Hints and tips:
...“The RSPCA does not believe the probate service has the necessary resources or expertise” to deal with applications, it said....
...By running through what would be involved in doing your own probate (or confirmation in Scotland), you will discover what it would be like for someone else....
...As I often worked abroad, I never got probate. The house was left empty. Now, aged 78, I am anxious to sell up but can’t, as getting probate is too complicated....
...Look at the bottom of the grant of probate — it will confirm the name of the solicitor who applied for the grant of probate....
...In England, people usually apply for a Grant of Probate to handle the administration....
...Andrew Reay, probate manager at law firm Harbottle & Lewis, says the grant of probate is the document that gives the executors named in your will the authority to deal with your estate....
...For example, many Americans hold their wealth through US living trusts to avoid probate, but for UK residents this may give rise to tax complications....
...You will need to speak with a family lawyer (if you haven’t already) and a wills and probate lawyer....
...Carrie Duncan, probate partner at Withersworldwide law firm, says this issue arises because the trusts your father created with Standard Life and the other companies are distinct entities from the estate...
...Almost 390 probate disputes were brought before the High Court over the first nine months of 2023, more than double that in the same period in 2016....
...Applications for probate can only be made once inheritance tax has been paid....
...Yorkshire borough of Calderdale near Leeds has teamed up with genealogists Fraser & Fraser to locate estate executors or living relatives of the deceased owners of properties that remain empty as a result of probate...
...considerations before making an application under the Act should include double-checking that the deceased was domiciled in England and Wales and that any application is made within six months of the grant of probate...
...It can end up in court — probate disputes brought before the High Court in the first nine months last year had more than doubled the number in the same period seven years earlier....
...Peter, whose solicitors are currently applying for probate — the formal declaration of validity — on his father’s will, says his main concern is to optimise his use of the money....
...In south London, one of his clients has just had an offer accepted on a probate sale — where the executors, the deceased owner’s children, are also the beneficiaries — for £2.1mn in cash....
...Sweeping changes, some of which have been implemented, include virtual court hearings, online portals for divorce and probate applications, and digital case records....
...Most attempts to block probate — known as caveats — are made by family members suspicious about the latest version of the deceased person’s will....
...Accessing or attempting to access a person’s devices and online platforms without due authority is a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and so a grant of probate is often required by online...
...The case of Switzerland vs Bondholders will be argued as hotly and lengthily as Jarndyce vs Jarndyce, a fictional probate case only benefiting lawyers. It could prove excruciating for Switzerland....
...“HMRC seems very reluctant to accept anything other than the ultimate sale price as probate value in these circumstances unless there is a demonstrable change in market conditions,” he said....
...She is forced to take a post at a small probate firm, and the petty office politics, strange clients, and Helen’s own — often clumsy — interactions are, genuinely, laugh-out loud funny....
...Emily Robertson, a wills, trusts and probate specialist at Burgess Mee Family Law, says there are more cost-efficient ways to make small amendments to a will than producing a new one....
...The first task is applying for grant of probate....
...Katherine Pymont, a senior associate in the contentious trusts and probate team at law firm Kingsley Napley, says cases like this sadly occur all too often....
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