If you are named as an Executor in someone’s Will, you may have to apply for Probate. This is a legal document which grants the individual authority (through grant of Probate) to share out the estate of the deceased to the instructions in their Will. There are specific rules which are set out as to how you notify the authorities and distribute the estate when executing the Will.
If the deceased had jointly owned land, property, shares or money – these should automatically pass to the surviving owners, and therefore Probate should not be needed. You can apply for probate if you are named in the Will, or there is an update to the will (a ‘codicil’), as an ‘Executor’. If you do not want to apply for probate and there are no other named executors you can contact your local Probate office to find out what to do.
Through careful estate planning, provision for your beneficiaries relating to inheritance can be made and probate can be avoided saving time, money and unnecessary stress. Why not consider our specialist probate trust