, energy and stress, and ensure that all aspects are carried out legally, professionally and efficiently, reducing stress and cost at a time that no-one finds easy.