A grant of probate is a legal document which allows the executors or administrator of an estate to deal with the banks, shareholdings and property of the person who has died. In order to apply for a grant of probate you need to submit an application to the Probate Registry. Probate is usually required if the person who died had assets in his or her sole name worth over £5000, for example any savings or shareholdings.

It is important to register the death of the person who has died at the Registry Office in the district where he or she passed away. There is no charge for registering a death but there will be a small charge for any extra copies of the death certificate and it is advisable to get some extra copies as throughout the Probate process, photocopies of documents including death certificates will not be accepted and some institutions will require to keep these certificates.  It is then necessary to ascertain whether or not the deceased has left a will as this will determine who makes the application. Either a person named in the will as an executor, or if there is no will, the immediate next of kin are able to apply for Probate. The Probate rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland differ from those in England and Wales, more details can be found on the Government website, https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate.

To apply for Probate you will need to gather information about the person who has passed away before you can, including details of all bank accounts, and investments as well as any property owned solely by the deceased. Any property owned jointly by the person who has died and the survivor will automatically pass to the survivor. If the deceased has not made a will, an administrator can be appointed. This can be a family member or a solicitor and they would then apply to the court for to be granted letters of administration which is equivalent to a grant of Probate and allows the administrator to deal with all the matters pertaining to the estate.

Being an executor or administrator of a will involves a great deal of work. Having registered the death of the person, you then need to assess how much that person is worth as that will have a bearing on whether Probate is required or not. To do this you need to ascertain which assets are owned solely by the deceased and which are owned jointly by a survivor. It is likely that any jointly owned assets will automatically pass to that person and will therefore not require Probate. The balance of the deceased’s assets which they owned solely will require Probate, depending on the value of these assets. Individual banks, building societies and insurance companies have their own limits on the sums below which they would not require Probate, so check with any involved in the assets of the deceased. If the total value of the estate is less than £10,000, it is unlikely you would be required to apply for probate.

As with most financial situations HM Government and the tax authorities have the first call on any assets for payment of any outstanding tax, including inheritance tax the threshold of which is currently set at £325,000. Check also for any outstanding debts or unpaid bills to ensure that all debts and taxes due by the estate are paid before you look at passing on any inheritance.

There are Probate Registry Offices in

• Brighton
• Cardiff
• Leeds
• Liverpool
• London
• Manchester
• Newcastle
• Oxford
• Winchester

The London registry is the main one and anyone looking for help with the probate process should direct their queries to that office at;

Email enquiries: londonprobate@justice.gov.uk

Telephone enquiries for general enquiries please contact HMTCS Probate on: 0300 303 0648

Telephone enquiries regarding general Inheritance Tax queries or if you need a probate application pack, please call the helpline Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm on 0300 123 1072.

Email enquiries: contactprobate@justice.gov.uk

Please send your form and required documents to:

HMCTS Probate, PO Box 12625, Harlow, CM20 9QE

As part of the process to calculate the value of the estate, you may be asked to get a valuation on any property involved. If this is required, you may find that some chartered surveyors are reticent to give a valuation on a property for Probate purposes but you will find a suitable surveyor by going to;

https://www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk/valuation-surveyors-reports

and selecting the service for Probate purposes. This will give you the contact details of surveyors local to the property in question.

The Probate process can take months, depending on how complex the estate is. It is a complicated procedure involving multiple legal and tax issues with a number of potential pitfalls for the unfamiliar, all of which can add to the timescales. You may therefore want to consider engaging an experienced professional to handle the process on your behalf if you feel you don’t have the time, energy or ability to do all of this yourself. If this is the case, you will be able to source a local service provider who would be able to assist you by going to; https://www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk/solicitors-conveyancing/probate

Fees charged by service providers may vary considerably, so it pays to compare prices from several solicitors.  Some will charge a fixed fee, others an hourly rate, some may charge a percentage of the total estate, so shop around until you find someone you are comfortable working with.

If you are thinking of buying or selling your home, you may find some of these services useful: