Probate & Estate Administration

When a friend or relative dies it can be difficult to know what to do or where to start, and almost impossible to see the end.

At such time, the added burden of obtaining probate and the administration of their estate is overwhelming for many people. This is why we offer sympathetic and professional advice to guide you through the complex legal issues you can face. If your loved one has left a Will, then you may be told by various institutions they require sight of the Grant of Probate. If they died without a Will (intestate) they will ask for a ‘Grant of Administration’ or ‘Grant of Representation’. There is a lot to consider when administering someone’s estate for example:

• Calculating any Inheritance Tax that may be payable.
• Ensuring all debts outstanding at death and expenses incurred during the time taken to administer the estate, are settled in full before anything is paid to the beneficiaries.
• Are you sure you know about all the debts the deceased had? If you distribute the estate and fail to settle a debt, you will be personally responsible to pay the debt yourself, out of your own pocket. We can help you administer the estate so that you are never in this position.
• Dealing with claims against the estate from institutions such as the DWP when they calculate that certain benefits have been overpaid.
• Dealing with the Land Registry when transferring property from the estate to the new owners.
• If the Will places property into a Trust to protect it for future generations, you will need to set the Trust up as part of the administration of the estate and ensure the property is transferred into the names of the Trustees.
• Calculating if the person who has died overpaid or underpaid income tax during their final tax year
• Calculating any income tax due to HMRC built up during the time it took to administer the estate
• If there is a gift of property and property prices rise between death and transfer to the beneficiary, there could be Capital Gains tax to pay if not administered correctly.
• If the estate is over £325,000 then usually inheritance tax is payable. However, if the deceased had a spouse that passed everything to them when they died previously, it will be possible to use a tax allowance to reduce, or even avoid completely, any inheritance tax due.
• In some circumstances an additional relief from inheritance tax called ‘the Residential Nil Rate band’ can be claimed. Specialist forms are required to be submitted to HMRC to gain this extra relief. We will be able to let you know if this will be required during our initial meeting.

Our friendly and understanding team deal with all types of estates and can help with the following:

• Applying for the Grant of Probate/Administration
• Administering the whole estate
• Calculating any Estate Taxes
• Future planning for your inheritance.

Ultimately we can assist with as little or as much as you wish.

Call us now to arrange your FREE, NO OBLIGATION consultation or email us at [email protected]