probate, administration
and court of protection

overview

Our team of specialist lawyers advises both individuals and a range of organisations including charities and nationwide trust companies. Our key skill is to understand the needs and objectives of those involved in dealing with someone’s estate at what can be a sad and difficult time.

Whether dealing with non-contentious or contentious probate, we provide a friendly and sympathetic service which aims to ensure that the probate process is conducted smoothly and efficiently. We can assist you in obtaining a grant of probate (or letters of administration in the absence of a will). This is often needed to authorise the person appointed to deal with the estate of the deceased. We also deal with all aspects of the administration of the estate, from the valuation of assets and the payment of inheritance tax to the gathering in and distribution of the assets in accordance with the will or under the intestacy rules.

We also specialise in providing tax advice to executors and administrators and in many cases this leads to significant savings in the inheritance tax bill. We have been able to achieve considerable tax savings in a number of estates by the use of deeds of variation. These are perfectly legitimate tax saving devices and in appropriate circumstances can be used to obtain the benefit of the nil rate inheritance tax band which otherwise might not have been utilised. There are opportunities for post-death tax savings in a number of other situations and our specialist team will be happy to give further advice on this.

Our lawyers are highly experienced and have a proven track record in providing high quality advice in an approachable and sympathetic way in all aspects of probate and estate administration. Our work as one of only two providers of non-contentious legal services to the trust company of one of the major banks provides us with the fullest range of experience in our field and is an acknowledgment of our expertise.