Probate

What is Probate?

Probate is the legal and financial process of dealing with property, money and possessions of a person who has died.

What is a Grant of Representation?

A grant of representations is a legal document/order issued by the Probate Court which proves an executor, or administrator has legal authority to deal with the deceased estate.

Is there more than one type of Grant?

Yes, however the most common are:

• Grant of Probate – which is issued in the executors of a Will
• Grant of Letter of Administration – which is issued when a person has died intestate (without leaving a Will). It is issued in the names of those entitled under the rules of intestacy.

Grant Only Service

What does this service include?

We will obtain the Grant of representation in the estate on behalf of the personal representative(s). To do this we will:

• need a death certificate, a definitive list of all assets and all the debts and the original will. If the deceased, does not have a Will, we will prepare a statement confirming that you believe that there is no Will.
• prepare the probate application and include the relevant inheritance tax return (this depends on the circumstances of the estate)
• meet with the personal representative(s) at our offices in Slaithwaite or Honley (if required) where we will go through with you all paperwork with you
• You will sign the legal statement confirming that the prepared documents are correct.
• Apply to the Probate Registry for the grant. Once it is issued, we will provide you with a copy so that you can realise and distribute the estate.

Grant and Administration Service

What does this service include?

In addition to all the work identified under “Grant Only Service”, we will also undertake the general estate administration on behalf of the personal representative(s) of the estate.

This will include:

• Liaising with third parties such as financial institutions such as banks to ascertain the assets and liabilities of the estate.
• Collect the asset of the estate.
• Settle any estate liabilities (using the estate assets only)
• Liaise with any beneficiaries of the estate
• Prepare estate accounts for approval by the personal representative(s) and
• Distribute the estate in accordance with the Will or the intestacy rules as appropriate.

Our Probate Team

All of our staff are supervised by our directors. For more information including details of the qualifications and experience of all our staff please visit our Meet The Team page.

Timescales

When you meet with your legal adviser at Open Law, we discuss with your circumstances and ensure that you are provided with a tailored estimate depending on the circumstances of the estate.  This is because there are many additional factors that can influence the time. However, as a guide:

• For a Grant Only Service – We can apply for the Grant for you within 1-2 weeks of you providing us with everything we need. The Probate Registry usually take 12 weeks however this may take longer depending on their workload, complexity or urgency of the application.
• For a Grant and Administration Service – As mentioned above for “Grant Only Service” together with the time to collect and realise the estate which will be wholly dependent upon on the nature and extent of the estate.

Costs

A full breakdown of the various costs involved with our Probate Services can be found here.