Probate
What you need to know
Probate is the legal process whereby a named executor disperses the estate of someone who has died. An executor is legally responsible for administering an estate and distributing assets in accordance with the deceased person’s Will.
The Law allows you to nominate a family member or friend (known as a “Lay” executor) to dispense your will. Sometimes a loved one may die without having left a Will, however their estate must still be dealt with according to the Law. To ensure that your wishes and those of your loved ones are adhered to and in accordance with the rules and laws of intestacy, it is strongly advisable to appoint a professional to handle matters.
This is where A Save & Prosper operate as a legal consultancy providing expert Will writing services and Estate Planning advice. Goodwill’s Legal Services Limited, which carries out the legal work, is a regulated law firm and so clients can be certain that they are receiving professional advice from a fully insured practice can help.
Why you need a professional executor
- The process of Probate can easily overwhelm an inexperienced “Lay” executor, which can result in Probate not being properly applied for and/or trusts not set up!
- The finalising of an estate can sometimes takes many years, especially when there is complex tax planning or where litigation occurs.
- There are certain legal procedures that must be followed in order to protect both executors and beneficiaries.
An executor faces unlimited personal legal liability if they do not dispense an estate properly. This applies even to inexperienced “Lay” executors.
A professional executor can complete the administration of Probate quickly and efficiently (e.g. deal with income tax returns and/or claims from the Department for Work & Pensions.)
Case Studies
Mr. & Mrs. J. jointly own the family home. When Mr. J. dies, his children deal with the Will as “Lay executors. The Will contains a Property Protection Trust (PPT), which is supposed to “ring fence” their father’s 50% share of the house so they can later inherit it when Mrs. J. dies. However, because of theft inexperience as executors, they fail to properly set up the PPT.
10 years later, Mrs. J moves into a care home. Because care costs are means tested and because her children did not properly set up the PPT in her husband’s will, she now has to pay the full cost of care. This is because she is now deemed as owning 100% of the family home. The children, who believed the Will “ring fenced” their father’s 50% share of the property, now see their inheritance eroded by care costs
If Mr. J had chosen a professional executor, the PPT would have been set up properly, meaning Mrs. J’s care costs would have been means tested against only her 50% share of the home. This would have left her husband’s share (due to the children after her death) untouched.
It always pays to go with a professional. The above scenario is not an uncommon event. Many “Lay” executors get it badly wrong or neglect the setting up of trusts, which can result in serious losses of inheritance in later years. Why you can trust A Save & Prosper operate as a legal consultancy providing expert Will writing services and Estate Planning advice with Goodwill’s Legal Services Limited, which carries out the legal work, is a regulated law firm and so clients can be certain that they are receiving professional advice from a fully insured practice.