Straightforward Guide To Probate And The Law , livre ebook

Straightforward Publishing - Julie Peters

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112 pages

English

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Description

A Straightforward Guide to Probate and the Law Revised Edition, is a concise and informative Guide to all the processes that underpin probate and the obtaining of probate. The book is designed exclusively for anyone who is either a family member or who is acting as an executor of an estate. By using this clear and easy to understand Guide, the processes of applying for probate and also understanding taxation and the final accounts and finalizing the probate process will become Clear. Will formulation is also covered.

Informations

Publié par	Straightforward Publishing
Date de parution	25 mai 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781802361292
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0300€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

A Straightforward Guide To Probate and the Law
Julie Peters
Editor: Roger Sproston
Straightforward Guides
www.straightforwardco.co.uk
Straightforward Guides
Straightforward Company Ltd 2022
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder.
British Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record is available for this book from the British library.
ISBN 978-1-80236-051-6 ePUB ISBN: 978-1-80236-129-2 Kindle ISBN: 978-1-80236-136-0
Printed by 4edge www.4edge.co.uk
Cover design by BW Studio Derby
Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, the author and publisher recognise that the information can become out of date. This is particularly relevant to legal and tax information. The book is therefore sold on the understanding that no responsibility for errors and omissions is assumed and no responsibility is held for the information held within.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 An Outline of Probate
What is probate?
Where to get a grant of representation to an estate
Presumption of Death Act 2013
Property held jointly
Value of the estate
Obtaining a grant of representation and letters of administration
Dealing with the estate yourself or employing a solicitor
Problems with personal representatives
Removing someone unsuitable to act
Stopping an application for a grant
Chapter 2 An Outline of The Will
Who can wind up an estate?
The existence of a will
Is the will a valid document?
Capacity to make a will
The making of a valid will Wills created outside England and Wales
Video wills
Wills with stipulations concerning property abroad
Wills made by a member of the armed forces engaged in military service or a seaman at sea
Wills made in England and Wales
The revoking of wills Revocation by marriage or civil partnership
Revocation by destruction with intention to revoke
The creation of a new will, or revocation by codicil
Alterations and obliterations to a will
The effect of divorce or annulment of marriage or dissolution of a civil partnership on a will
Valid wills appointing an under-age executor
Executors who do not wish to act or who wish to delay acting
If no suitable executor is appointed
If there is no valid will
The number of personal representatives
Calls to rewrite Victorian laws on will making
Chapter 3 Roles and Responsibilities of Executors Before Probate
The formalities
Funeral arrangements
The responsibilities of the executor
The executors initial steps
The value of the estate
Bank accounts
National savings
Building Societies
Life Insurance
Stocks and shares
The employer
Pensions
State benefits
Businesses
Farms
Residential property
Personal possessions
Income tax
Chapter 4 Making the Probate Application
Applying for probate
Letters of administration
Applying for letters of administration
The probate registry - applying for probate
Filling in the forms
Procedure where the tax situation is complicated
Recent developments
Distributing an estate in accordance with the law of intestacy
The law of intestacy
Various points concerning distributions of the estate
Children conceived by artificial insemination or in vitrofertilisation
Underage beneficiaries
Bankrupts and those of unsound mind
Beneficiaries who cannot be found
Probate online
Sending the forms
Attendance at the probate registry
Letters of administration
The grant of probate
Chapter 5 After Probate-The Distribution of the Estate
The distribution of the estate of the deceased
Specific legacies and bequests
Transferring property
Preparation of final accounts
Where a will exists
Where beneficiaries are missing or deceased
Example of Administration Accounts
Glossary of terms
Useful Addresses
Appendix 1. Probate in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Appendix 2. Sample letters pre and post probate
Appendix 3. Sample forms for probate applications
Index
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Introduction
This Revised Edition of Probate and The Law updated to 2022, outlines the important steps that needed to be taken when acting as an executor or administrator of an estate and applying for probate and distributing the estate.
Death and dealing with death, particularly of a loved one or one who is very close, is an upsetting experience and needs to be dealt with sensitively. The last thing that most people want to deal with is the estate of the deceased person.
