What is probate (law)

Please explain to me what happens when probate has to be done , is it difficult and what does it involve . I'm interested .

Thank you

Re: What is probate (law)

We had a solicitor to do our probate on my FIL Will..We could have done it ourselves but if we had made a mistake ,we would have to do it all again.
We could not have the money or property that was left to us till we had Probate , this is done to legalise the transfer, ..We had to sign an Oath in front of two Solicitors to say we were who we was and their was no other assets hidden.

Re: What is probate (law)

Probate is the start of executing a will. Is it difficult?? That would depend of the complexity of the estate. My advice-search the net for more information.

Solicitors are never cheap but they do remove the `hassle`

When Jenny passed on I got a `fixed fee` arrangement,they dealt with everything and not too expensive.

Re: What is probate (law)

If everyone agrees with the will it's easy enough if anyone doesn't it becomes a nightmare and if the estate isn't wound up in a certain length of time you have to pay capital gains tax as we have just found out.

Re: What is probate (law)

To locate Probate requires the wearing of a Surgical Glove.

Re: What is probate (law)

LOL Spitty

Re: What is probate (law)

When my single cousin died a few years ago I had to organise his
funeral and get rid of his goods. I thought I had to get Probate for
his money but as he had left less than £5k I didn't have to.
Probate means the organising of the deceased Will and granting
the contents of that Will. If there is no Will then in the UK if
no relatives can be found the monies left by the deceased go to
the Government after waiting I think 25 years.
There are lots of interesting sites on line if you look for Probate.
I would add that the best thing to do is write a Will to stop any
squabbling or falling out afterwards. After the hard work I
had to do sorting my cousins end of life out, I would suggest you
look for a Solicitor and make sure you know the expenses you are
going to incur. It is hard.

Re: What is probate (law)

When mum died my BiL said to me, you have to sort out probate (as I was Executor of the will). But. Because she had the foresight to have me added to her accounts (with two building societies), I was classed as joint account holder and therefore the money was technically mine.

In any case, her assets were few, so it did make life easier (even though it was still an absolute pain dealing with the aftermath of her death, writing to all and sundry with the certificate). We were surprised at receiving some extra funds from a few sources, which was a bonus.

I did look into Probate and looked long and hard at the process. It can be done on your own if you're strong willed and know what you're doing.

When I make my Will I might get a firm of solicitors to be Executor to take all the strain from the family.)

Re: What is probate (law)

I do not think obtaining probate is too difficult to do providing there is a will and it is straightforward.

This link is probably a good way to start looking at what needs to be done. Click on the links within the link for the information you need. All the forms you need are downloadable and there is also help and guidance available on line if you need it.

http://www.lawpack.co.uk/probate/art...rticle6185.asp

Re: What is probate (law)

Thank you all . The reason I asked is , last year I made a will through solicitor it cost me £200 . This week I changed my name to my mAiden name . The will is in my previous name . I don't want to make a new will at that cost . I was concerned that my children would have to do probate when I die and I wanted to make all things easy for them, hench making a will . My will is simple , just leaving house and savings to both kids . I think if I put a legal deed poll document with new name with will this should be accepted . Many thanks