Wills and probate advice in Northamptonshire

The Probate process depends on the value of the estate and if the deceased left a Will.

If there is a Will then matters are slightly simpler, as the Will confirms who the Executors are and who is to inherit from the estate.

If there is no Will, dealing with an estate can be more complex. Someone who has died without a Will is referred to as having died “intestate”. In this situation the law determines who can administer the estate and who inherits the estate and how much which is referred to as the Intestacy Rules.

In most cases, where the value of the estate is above £20,000 you will need to apply for Grant of Probate or a Grant of Letters of Administration, although there are exceptions, for example, if all property was jointly owned. The Grant (once issued) gives legal authority to the Executor/Administrator to administer the estate, and who inherits the estate – referred to as the Intestacy Rules.

The Probate process can be defined as having four key stages:

• Assessing the assets and liabilities

• Making the application to the Probate Registry for the Grant

• Collecting in the assets and paying the liabilities

• Distributing the estate

Before you can apply for Probate you will need to establish the value of the estate which includes all the assets and liabilities. Assets can be anything from cash held in the bank, to a property, jewellery, personal possessions or even a vintage car. Liabilities are money that is owed to companies or people. This could include a mortgage or simply the balance on a water bill and the cost of a funeral.

The value of the estate is also needed to confirm if Inheritance Tax would be payable, as this influences the type of Inheritance Tax Form prepared and submitted as part of the Probate application.

To make the application to the Probate Registry a Legal Statement will need to be prepared for signing, which states the information about the estate is true to the best of your knowledge as the Executor/Administrator applying for the Grant.

It is also necessary as part of the application process to confirm if Inheritance tax is payable. If the estate is valued below the current threshold of £325,000.00 then you will need to complete an online estate report, previously referred to as an IHT205. If the estate value exceeds the Inheritance Tax threshold and potentially Inheritance Tax is payable, then a more detailed form referred to as an IHT400 will be required along with other supporting forms. The Inheritance Tax will also need to be paid.

After the Legal Statement is signed and the Inheritance Tax forms complete you will be able to apply to the Probate court. They will require the original Will as well as the Legal Statement and Inheritance Tax information.

Once the Court have received the application it can take approximately 16 weeks for the application to be considered, and a Grant issued. Potentially further information could also be requested. Provided the application for Probate is successful, the Grant of Probate will be issued by post together with any additional sealed copies requested.

Whilst it is not necessary to instruct a professional to obtain Probate or deal with the administration of the estate, it can be beneficial, particularly as the process can be time-consuming with a large amount of paperwork. Our consultant’s fees, which can be found on our fees page, will cover the costs for meeting with you, confirming the type of application required, preparing all documents for submission, dealing with any enquiries from the Probate Registry and supplying you with the Grant of Probate.

After the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration is issued the Executor or Administrator now have the legal authority to deal with the deceased affairs and they will be able to arrange to close bank accounts, claim pensions and cash in any life insurance policies and sell any property. They will also need to pay off any debts.

Our consultant can not only help you obtain the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration, but they can also deal with the administration of the estate. This would include collecting in all money and paying all debts, as referred to above.

If you have not instructed our consultant to deal with the full administration of the estate, it is advisable to open an Executor’s bank account for all the deceased money to be paid into before the estate is distributed.

Once all money has been collected in and all debts paid, the Executor or Administrator will then need to prepare Estate Accounts. Estate Accounts provide a full breakdown of the deceased’s assets and liabilities, as well as the estate expenses that have been paid, which could include the court fee for probate.

If the deceased left a Will, then this will determine how the estate is distributed and to whom. If there was no Will then the estate is distributed according to the Rules of Intestacy.

The distribution of an estate can be a complex and time consuming process even for smaller estates, which is why our consultant can administer the estate on your behalf, if instructed to do so.

As every estate is bespoke, it is impossible to say how long the administration will take, as this can depend on various factors e.g., how long a property will take to sell etc. However, for an estate that has no Inheritance Tax issues, and where the appointed executor(s) have instructed us to make the Probate application and provided full details of the assets and liabilities, it is likely that the Grant of Probate would be issued within approximately 3 months of our instructions being received. The full administration of an estate (including time needed to receive a Grant of Probate) could take up to 2 years, depending on a range of factors, including the time taken to receive the Grant of Probate and the complexity and size of the estate.