Wills and Probate

Wills

If you are over 18 years of age and have children or possessions, then you should consider making a Will.  If you want to ensure that your wishes come into effect when you are no longer here, having a Will provides this reassurance.

If you pass away without making a valid Will then the law states who benefits from your estate.

At Thornes we offer different types of Wills to suit your individual wishes and circumstances. All Wills are prepared within a fixed fee and we offer advice relating to lifetime gifts and Inheritance Tax planning.

Lasting Powers of Attorneys

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a document which is prepared by an individual who has mental capacity.

The Lasting Power of Attorney document offers protection for the Donor should the Donor be unable to manage his/her financial and care affairs due to physical incapacity such as old age or disability or mental incapacity such as Alzheimer’s or Dementia.

At Thornes the Lasting Power of Attorney documents are prepared within a fixed fee.

Deputyship Application to the Court of Protection 

If a loved one has unfortunately lost mental capacity and is unable to manage their financial affairs, you may be able to apply to the Court of Protection to become a court appointed deputy to deal with the affairs of the individual concerned on their behalf.

Our experts at Thornes can prepare the application for you and guide you through this process, our fees are fixed by the court.

Probate and Administration of Estate

Probate and Administration of the Estate

There are various stages to go through from the start of the Probate process and we can attend to these on behalf of the executors  of the estate named in the will or the administrators if there is no will :-

• Obtain details of the assets and liabilities of the estate
• Register the death with relevant third parties (banks, insurers, utility providers)
• Prepare the application for the grant
• Prepare forms for HMRC if there is Inheritance Tax to pay
• Arrange for payment of Inheritance Tax if there are enough funds in a bank or building society account
• Apply for the grant
• Collect in the assets of the estate
• Pay any liabilities
• Prepare Estate accounts showing what is available for distribution to the beneficiaries
• Arrange for distribution to the beneficiaries

At Thornes we can provide the professional advice and guidance for the Executors/ Administrators in dealing with all issues when someone passes away including the following:

• Obtaining a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration 
• Inheritance Tax and Administration of the Estate 
• Post Death Variations and Disclaimers 

Services which are not included in the quote for Probate work

In some cases there are situations where extra work needs to be carried out which is not part of the actual grant application and administration of the estate, some examples are:-

1. Locating a will if searches need to be carried out
2. If there are foreign assets
3. If there is a dispute about the estate
4. Dealing with the sale or transfer of a property within the estate
5. Trust work  – further information would be gathered at initial interview

If there are other scenarios which do not fall within the initial quote, then we will notify you as soon as we are made aware of the circumstances.

Timescales

Grants of Probate are produced by the Probate Registry and currently are taking between 1-4 months once the application has been input into the Registry’s system.

Once the Grant of Probate is received by us, the administration of the estate can take between 2 – 18 months and this is dictated by the complexity of the estate and the number of beneficiaries.   In some cases it is possible to make interim payments to beneficiaries before the estate is finally distributed.

If you would like to discuss any of our services further, please contact a member of our team who would be happy to help.