WILLS & PROBATE - HELP FOR YOU

There are advantages to using a Solicitor to draw up your will. It is possible to draw up a will yourself, however, the law is complex and if there are errors in the will, this can cause problems after your death. This may result in legal costs, which will reduce the amount of money in the estate.
 
Your estate may be more valuable than you first thought, and using a solicitor will ensure that nothing is overlooked or misunderstood.
 
At ACSL Solicitors, we have the expertise and experience to help you make a will that’s right for you and your family, whatever your circumstances. We offer a personal service and are happy to meet when and where it’s best for you.

​Our lead probate solicitor is Gina Stanton.

 

​Probate is the term used when dealing with the Estate of an individual who has died. A person’s Estate is generally made up of money, property and possessions they had at the time of their death. The process involves collecting money that is owed, settling any outstanding debts against the Estate, which remains frozen until the Probate Registry gives authority for the nominated Executor named in the will to divide the estate amongst the beneficiaries. This is known as the Grant of Probate. It can typically take 4 months or so to obtain the Grant of Probate.

If there is no Will, a close relative of the deceased can apply to the Probate Registry to deal with the estate. In this case, they apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration. If a grant is given, they are known as the “Administrators” of the estate. Like the Grant of Probate, the Grant of Letters of Administration is a legal document which confirms the Administrator’s authority to deal with the deceased person’s assets.

Please read this blog article for a more detailed overview of Probate and the processes it involves.

We are able to offer Probate work on a fixed fee basis straightforward cases. You can find details of our fees by clicking on the OUR FEES tab above. Estate Administration fees are also set out on that page.
 

Estate Administration 

This service involves obtaining the Grant, collecting in the assets and settling the liabilities of the estate and then, distributing the assets in accordance with the terms of the Will of the deceased. We handle the full administration process for you. On average, typical estates are usually dealt with within 9-12 months.

Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate takes between approximately 3-4 months.

Collecting the assets, identifying all of the beneficiaries and discharging all liabilities of the estate can take between 2-3 months.

Once this has been done, we will prepare an estate account providing you with a breakdown of the transactions of all funds coming in and out of the estate and outlining how the estate is to be distributed. Once this has been approved, we will then move on to distributing the estate. This final step usually takes approximately 1 month.

There is also a Statutory waiting period of 6 months from the date of the Grant. This deals with potential claims to the estate and if you wish to adhere to the statutory waiting period, this usually takes the administration period to between 9-12 months from the date of death instead of 2-3 months. We would advise you to consider this.