What is a Grant of Probate and When do I need one?

What is a Grant of Probate?

When a person dies you may need to get a Grant of Probate. It is issued from a Probate Registry (Court) and is a legal document which proves the validity of the Will.

A Grant of Probate allows the Executor/Administrator to deal with the assets (money, property, personal possessions, debts) in a deceased’s estate, for example:

• To close their bank accounts
• To sell their property
• To sell or transfer shares or investments
• To pay their debts and expenses (mortgages, loans, credit cards etc)
• Collect in any assets of the estate, (shares, pensions funds etc) and
• To Distribute assets in line with the Will, or if there is no Will the Government set Rules of Intestacy

If the deceased didn’t leave a Will, this is called Grant of Letters of Administration. You apply for both in the same way.

Executors are the person or people named in the Will to administer the estate; carry out the deceased person’s wishes in their Will.

Executors and Administrators (called this where there is no Will) can be called collectively the Personal Representatives.

When do I need a Grant of Probate?  

A Grant of Probate is almost always needed when the person who died leaves one or more of the following: –

• £5,000 or more
• Stocks or shares
• Certain insurance policies
• Property or land held in their sole name, or as ‘Tenants in Common’

In most cases above, the bank or relevant financial institution will need to see the Grant of Probate before transferring control of the assets. However, if the estate is small some organisations, such as banks and building societies, may choose to release the money to you.

You may not need a Grant of Probate if the deceased: –

• Left less than £5,000
• Owned everything (land, bank accounts) jointly with someone else, such as their spouse or civil partner, and everything passes automatically to the surviving joint owner
• Only had low value savings and premium bonds

To find out if the assets can be obtained without a Grant of Probate, the executor or administrator will need to write to each financial institution (e.g. bank) informing them of the death (supplying a copy of the death certificate) and ask if a Grant of Probate is required to access the assets held. Unfortunately, every financial organisation has their own rules in relation to when they require a Grant of Probate to be obtained.

The Grant of Probate process in England and Wales follows these rules but the requirements in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.

If you require any further help and advice realating to this subject, please do contact me either via telephone on 01543 561 531 or vai email at a.bradley@timms-law.com

You can also find further information on our the Wills & Probate page.

Post writen byAnna Bradley

February 2019