Probate explained

‘Probate’ is a convenient umbrella term for what happens when someone dies and has assets that are sufficiently large in terms of value that the body, company or institution holding them will only release them on production of a Court document saying that the person asking for them is the person lawfully entitled to them.

The court document is called a ‘Grant of Representation’ and it can be either a ‘Grant of Probate’ or a ‘Grant of Letters of Administration’, both of which are explained in more detail below. Essentially it means holder, as the ‘Personal Representative’ of the deceased, has the permission of the Court to deal with the deceased’s estate.

The Court in question is the Probate Registry, which is part of the High Court. One of its main functions is to make sure that the property of the deceased is distributed to those entitled to it either under a Will or, if there is no Will, under the rules of Intestacy, which set out who will get what in the absence of a Will. There are currently 11 District Probate Registries and 18 Probate Sub-Registries situated throughout England and Wales, as well as the Principal Probate Registry, which is based in London and a number of small offices based in local courts that are used for ‘interviews’.

This article was written via Paul Handford at RWFC

If you have you have any questions or queries regarding the above article please e-mail Paul Handford

Also see:

Probate procedure liable for inheritance tax
Probate procedure not liable for inheritance tax
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