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Probate and Estate Administration

Brindley Twist Tafft & James

Probate and Estate Administration

Probate & Estate Administration Solicitors

We can make dealing with the estate of a loved one simpler and less stressful.

The death of a loved one is invariably a time of grief and vulnerability for those who are left behind. At this time, dealing with practicalities and decisions regarding the estate of the person who has died is probably the last thing that is wanted.

Our highly experienced probate solicitors understand these difficulties and will talk to those responsible for estate administration – the executors (or administrators, if no Will was left). We can offer close support and advice and, on the executors’ behalf, handle all the various aspects that need to be dealt with following a bereavement as part of the estate administration.

We can help in different ways to suit your requirements. For example, some clients wish us to deal only with the preparation of forms for them. However, many wish us to deal with the whole of the administration. We can also act as professional executors or estate administrators where required.

Get in touch with our probate solicitors in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common and Southam

If you need assistance with any part of estate or probate administration, please get in touch.

We have offices in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common and Southam. Our solicitors work across the whole of the Coventry and Warwickshire region, including Stratford-upon-Avon, Rugby, Nuneaton, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth and Atherstone, as well as further afield.

Our probate and estate administration expertise

Our probate solicitors can help with matters including:

Registering the death
Estate valuations
Grant of probate
Grant of letters of administration (where there is no Will)
Collecting the estate assets
Inheritance Tax returns
Distribution of bequests
Dealing with state benefits and income tax
Intestacy (where there is no Will)
Inheritance and estate administration disputes (contested probate)

What to do when someone dies

Registering the death

The first step is to register the death. This can be done by contacting the local Register Office, who will arrange the appointment and let you know what information/documents you need to take. If the death was unexpected and a Coroner needs to be involved, then the Coroner’s office will talk you through the next steps.

Funeral arrangements

Once the death has been registered, the funeral arrangements can proceed, you may already know the person’s wishes, or they may have written instructions as part of their will or elsewhere. Most funerals in the UK are arranged via a funeral director. It is important to find a funeral director who belongs to one of the professional associations where they must adhere to codes of conduct.

Letting official organisations and key institutions know about the death

Alongside the funeral, there are other affairs that need to be sorted. These include informing government agencies, banks, pension providers and any other relevant organisations of the death. The government’s Tell Us Once Service is a process where you can make one report which will cover all government agencies, this will be explained to you at your appointment with the Registrar.

Estate administration

There is also the process of dealing with the estate. If there’s a Will, it should say who the executor is and how the estate should be divided. If there’s no Will, the estate will fall under the rules of intestacy. Either way, the estate administration, or probate as it is known, process can be very daunting. Our highly experienced estate administration solicitors can guide you every step of the way, giving confidence that everything has been handled correctly and making things much less stressful for you.

The probate & estate administration process

Valuing the estate

If personal representatives wish us to deal with the whole of the administration, we will firstly find out what assets and liabilities the estate comprises. Our probate solicitors will then obtain accurate valuations of these from the various organisations.

Grant of probate

Once the assets, liabilities and total value of the estate are confirmed, it is time to make an application for ‘grant of probate’. This gives you the legal right to deal with the estate and is achieved by completing and submitting the relevant HM Revenue & Customs form.

An application must also be made to the probate court to obtain the grant. In straight forward cases, this application is made online. Other more complex matters still have to be dealt with by post. We can deal with all of this for the PRS.

Collecting the estate assets

Once obtained, the grant will allow our probate solicitors to collect the estate assets, settle any debts and, on the approval of the executors, distribute the estate funds according to the Will. If no Will was left, the estate assets will need to be distributed in accordance with the intestacy rules.

Inheritance Tax

Certain estates may be subject to inheritance tax. As part of the application, we will deal with the calculation and ensure the timely payment of the tax.

Resolving issues around state benefits and income tax owed to or by the deceased

If any state benefits are due to the estate or, in the case of an overpayment, due to be repaid by the estate, then we will liaise with the Department for Work and Pensions. Similarly, if income tax is due to or by the estate, we will communicate with HMRC.

Maintaining insurance on property

If the estate includes a property, we will be happy to talk to the insurance company, ensuring that the relevant cover continues, particularly if the property is unoccupied. The clearance of a property can be an arduous and sometimes upsetting task, so, if required, we can arrange for the clearance to be done by a professional, competitively-priced company.

