Professional Probate Services Southend-On-Sea Posted by Probate Bureau , 20/11/2018

Professional Probate Services Southend-on-Sea

Professional probate services Southend-On-Sea. Your questions answered by The Probate Bureau.

What Is Probate?

Probate is the process of settling someone's estate or getting the permission to carry out the wishes within someone's will. To gain this permission, you will need to apply for a grant of probate. If you find yourself responsible for executing someone's will, there are specific rules that detail how you should notify the authorities and distribute the estate properly.

What Is a Will?

A will is a legal record by which a person conveys their choice of how their house and assets, also known as their estate, will be distributed when they pass away. A minimum of one executor has to be appointed in the will, and they will be responsible for handling the estate right up to its conclusions.

Is a Will Necessary?

Most people should have a will. Wills will help you to distribute your property properly, name an executor, name guardians for children and more. It'll just make things much easier for your family and friends to sort everything out when you pass away - without a will, this process can be more time consuming and stressful. If you pass away without a will, all your assets will be distributed within the law of inheritance. This also means that if you have children and they are minors, the probate court will also appoint a conservator for them, as well as a guardian. This is why a legally created will is vital to make sure any minors are looked after and cared for by the right person.

How Does The Probate Process Work?

The probate process usually consists of:

• Valuing the estate.
• Collating the deceased bank accounts and insurance policies.
• Completing the Probate Application Form (PA1).
• Even if the estate doesn’t owe any inheritance tax (IHT) an IHT 205 form needs to be completed for the HMRC.
• Submitting the forms.
• Attending a probate meeting to vow ‘on’ oath that what you have presented is completely correct.
• Paying the taxes due.

Can I Do Probate Myself?

You can do probate yourself if you are prepared to deal with all the paperwork (including legal, financial and tax) and take on all required responsibilities and in England and Wales, there are rules about who is allowed to apply for probate.

What Forms Do I Need?

When a Probate application is submitted to the probate registry, there are several documents that need to be included. These documents will provide essential information about the estate, such as its value and how it will be distributed.

The documents that need to be submitted with a probate application are:

• An Inheritance Tax form.
• An Oath.
• The original will along with any amendments.
• Probate Application Form PA1.

What Are Probate Fees?

Probate fees are the charges for both the solicitor and the executor, which are taken from the deceased’s estate. In the event of the executor is a family member, who will inherit from the estate, then it is common for them to waive the fees.

How Much Is Inheritance Tax?

Inheritance tax is the tax on property and money acquired by inheritance. An estate will owe tax at 40% on anything over the £325,000 inheritance tax threshold when the owner dies, or 36% should a minimum of 105 be left to charity. The standard inheritance tax rate is 40%. It’s only charged for your estate that is over the threshold of £325,000. As an example, if your estate is worth £500,000 your tax-free threshold is £325,000. The inheritance tax is going to be costed at 40% of £175,000 (£500,000 minus £325,000).

Professional Probate Services Southend-On-Sea

The Probate Bureau was established in 1999 by David and Eve West after people were suffering from issues with a few of the traditional providers of probate estate administration services. We work together in partnership with our sister company TPD Financial Services, to offer custom legal and financial services, saving families money and administering estates in sometimes half the time and half the cost of most other providers.

The Probate Bureau Ethos

Here at the Probate Bureau, our main aim is to be able to save families time, money and stress in tough times. We shoulder the whole burden of winding up an estate from paying the funeral director to getting final inland revenue clearance. We provide the best service at a very fair and reasonable fixed fee and we are able to administer most of our estates within 6 months by our highly efficient and qualified team led by our in-house lawyer.

Over the years we have found that people really do appreciate a free non-obligatory meeting in their own home where all their concerns and questions can be answered fully. We don’t have any paid consultants, not do we pay out or receive any commissions from anyone. We are proud to be the longest running specialist estate administration firm in the UK, recommended by over 1000 independent funeral directors, so we have earned a high degree of trust allowing us to secure professional discounts - one which allows families to retain more money.

We are proud to deal with clients from Letchworth, Hertfordshire, Essex, London and beyond. One of our main strengths being that we aren’t a firm of solicitors, so we don’t need to charge a huge hourly rate for each telephone call, email or letter. This means that our clients can call whenever they have a question or problem without having to worry about huge escalating fees.

So, whether you feel as though you are in need of some specialist help or just simply want to find out how you can administer an estate yourself, The Probate Bureau will be able to help. We will be happy to tell you everything you need to know about properly administering a loved one’s estate.

Feel free to call us on 0808 256 2366 to check out what you should do, and most importantly shouldn’t do before you do anything else. The Probate Bureau - Professional, reliable probate service in Southend-On-Sea.