Probate
What about probate ?
How do you sort out the estate of the deceased ?
When a person dies somebody has to deal with his or her estate . Their estate includes their money , property and the possessions they have left . If you are the person doing this you collate all the funds , pay any debts and share out the estate to those people entitled to it .
You can do this yourself or you can engage a solicitor to do this for you . You may already have a solicitor your family uses . If not , you will need to choose one . Ask friends for recommendations and , when you contact them , ask about their charges .
How can you get help to cancel council services ?
The Registrar who registers the death will provide you with a reference number for a service called Tell Us Once , which you can use to notify local and central government departments about the death .
How do you apply for probate ?
To sort out someone ’ s estate , you may need to apply for probate . The Probate Office will give you a grant of probate if the person left a will , or will grant letters of administration if there isn ’ t a will . Your local Probate Registry will send you the forms you need with notes and guidance on what you have to do . A useful helpline telephone number is 0300 123 1072 .
What does a grant of probate , or letter of administration , allow you to do ?
A grant of probate is a legal document which allows the people named in it to collect and distribute the estate of the deceased . You can show it to organisations that hold these assets , such as banks or building societies . Probate is the process of officially proving that a will is valid , but the following information applies equally where the deceased died without leaving a will - in which case the grant is called a letter of administration .
Is a grant of probate needed in all cases ?
Not always . It may not be necessary to obtain a grant of probate where a home is held in joint names and is passing by survivorship to the other joint owner where a joint bank or building society account is held .
Production of a death certificate may be sufficient for the monies to be transferred to the joint holder and certain institutions may release monies without a grant being produced if the amount held by the deceased was small . You will need to apply to the institutions to see if they will release monies without a grant .
Staff at probate registries will offer procedural guidance on how to obtain a grant . They cannot provide legal advice .
Oxford District Probate Registry Combined Court Building St Aldates Oxford OX1 1LY
Tel : 01865 793055 Fax : 01865 793090 Opening times : Monday-Friday , 9.30am - 4pm
22 https :// www . gov . uk / applying-for-probate
ADVICE AND HELPLINE :
0345 241 2489