A probate lawyer is someone who you are possibly going to need at the worst time of your life. Anne Forrester, a Legal Executive at Jackson Lees, has taken some time to explain how people can find the right person to support them during the difficult time of losing a loved one.
Probate can be complicated.
Legally, probate is a process that’s needed for any estate over the value of £5,000.00. While many banks will release funds from the estate over this amount without one, if you have a house, shares to sell, or a personal pension to deal with, you, or the executor, will definitely need a Grant of Probate. Where there is no Will, you will need Letters of Administration and someone will have to act as the administrator of the estate. The process is essentially the same, except that the assets of the estate are distributed under Rules of Intestacy.
If you have been appointed as an executor by someone in their Will, this is an honour, but it is also a responsibility which should not be taken lightly. Consequently, a lot of executors or administrators ask a legal professional for assistance.
So, what should you look for?
You will be working closely with the lawyer at what is an emotional time so you need to feel comfortable with them and that you can trust that they will deal with the estate competently.
Don’t be afraid to ask to have a chat with the lawyer that will be handling the estate to make sure you connect with them, that you’re happy with their level of experience and anyone else who might be working on the estate, too.
Anne Forrester, a Legal Executive at Jackson Lees
You can also let them know that you will be ringing round and will confirm if you want to engage their services and have a meeting to discuss the finer points in the near future.
At no point should you feel railroaded into engaging the services of any firm just because you have contacted them.
Most firms will offer more than one level of service depending on how much you want to do yourself. Some people find doing some of the phone calls and advising various businesses of the person’s passing a useful part of the grieving process, others find it too overwhelming to even look through any paperwork. There is no right or wrong way to deal with your grief – everyone is different.
We offer a service where the executor can literally give us all of the paperwork (guarantees for toasters bought in 1970s included!) and we will sort through everything, contact the relevant institutions to establish the value of the estate, then prepare the necessary forms to make the application for the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration. The executor/administrator will then approve and sign the forms and we make the application to the Probate Registry. Once the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration is issued, we collect all of the assets in and arrange for them to be distributed as per the Will/Rules of Intestacy. The fees for this option depend on the amount of work needed.
We also offer to simply complete the forms for the application from the information regarding the assets provided to us by the executor/administrator who then approves and signs the forms and once the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration are issued we hand the document to them to finalise the estate. This option is carried out on a fixed fee basis so you know exactly how much you will pay before the work commences.
All in all, you need someone who is empathetic, understands your needs and will deal with the estate competently.
If you would like to talk to one of our empathetic specialist advisers, you can call us free on 0808 302 3464 (also free to call from mobiles) or email enquiry@jacksonlees.co.uk. Alternatively, visit our website www.jacksonlees.co.uk
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