What is probate?
Probate may be required when someone passes away. The umbrella term, Grant of Representation, refers to the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (if there is no Will) in England & Wales. This is called Confirmation in Scotland.
Although probate is often mistaken as the term for all tasks involved in handling a deceased person’s affairs, it only refers to obtaining the grant that enables you to carry out these tasks.
If there is a Will, the Testator (the person who created the Will) should have named an Executor to deal with its contents, including applying for probate if necessary. There can be multiple Executors named in a Will. However, only one can be named on the Grant of Probate.
If the person died without a Will – known as dying intestate – an Administrator will be appointed by the court to deal with the estate. This individual is usually the deceased’s next of kin.
A probate solicitor will typically charge you up to 5% of the Estate value to undertake the whole process.
At Trust Assured, we feel that a more cost-effective solution may be that of Probate Assistance.
We will:
> Ask the Executor or Administrator to complete a Fact Find, which will ask for key information about the deceased’s assets and debts at the date of death.
> Use the Fact Find to prepare all the relevant paperwork for the Probate Registry and HMRC (as necessary) for approval by the executor and signature.
> Prepare the submission of the application to the Probate Registry for the Executor or Administrator.
> Where the deceased’s solely owned property is to be transferred to the beneficiary(s), we will prepare the paperwork.
> Where a Declaration of Trust is required or if the property remains unregistered, we take instructions to prepare the Declaration of Trust to confirm ownership of the property and register the property with the Land Registry.
> Where there is a property Trust, we will liaise with the appointed Trustees in the Will about the terms of the Trust.
> We will take instructions to create the deed of trust and transfer the deceased’s share of the property into the names of the Trustees at the Land Registry. We will also take instructions to prepare the Declaration of Trust; this document confirms the ownership of the property.
> Where there is a Nil Rate Band Discretionary Trust, we will advise the Trustees of the options available to them and take instructions to deal with the Trust and prepare the necessary paperwork including deed of Trusts and Declarations of Trust
Once the Inheritance documentation is prepared, prior to submission we will discuss with the beneficiaries Inheritance planning tools which may advantage their personal circumstances. These options may include carrying out a deed of variation to mitigate future Inheritance Tax and intra generational Trusts.