Legal News | 7.04.22

Grants of Probate

When is a Grant of Probate required?

When someone dies, knowing what steps to take can be very daunting for those appointed as executor(s) under the deceased’s Will. An executor is the person who is responsible for dealing with an estate and may need to apply for legal authority (a Grant of Probate) in order to deal with certain aspects of the estate.

What is a Grant of Probate?

A Grant of Probate is a court issued document confirming the authority of the executor(s) to administer the estate. It offers confirmation to the various organisations who are holding the deceased’s assets that they are releasing them to the correct person.

When is a Grant of Probate needed?

In order to deal with certain assets of the deceased, the executor needs legal authority, in the form of a Grant, to act.

A Grant may be required for an estate when:

• The deceased owned property or land in their sole name or as tenants in common.
• The deceased owned a bank account in their sole name. Certain financial institutions require a Grant to release the funds within the account; however, each organisation has a different threshold below which they may release funds without a Grant.
• The deceased owned stocks and shares in their sole name. Usually, if the value of these is more than £5,000, a Grant will be required. However, the threshold varies between different share registrars/brokers.

  This is not an exhaustive list and the requirement for a Grant is likely to vary from one estate to the next, depending upon the assets within the estate and with which financial institutions those assets are held.

  Just as an executor may need to apply for a Grant of Probate, if a person dies leaving no Will, then their administrator (the equivalent of an executor) may also need to apply for legal authority, in the form of a Grant of Letters of Administration, to deal with that estate.

  If you are an executor or administrator and would like some assistance dealing with an estate, be that obtaining a Grant or the overall administration process, please get in touch with your usual contact or email the Private Client team at wealth@wansbroughs.com.