When a person dies, somebody has to deal with their affairs. This is called administering the estate. If there is a Will, it will name people to act as executors and these are the people who administer the estate. We will assist the executors in applying for a Grant of Probate , for example proving the Will is valid so the executors can access all the assets.

If there is no Will then we will assist anyone who has a right to apply to administer the estate, and access the assets, for what is known as a Grant of Letters of Administration.

When is a Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration needed? If the person who has died has left less than a total of £5,000.00, or owned everything jointly with someone else, then it is quite often not needed. However, even if the estate is less than this, some financial organisations may require a formal Grant. Some banks may agree to pay the funds to a personal representative without obtaining a formal Grant.