Probate
This describes the process for applying for the right to administer the estate of a deceased person. NLSS can advise on how best to carry out this process, act on behalf of executors or act as an appointed executor in the Will.
Assuming the deceased has a Will, executors will have been named to deal with their affairs. They will apply for a ‘grant of probate’ from the Probate registry section of the court. Once granted this legal document allows the executors the authority to deal with the deceased’s assets and collect in the assets, pay outstanding bills and share the Estate out as directed in the will.
What if there is no will?
In this situation a we can act on behalf of a close relative and apply to the Probate Registry to deal with the estate. We apply for a ‘Grant of letters of Administration’. When the grant is issued, the named person is known as the Administrator of the estate, with the same authority as given to an Executor by Probate.
Unless an estate has:
- Less than £5,000
- No stocks or shares
- No qualifying insurance policies
- Property held in trust or as ‘Tenants in common’
Then a Grant of Probate will be required.