Personal Services - Probate and Trusts

Administration of Estates

Administration of an estate involves practical and technical issues, especially where payment of Inheritance Tax is required.  Our advice will ensure that administration proceeds efficiently so that distributions to beneficiaries can be made as quickly as possible.

We will explain the terminology such as “Grant of Probate” or “Grant of Letters of Administration”, and what needs to be done to obtain this.  The executors or administrators will then be able to deal with the wishes of the person who has died or apply the intestacy rules, if no Will has been made.

Trusts

Trusts can be set up during a person’s lifetime, or on their death in their Will. They can provide for a wide variety of situations:   

• On behalf of children
• Protect against spend thrift beneficiaries
• Provide security for dependants
• As a fund for the benefit of family members according to future needs
• Tax planning reasons
• As an investment vehicle 
• For pensions for employees and dependants
• To allow property to be held for successive generation
• Charitable purposes

Individuals of the Private Client team are members of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), both of which are specualist organisations.

To read a recent article on Contentious Probate, please click here to go through to our News and Events page.

For more information please contact any member of our Private Client team; Tina Wong, Jane Dwyer, Jennifer Beaujeux, Jeremy Holding, Tim Friedlander and John Leggett.