Do I really need a Grant of Probate?

If you are preparing to wind up the estate of a loved one, you may not need to apply for a Grant of Probate (or Letters of Administration) during the course of winding up their affairs.

It is a common misconception that when dealing with an administration of an estate, the Executors or Administrators will have to obtain a ‘Grant’. The Grant is required in order for Executors to access the deceased’s assets in order to quantify and ultimately distribute them; and the same applies to property. However, there are certain circumstances where there is simply no need to obtain this:

Article by Kagowa Kuruneri

• Where property is owned jointly, as joint tenants,
• Where other assets are owned jointly,
• Where the estate is a simple estate and does not exceed the Inheritance Tax threshold,
• Where the total value of bank accounts does not exceed £5,000*,
• Where the estate is insolvent.

It is important to note that there may be some parts of the estate that will require a Grant and parts that will not. The moment any asset requires a Grant, it must be obtained with respect to the entire estate, even if some assets have been released prior to attaining the Grant.

If you are unsure whether or not you need to obtain a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, or if you more information about Wills and Estates, contact us today via email or LinkedIn.

* Some banks and building societies have their own limits where they will be prepared to release funds without need for a Grant.

www.gardenhousesolicitors.co.uk

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Tel: 01992 422 128

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Email: info@gardenhousesolicitors.co.uk
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.

Inheritance Tax: the basics

When you pass away, your estate may be required to pay Inheritance Tax. This is a tax on the money, possessions and other property you own when you die and also other assets including certain gifts made during your lifetime.

Everyone has an allowance that they can leave tax free. This is known as the ‘Nil Rate Band’ which is currently fixed at three hundred and twenty five thousand pounds (£325, 000).

Generally speaking, if your net estate is worth less than £325,000 at the time of your death, usually no tax will be payable. If your net estate is worth more than £325,000 at the time of your death then normally tax is paid on the surplus at the rate of 40%.

This is subject to various exemptions and reliefs. For example if you have a spouse or civil partner, inheritance tax would not be paid on anything they inherit from your estate. Your spouse or civil partner could then use the percentage of any remaining allowance from your estate that may not have been used when they pass away. In simple terms, this generally means that if you are a married couple or in a civil partnership with a combined estate worth less than £650,000 and you leave everything to each other on the first death, Inheritance Tax will not be an issue.

What are the implications of leaving somebody out of your will?

Article by Chris Lucas

In England and Wales, we enjoy the right of testamentary freedom, which is the right to make a will and leave your estate to whomever you wish. 

There is however an important law to consider before you decide to write somebody out of your will. This is the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 which will apply if you die domiciled in England and Wales. This law will enable certain categories of people to bring a claim against your estate if you do not ‘reasonably provide’ for them in your will. 

A recent ruling hit the headlines just this week, whereby a woman who was cut out of her mother’s will successfully claimed £164,000 from the estate, despite the fact that the will left the whole estate worth £486,000 to animal charities and the deceased had clearly expressed previously that she did not want her daughter to receive a penny of her estate.

Making substantial gifts to children: How this might affect their inheritance

Article by Chris Lucas

You may be interested to know that if you make a particular type of gift to one or more of your children during your lifetime, this could affect your children’s inheritance under the terms of your will.

The type of gift referred to here is known as a ‘portion’. A portion can be described as a substantial gift (usually of money) from a parent to a child which is made with the intention of establishing the child in life or making permanent provision for them.

A typical example of a portion would be giving one of your children a sum of money to be used as a deposit towards buying their first home. Whatever the gift might be, the key requirements for it to be considered a portion are as follows:

1. The gift must be from a parent (or a person acting in loco parentis i.e. someone who has assumed parental responsibility) to a child.
2. The gift must be substantial in value - what ‘substantial’ means will depend on the circumstances and can be open to interpretation, but generally speaking, any gift of £20,000 or more is most likely to be considered substantial.
3. The gift must have the effect of establishing the child in life or making permanent provision for them e.g. deposit for a first home or sum of money to enable the child to start up their own business.

If you have already made a will, then it is important to be aware of the potential effect of portions when you subsequently pass away. Essentially, any portions made during your lifetime after you have made your will can have the effect of ‘satisfying’ legacies left to your children under the terms of your will. This is known as the presumption against double portions.

Proclaim Case Management System

GHS has recently implemented the Law Society’s accredited Proclaim Case Management System which is streamlining a vast number of administrative processes, reducing turnaround times and increasing the quality of the service our clients receive.

We believe we need to stay ahead of the competitive legal market and by investing in this technology we anticipate providing an even better service to our clients. 

Fatal Accidents and Claims for Bereavement Compensation



Article by
Nidhi Chopra



It is an extremely difficult time when a loved one passes away, but when the death is caused by someone else’s negligence or fault then natural feelings of bereavement are also accompanied by resentment and numerous unanswered questions.

When there has been a violent, suspicious, unnatural or a sudden death of an unknown cause, the death is reported to a Coroner who will make inquiries to establish the cause of death. The Coroner may hold an inquest hearing. Reports to the Coroner are often made by doctors, hospitals and the police. The victim’s family are able to review the reports and attend the inquest to hear the evidence.

Whether the death was caused through a road traffic incident, a hospital operation going wrong, or a workplace disease; if investigations and evidence suggests that the death was caused by someone’s negligence or fault, then the law has made provisions to allow bereaved relatives to claim compensation from the wrong doer to support them, as far as money can provide, for their future. 

Re M - High Court Ruling 29th September 2011 - The Right to Die

Article by
Sharon Brown

Many people have been following the sad story of the brain injured lady known as M. It was announced in the press yesterday that Mr Justice Baker in the High Court ruled that M should not be allowed to die.

Her family had argued that they wished her life support machine to be turned off as she was in pain and would not have wanted a life where she was dependent on others. The Official Solicitor and the local authority responsible for her care opposed the application.

What is 'Probate'?

Article by
Sharon Brown

The loss of a loved one is always a difficult time, and being confronted with legal terms such as ‘Grant of Representation’ is not helpful. It can be daunting and confusing trying to plough through legal processes and work out what actually needs to be done. Many people mistakenly believe that a Grant is always needed but this is not the case; it is dependent on the value of the estate and whether any assets were owned jointly with someone else or held only in the deceased person’s sole name.

Changing a Will After Death

Article by
Sharon Brown

Unbeknown to many people, it is possible to ‘vary’ the contents of someone’s Will after they have passed away, provided the people who would have inherited are happy to sign a Deed of Variation (also called a Deed of Family Arrangement).

A Will sets out the final wishes of a person and many people mistakenly believe that this cannot be altered. However, a Deed of Variation can be used to ‘re-write’ certain parts of a person’s Will. The original purpose of these documents was to protect people’s dependents being unfairly deprived but they are now commonly used to reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax payable on an estate.

What are the Intestacy Rules?

Article by
Sharon Brown

If someone dies without leaving a valid Will, they die ‘intestate’. The law then determines who their estate passes to.  This is a simple guide only, and we would urge you to contact us if you require advice relevant to your own circumstances. Please note that the figures quoted are correct as at June 2011.