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What is probate?

When a person dies somebody has to deal with their estate (money property and possessions left) by collecting in all the money, paying any debts and distributing what is left to those people entitled to it. Probate is the court’s authority; given to a person or persons to administer a deceased person’s estate and the document issued by the Probate Service is called a Grant of Representation. This document is usually required by the asset holders as proof to show the correct person or persons have the Probate Service’s authority to administer a deceased person’s estate.

What is a Will?

A will sets out who is to benefit from your property and possessions (your estate) after your death. There are many good reasons to make a will:

• you can decide how your assets are shared,if you don't have a will, the law says who gets what
• if you're an unmarried couple (whether or not it's a same-sex relationship), you can make sure your partner is provided for
• if you're divorced, you can decide whether to leave anything to your former partner
• you can make sure you don't pay more Inheritance Tax than necessary

Applying for Probate

If you are an executor of someone's will you may need a legal document called a 'grant of probate' to enable you to sort out the deceased person's affairs. If there is no will, a close relative can apply for a 'grant of letters of administration'. Inheritance Tax is only applicable in a small number of cases, when the taxable value of the deceased person's estate (after exemptions) is over £285,000. The current tax rate is 40% if the amount exceeds the current threshold for 2007 / 2008.

For further information please see contact details below: 

Principal Probate Registry
LONDON
Probate Department
Principal Registry of the Family Division
First Avenue House
42-49, High Holborn
London WC1V 6NP
Tel: 020 7947 6939/6043/7431/7414/6946
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