First things first: allow yourself time to grieve and deal with the funeral before you worry about administering your loved one’s estate. At MG Legal, we find that people often want to try and get everything sorted in the days immediately after their loved one has died. However, you often cannot take any action until the official death certificate is received. Indeed, Probate Solicitors, such as our team of local solicitors in Lancaster, and solicitors in Preston, are unable to discuss or release a Will without sight of an original death certificate and confirmation of the person’s entitlement to discuss the estate. 

 

After the funeral has taken place, you should start – or continue – to deal with your loved one’s estate. For example, you should notify the bank, or indeed any other organisation that assets were held with, by providing them with the death certificate. The organisations will be able to tell you what their requirements are for closing the account. If they require a Grant of Probate, you will need to apply for this before you can access funds from the account. The only exception to freezing funds in any account is that most organisations will cover the costs of any funeral, simply by sending them the invoice, which they will arrange to pay directly. 

 

Once you have managed to contact any organisations that your loved one held assets, or liabilities, with, our Probate Solicitors in Preston recommend collating all the information they send you, so that this is readily accessible for any application for Probate. 

Probate is granted by the Court, and it is a document giving legal confirmation of who is authorised to deal with your loved one’s estate. Probate Solicitors, such as our team at MG Legal, require details of all of your loved one’s assets and liabilities to calculate the inheritance tax payable on the estate, if any, and the process required to apply for Probate. 

This question really applies to any loved one. A common misconception is that Probate is never required if your loved one has left a Will. Sadly, this is not the case. Probate can be required by any organisation to close an account and it is always required by the Land Registry when a house belonging solely to a deceased person is being sold or transferred. It can seem irritating that a Will does not stop Probate being required. However, a Will simply makes an application for Probate more straightforward, whilst making your loved one’s wishes clear. On average, our Probate Solicitors in Preston have found that an application for Probate when there is a Will can take around 8 to 10 weeks, whereas an application for Probate without a Will can take 16 to 20 weeks. Unfortunately, this is due to procedural differences in the application process. 

The simple answer is no. Most house transactions require Probate when one of the co-owners or owners has died. Our Conveyancing Solicitors in Lancaster, and conveyancing solicitors in Preston, explain that the probate document helps to prove to the Land Registry that the correct person is dealing with the deceased’s share of the property and, indeed, that person is taking responsibility for dealing with it correctly. When you think about it in this way, it’s nice to know that someone is protecting what you have worked so hard for after you’re gone. 

 

There are a few exceptions to this. For example, our expert Conveyancing Solicitors in Lancaster would not ask you for a Grant of Probate if two co-owners own a property as joint tenants. In cases such as these, the property simply passes by survivorship to the other co-owner. However, you will still be required to supply documents such as a death certificate and ID. 

Usually, a quick Google of ‘Conveyancing Solicitors near me’ will bring up the best firms locally to you. However, it’s not always advisable to click on the first sponsored ad. It is advisable to contact the firm on their ‘contact us’ page, and ask for a quote for fees. Some firms may be running promotions, such as our Conveyancing Solicitors who are currently offering 25% off all legal fees in May, June and July. 

 

Contact our Conveyancing Solicitors in Preston, here. For our Conveyancing Solicitors in Garstang, click here. For our Conveyancing Solicitors in Lancaster, click here. One of our Conveyancing Solicitors will contact you the same working day – usually within a few minutes – to discuss your enquiry and provide you with a very reasonable fixed fee quote for your conveyancing sale or purchase. MG Legal are listed in 3 Best Rated, as the go-to conveyancing solicitors in Lancaster. 

Again, a quick Google of ‘Probate Solicitors near me’ will bring up a list of firms who should be able to assist with your matter. You should contact the firm and speak directly to the team of expert Probate Solicitors to make sure you know what fees may be charged upfront. You can then arrange an appointment to discuss your loved one’s estate and find out how the Probate Solicitors can help. Contact our Probate Solicitors in Longridge, here. For our Probate Solicitors in Garstang, click here. For our Probate Solicitors in Lancaster, click here. A member of the Probate team will contact you the same working day – usually within one working hour – to discuss your enquiry.