Probate and the Administration of Estates

In the event of the death of a loved one, their estate will need to be dealt with through Probate.

In this area

In the event of a persons death, there certain legal formalities that will follow. One of which is to deal with the property, money, and possessions of the person who has died – collectively known as their ‘estate’.

This legal process of this is called the Administration of the Estate. The approach to this process will depend upon if the deceased had made a Will or not.

Where there is a Will

Where a Will is in place, the deceased will have named the person/s who they wish to take care of these matters – the ‘Executors’. The Executors will need to apply for a Grant of Probate, a legal document which is needed to deal with most assets.

Where there is no Will

Where a person dies without making a Will the rules of intestacy apply to their estate. In this case it will be necessary to obtain a Grant of Letters of Administration, to be given the legal authority to administer the estate.

Our Services

Jordans Solicitors can help with all aspects of Probate and Administration of Estates, whether or not a Will has been made, and for estates both simple or complex, including:

Checking the validity of the Will or advising on the effect of the Intestacy Rules
Valuing assets within the estate.
Establishing the liabilities within the estate.
Applying for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
Collecting assets into the estate and paying any outstanding debts
Paying any legacies within the estate.
Distributing the assets within the estate in accordance with the terms of the Will or the rules of intestacy.
Attending to all of the taxation implications in dealing with the administration of the estate. This will include income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax where applicable.
Ensuring that the Executor or Administrator has been protected personally from any subsequent claims against the estate

We can also provide advice with regards to Deeds of Variation, which can be used after the person has died, to change the terms of their Will. These are usually either because the main beneficiary is happy to give up part of their inheritance to someone else, or to structure the estate more efficiently for tax.

How can Jordans help?

Our wills and probate team is made up of specialist lawyers who have many years of experience in advising and assisting clients in dealing with all aspects of the administration of estates, whether under a grant of probate or of letters of administration.

They provide expert advice whilst being committed to excellent client care through a client focused, efficient and cost effective service.

Free Initial Appointment

We offer all clients a free initial consultation to discuss your requirements.

Our offices are based across Yorkshire in Wakefield, Dewsbury, Horsforth, Selby and Wetherby if you live locally and prefer a face-to-face appointment. We also offer home visits should you instruct us and cannot travel to our offices.

Online and Out of Hours Appointments

Because we understand that life is busy and it’s not always easy to take time out during standard working hours, or you may not locally to one of our offices - our team also offer online appointments as well as out of hours appointments including evening and weekends.

FAQs

Probate is the legal and financial processes involved in dealing with the property, money and possessions (collectively known as the assets) of a person who has died.
The probate process includes proving the validity of a Will (if there is one) and confirming the authority to the executors to administer the estate of the person who has died.
The Executors will need to apply for a Grant of Probate, a legal document which is needed to deal with most assets such as bank accounts, selling property etc.
Our article gives more information on the process: Understanding the Process of Probate
The costs of applying for a Grant of Probate, collecting and distributing the assets for an estate will depend upon the individual circumstances and complexity of the matter.
The estimated costs for a straightforward estate would start from £3,000 (+VAT) plus disbursements. A more in-depth breakdown of probate costs can be found here.
For a more detailed quote, contact us on [email protected] or call 0330 300 1103.
When someone who lives outside the UK dies leaving assets in England, a Grant of Representation to their Estate may be obtained overseas (although not all jurisdictions work this way). If there is a Foreign Grant of Representation, it is unlikely to be recognised in England. In these circumstances an application to the English Court for a UK Grant will be required.
We can assist with obtaining a UK Grant of Probate for Estates where the deceased was foreign domicile and held assets such as property and bank accounts in England.
We can also assist with the resealing of the Foreign Grant if the deceased died in a Commonwealth Jurisdiction, e.g. Australia, Canada, New Zealand.

Contact Us

You can contact us about our services on 01924 868933 or 0330 300 1103 or request a call-back below.

Request a Call Back

Our reviews

Alicia Burbeary

My wife and I decided to use Jordan’s Solicitors as they had a local office in Horsforth where we live. We wanted advice on rewriting our wills and on Powers of Attorney to suit our current family circumstances. Alicia Burbeary, Solicitor, gave us clear and comprehensive advice on what can be a very complicated area of law. We cannot thank her enough for the assistance she has given us.

Sophie Costello

Sophie dealt with my will and LPAs very efficiently. She explained everything clearly and answered my questions in a friendly and helpful way. Sophie responded to emails quickly also. I felt that nothing was too much trouble for her.

Private Client Team

I have had the pleasure of dealing with Jordan’s solicitors for the past 12 months following the death of my mother. I have to say that a huge amount of anguish throughout, was lessened due to the respect shown to my late mother by all the staff I was in contact with, and in particular kept me informed weekly on the process and stages achieved with no small amount of appropriate humour. I will not hesitate to use them again should the need arise. Top marks. Thank you.

Sophie Costello

Sophie is very good at dealing with elderly people, she has a nice way about her... I am 84 years old and was a bit nervous about seeing a Solicitor but Sophie put me at ease straight away.

Sophie Costello

Sophie provided an excellent will writing service and was professional and helpful with advice and answering any questions throughout the process. I would thoroughly recommend Sophie to anyone looking to put their will in place.

Jordans Wills Team

Dual LPA set up & completed in a timely manner with excellent explanations & guidance coupled with good communications, including contacting relevant family members.

Alicia Burbeary

I found Alicia to be a clear communicator who made sure I understood the implications of the decisions I was taking. She could not have completed the work any more efficiently; The copy of my Will was received in line with the timeline Alicia had outlined. I was most satisfied with the whole process, including the cost.

Sophie Costello

Arranging the meeting was very easy & efficient. The meeting was both friendly and courteous, everything was explained and our questions answered. The production of documentation was on time and we were proactively chased up on a delay to our return of signed documents, which we found good, as in our experience other solicitors in other practices have not been proactive. We now await the LPAs being registered.

Lisa McGirr

Lisa has been a wonderful help to our family. Her insightful and experience took away much of the worries. So impressed how smoothly and quickly things took place without any problems. Thank you Lisa McGirr at Jordans Solicitors Dewsbury.

Lisa McGirr

Lisa was very professional. She also took time to answer my question very clearly. She gave me confidence and trust. She was fast in responding to my mails. Thank you

Private Client Team

My experience with Jordans has been brilliant. The process has been clearly explained throughout, and breakdowns of cost provided. The team have been responsive and advised on queries clearly to help navigate the process.

Sophie Costello

Would definitely recommend, everything explained fully and nothing too much trouble, answered all our questions and advised when needed, very friendly and professional. I would have no hesitation in recommending this Solicitors which we have used previously for our Will drawing up.

Lisa McGirr

First class service, Lisa McGirr was brilliant!

Private Client Team

My partner and I were getting wills written up, all the details were well explained and every question was answered in detail in an easy to understand way. It was a very straightforward and quick process. Communication in person, over the phone and emails was very professional and made us feel like we were in a safe pair of hands.

Jordans Wills Team

Nothing to improve. No comments to make, just thank you

Lisa McGirr

A credit to your company. A very professional service was given by Lisa McGirr.

Lisa McGirr

Lisa McGirr, brilliant!

Lisa McGirr

Miss McGirr made it very easy to understand.

Lisa McGirr

Fabulous service, very quick and easy to produce and explicit throughout. Thank you

Lisa McGirr

Very happy and very helpful

Lisa McGirr

Lisa Mcgirr helped us with our wills,she enabled us to fulfill our wishes and expertly explained things like inheritance tax and powers of attorney. Lisa was supremely professional, very patient and very pleasant.