Grant Of Probate

Welcome to our page relating to Grant of Probate and how to obtain one. We are a firm of probate solicitors who specialise in dealing with obtaining grants of probate and estate administration work. At Seatons, we offer a helpful and friendly service with low fees that provide exceptional value for money.  Please call us today for a free, no-obligation chat on 01536 276300 or use our online enquiry form.

A Grant of Probate is a court order that provides legal authority for the deceased’s Personal Representatives (called Executors) to administer and distribute the deceased’s estate in accordance with any of the deceased’s will.Without the Grant of Probate, banks, building societies, insurance companies and other financial institutions will not hand over the deceased’s assets.

If you have recently lost a close relative, and have been named as the executor of their will, it is important to have a basic knowledge of probate law and an understanding of what a grant of probate is. You must be able to understand and implement your responsibilities lawfully and effectively in relation to the administration of a loved one’s estate. This page will provide a brief overview of how to get a Grant of Probate. Grant of Probate will only apply when the deceased left a will. If the deceased died without making a will then a different grant, called a grant of letter of administration will be needed.

1. Grant of Probate – a Grant of Probate is a Grant of Representation that is provided when a will has been created and an executor has been appointed. It is evidence of the executor’s authority to manage and administer the deceased’s estate with the authority stemming from the Will itself.
2. Grant of Letters of Administration – Letters of Administration are granted when the deceased has died without a will. This grant bestows authority to act upon the person who is legally entitled to administer the deceased’s estate (the “administrator”).
3. Grant of Letters of Administration with Will – This Grant of Representation is appropriate where the deceased has made a will but has either failed to appoint an executor or all the executors named in the Will have died or are unable to act. This is a rare and unusual occurrence and legal advice is usually needed to deal with this.

To obtain a Grant of Probate, the Court will normally require:-

1. The original Will (if there is one);
2. An official copy of the death certificate;
3. Statement of executors or application form, completed and signed by the executors;
4. An Inland Revenue Account (IHT 205 or 400);
5. A receipted invoice from the Inland Revenue that any Inheritance Tax has been paid.

You can sometimes apply for a Grant of Probate yourself without using a solicitor. However, it is up to you to consider certain factors such as how much time you have on your hands, how good you are at handling paperwork, whether you can cope emotionally with the stress and hassle of trying to do it yourself and of course the time saved and the costs incurred in delegating the Probate Process to a firm of solicitors. By instructing Seatons Solicitors to obtain a grant of probate for you, we can sort your situation out and make the administration process as fast and smooth as possible.Click here ,for details of our probate costs.

There are various forms to complete to obtain a Grant of Probate, some of which are quite lengthy.

There are different tax forms to complete depending on the value of the estate and whether or not inheritance tax is payable. If no inheritance tax is payable then you will usually need to complete IHT 205. If inheritance tax is payable you will need to complete an IHT400 form, we recommend ideally, you should seek legal advice at that stage.

Once the Grant of Probate forms have been completed and signed, they will need to be sent to the Court.

Upon receiving the Grant of Probate application, the Court will consider the application . The Court might want some further information or other documents to be filed.

If the application is successful, the Court will issue the grant of probate and will send by post the original Grant of Probate with a number of sealed copies and will return the original death certificate. The executors will then have the legal authority to administer and act on behalf of the deceased’s estate.