However, it is this aspect of death that causes the most problems in many cases. In a person s life there are many elements such as savings and investments, properties, pensions and other assets that accumulate. In many cases, when a person dies, no will has been left and it is down to friends and families to deal with these assets and to deal with the tax situation that may arise. Of course, life is easier if a will has been left spelling out who are the executors of the estate but even here the aftermath can be complicated.
This book will guide the reader through the five distinct stages: the meaning of probate; the will; actions pre-probate; applying for probate; distributing the estate. Although the stages are quite clear, quite often an individual s tax situation can be complicated. This aspect of probate is outlined in Chapter 4 . The book should prove useful to those who are in the process of dealing with the estate of a deceased person and hopefully make the whole situation clearer and less complicated.
Probate and the pandemic
Obtaining probate, along with almost all areas of life, has become more difficult due to COVID 19 and significant delays at the Probate Registry. At this point in time, 2022, the process is becoming a little easier and delays reducing, although we are now battling the Omicrom variant. For information concerning the situation go to: https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate .
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the procedures are slightly different to those in England and Wales, which this book mainly deals with. However, in Appendix 3 , there is a summary of Probate In Scotland and Northern Ireland. For more detailed advice and guidance on probate and the law in Scotland you should go to:
www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking-action/dealing-with-a-deceased s-estate-in-scotland
For Northern Ireland go to www.courtsni.gov.uk/en-GB/Services/Probate/Pages/ProbateInformation.aspx
**
Chapter 1
An Outline of Probate
What is probate?
When a person dies, it is necessary for someone to be appointed, with legal authority, to manage the deceased s financial affairs and wind up his/her estate. In law, the uncompleted financial matters of a deceased are known as the estate and the person who is given the legal authority to wind up the estate is called the legal personal representative. After the application for probate, the document which proves the legal authority of the personal representative is called the grant of representation to an estate.
Where to get a grant of representation to an estate
Grants of representation to an estate are obtained from an office of the High Court known as the Probate Registry. The process of obtaining the grant is commonly known as probate .
If someone leaves a will but dies without appointing an executor to carry out the terms of that will, or if the executors who are appointed by the will are unable or unwilling to carry out the duties of an executor, then the grant of representation obtained from the probate registry to prove that the will is a valid one and to authorize the person who obtains it to carry out its terms is called letters of administration with the will annexed . If someone dies without making a will, that person dies intestate, and the grant of representation obtained from the probate registry to authorize someone to wind up the estate is called letters of administration of the estate . Those who obtain letters of administration are known as administrators of the estate. The main difference between the executor appointed under the will and the administrator of an estate are that an executor s powers are given by the will and are more or less immediate whereas the administrators powers cannot be exercised until the Registry has appointed the administrator.
Presumption of Death Act 2013
The Presumption of Death Act, 2013 allows relatives to apply for a single certificate declaring someone presumed dead, helping them resolve that person s affairs.
Its creation follows a campaign by the charity Missing People, and relatives of missing people, including Peter Lawrence, father of missing chef Claudia Lawrence, and Rachel Elias, the sister of Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards who went missing in 1995. Their concerns were raised before the Justice Select Committee and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults, and the new law was passed.
The law, based on the Scottish Presumption of Death Act 1977, only allows families to apply for a presumption of death order after seven years.
Essentially, probate and letters of administration can be seen as title documents to the assets of the deceased person s estate. However, there are a few assets where they are not required and can be dispensed with. These include what are known as nominated assets, jointly owned assets owned as joint tenants, estates of small value and estates which consist entirely of personal effects and/or personal currency. There may however still be a requirement to deal with HMRC in relation to inheritance tax. If in doubt, contact the HMRC helpline 0300 123 1072 and outside UK 44+ 300 123 1072.
Property held jointly
Assets owned jointly are those that are not held in the sole name of the deceased. In English law, there a