It is undoubtedly a difficult time if a loved one passes away. 

There are a number of matters that need to be taken care of in the first couple of weeks after the person has passed away. We set some of these out in "Initial steps to take" below.

We look here at what needs to happen in relation to the deceased's property and estate.

Many a family have had to go to a great deal of trouble and expense and go through a great deal of trauma to try to unravel the affairs and property of someone who has passed away. As well as helping families - through our Portfolio  scheme - to make sure they avoid such problems, our Probate Team are expert and efficient at gathering in and distributing property and assets and their PerfectProbate  service will be invaluable in making sure everything is dealt with smoothly for you.

Is there a will?

The first thing you should do is to ascertain whether the deceased person  had made a will,  whether there were any amendments or additions to that will (these are called Codicils), and whether the deceased had written any "letters of wishes”.  This should be done before funeral arrangements are made in case the person left specific wishes about their funeral.  It may be that the deceased's solicitor holds the original Will and in this case the solicitor should be contacted. 

A clause in the Will should tell you who is appointed as Executor.  Executors are the people that will deal with the administration of the deceased's estate and property, so those executors should also be contacted as soon as possible.

If the person did not leave a Will or after a thorough search no Will can be found, their property will pass according to what are called the Intestacy Rules.  This means that instead of there being executors, the closest relatives will be appointed as Personal Representatives to deal with the administration of the estate.

Trouble locating a will, or lack of a will, or trouble finding all the deceased's papers, policies, or assets, all lead to uncertainty, delay, expense, and even disputes. We encourage our clients to get all of their affairs in order, to make things as easy as possible for their families at a time when they are already going to be very upset. To help people get all of their affairs in order, we offer our PORTFOLIO  service.

Inheritance Tax

As part of dealing with the deceased's assets - see below - the Executors (or Personal Representatives) may need to arrange for any Inheritance Tax that is due on the deceased's estate to be paid before those assets can be distributed to the beneficiaries.  We can help the executors with this issue.

Gathering and distributing the assets - "Administering the Estate”

At this stage, or after the funeral, the Executors or Personal Representatives may wish to instruct a solicitor to help with the administration of the estate. Our Probate team act in many hundreds of such estates each year - collecting all the assets in and distributing them efficiently according to the deceased's wishes. To see full details of our PerfectProbate scheme, click here. As you will see there are a number of unique and innovative features to this service that mean everything will be dealt with quickly and cost-effectively and you and all beneficiaries will be updated at every stage. 

Unless the estate is small, is mainly made up of cash, or if all property in the estate is owned jointly - for example with the spouse - before the Executors (or Personal Representatives) can do anything with the deceased's assets, they have to apply for what is called a Grant of Probate (or for Letters of Administration).  This gives them the legal authority to collect in and then distribute the deceased's assets. 

Families can try to carry out this collecting-in and distribution-out of assets themselves. Alternatively they can enlist the help of our Probate team and their PerfectProbate service to do this. Although a fee is charged for this work, our Probate team is skilled at finding out full details of the financial affairs of the person who has died.  This includes finding any information and documentation about their assets, i.e. any property they owned, bank accounts, shares, pension, state benefits, and other investments as well as any debts owed. Our Probate team are also very skilled and hugely experienced in collecting in assets and distributing them out to beneficiaries very quickly.

As part of the Probate process, as mentioned just above it may be that nothing can be distributed until any Inheritance Tax is paid. That may mean that funds have to be used from the estate, or that assets have to be sold, or that the tax money has to be borrowed from a relative or a bank. In all these situations our Probate team are very experienced and will be able to find a solution with you to any problems that arise.

Please do not hesitate to contact us - it is free of charge - to talk through your concerns in the sad event that someone has passed away. Our PerfectProbate service may be just what you need to take a weight and an additional burden of your shoulders.

All you have to do is visit our PerfectProbate website  or click on "Please Contact Me Now”. Alternatively you can contact us on 0845 567 6004.

We are keen and very able to help you at a sad time.