Answering queries

Throughout the administration period, our probate and estate lawyers will ensure that the executors are kept fully informed of the work we are undertaking, any queries responded to promptly and, importantly, the charge we make for our services, open to transparency and scrutiny through our time-recording system.

Probate fees and costs

For more information on the costs involved with probate when working with our probate and estate administration lawyers, please click on the box below:

Guide to Probate Prices

Probate & Estate Administration FAQ's

Probate is the legal name for the right to deal with a person’s estate after they have died. This is secured by applying for a ‘grant of probate’. However, if the deceased did not leave a Will, you will instead need to apply for ‘letters of administration’. A probate solicitor can assist you with this.

Estate administration is the process of dealing with the property, money and other assets (the ‘estate’) of someone who has died. Estate administration involves steps such as working out the value of the deceased’s assets and any money that they owed, paying any Inheritance Tax due on the estate and then distributing the assets from the estate according to the terms of the deceased’s Will (or the laws of intestacy if there is no Will).

Many people use specialist probate lawyers to help with parts of the estate administration process or to handle the whole process for them.

Probate is not necessarily always required when someone dies. If they only had savings and/or owned property, land, shares or money jointly with others, then probate may not be required.

Jointly owned assets will automatically pass to the surviving co-owners without the need for probate. Probate may or may not be needed for savings, depending on the rules of the financial institution that holds the savings.

Probate usually takes up to a year, however, it can take much longer if there are complex issues to deal with, such as inheritance disputes. Using expert solicitors for probate can help the process run faster and more smoothly

If an estate is valued at £5,000 or less, then there is no fee for the grant of probate. For estates worth in excess of £5,000, the fee is £300. Other costs, such as legal fees, will depend on the circumstances, so it is always a good idea to seek advice on this at an early stage. Generally, these fees can be taken from the estate assets.

See our guide to probate pricing.

An executor or estate administrator is legally responsible for the contents of the estate, i.e. the deceased’s money, property, personal possessions and other assets. They also have a duty to settle the estate’s debts, sell any assets as required, pay any Inheritance Tax, Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and other taxes owed by the estate and distribute the estate’s assets in line with the deceased’s Will or the rules of intestacy. They must also report the estate’s value, income and tax liabilities to HMRC.

Using a solicitor for probate can provide assurance that your legal responsibilities as an executor or estate administrator have been properly carried out.

Whether probate is needed will depend on what types of assets the deceased had in their estate. As covered above, if they only had savings and/or jointly owned assets (such as property, land, shares or money), then probate may not be needed. Otherwise, probate will likely be required.

One point to note is that if the deceased did not leave a Will, then someone close to them will need to apply for ‘letters of administration’ rather than a grant of probate.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) will need to be paid by the end of the sixth month after the deceased’s date of death. The standard rate of Inheritance Tax is 40%, but this is only paid on the value of the estate above certain thresholds.

The basic IHT threshold is £325,000, meaning that the first £325,000 of someone’s estate is free from IHT, but any value over this is taxable. So, for example, if someone’s estate was valued at £425,000, IHT would only be due on the £100,000 that was above the threshold, giving a tax bill of £40,000.

Other Inheritance Tax exemptions may apply, depending on the situation. For example, a person’s home can pass to their spouse or civil partner on death without the need to pay IHT on its value. The IHT threshold also rises to £500,000 if the deceased leaves their home to their children or grandchildren, meaning this much of their estate would be tax free.

Contact our probate solicitors in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common and Southam

Our probate solicitors can help and guide you through the entire estate administration process, easing confusion and providing support after a death. If you require supportive advice or guidance on any administration, probate, trust or Will matter, then please get in touch with one of our solicitors.

Contact us at one of our offices in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common or Southam or email one of our solicitors below to see how we can help.

Please note: The deceased does not need to hold a Will with us for us to assist with probate and estate administration. We can work on behalf of all clients regardless of who someone made their Will with.

Saher Iqbal

Solicitor, Head of Private Client

Rachel Collett

Chartered Legal Executive, Private Client

Emma Wallbank

Chartered Legal Executive, Private Client

Nancy Tebbutt

Solicitor, Private Client

Get in touch with our expert Solicitors today

Our team of highly experienced solicitors work from offices in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common and Southam. Our solicitors work across the whole of the Coventry and Warwickshire region, as well as further afield.