Probate and
Intestacy
What is Probate and Intestacy?
Probate is an official document that
gives the executors of a will the right to deal with the
personal assets and property of a dead person. It is a formal
recognition that the executor has the right to deal with the
estate and is acceptable to all institutions.
The role of the executor can be an
onerous one – when you apply for probate you are promising the
Probate Court that you will administer the estate in accordance
with the terms of the will as well as the law. If you fail to
do this, you could be in trouble with the court.
If there is no will or no executors
appointed in the will, the official document is known as
letters of administration and this confers the same rights as a
grant of probate.
There are some situations in which you
do not need to apply for a grant of
probate:
- If everything owned was held in
joint names then the dead person’s share usually transfers
automatically to the survivor
- Any bank or building society
accounts that the person held that contains less than £5000
(although they have the right to insist on probate if they
choose to)
- If the estate is very
small
However, you will need
probate or letters of administration in the following
circumstances
- The dead person had stocks or shares
or
- A bank, building society or National
Savings account with more than £5000 in it or
- Property or land (unless owned as
joint tenants, in which case it would pass to the other
owner automatically)
If you are the executor of a will in
which the person who wrote the will (testator) has died or want
to apply for letters of administration where a close relative
has died leaving no will then we can help.
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