Documents needed for Probate

When someone dies and you are the Executor of the Will, then you will firstly need to have the following documents:

  • Death certificate; and
  • The original Will
  • Marriage certificate/civil partnership certificate (if the deceased was a widow/widower, the survivor of a civil partnership)

You will need to register the death as this is the formal record of the death.  You have five days to do this, and you will be issued with the death certificate at your appointment.

Hopefully you will know the whereabouts of the Will, but in the unlikely event that you don’t, you could try to do the following:

  • Check with family and friends.
  • Check around the deceased’s home to see if you can find the Will or if there are any documents which confirm the whereabouts of the same.
  • If the deceased had a solicitor, contact them to see if the Will is stored with them.  If you don’t know who their solicitor was, then call solicitors local to the deceased and ask them to check their records.
  • You can contact the Probate Registry to check if the Will is being stored with them.
  • Check online on the National Will Register – this is a Will search service which enables you to locate the solicitor who drafted the Will, if they registered the same.  If required, they will also undertake a search with various local solicitors on your behalf for a fee.

Once you have located the Will, you will need to work out the value of all of the deceased assets (i.e. everything they owned with a value) at the time of death, and then deduct any debts that they may have had.  Once you know the net value of the estate, you will then know if Inheritance Tax is payable.  Assets can include for example property owned, savings in bank accounts and building society account, premium bonds, ISA’s, stocks and shares, pension funds that include a lump sum payment on death, life insurance etc.   Liabilities are all the debts the deceased had including mortgage, loans, credit cards, utility bills etc.   An example of documents which you would need to value the estate could include:

  • Bank and building society statements.
  • Premium bonds
  • ISA statements
  • Stocks and shares certificate
  • Pension documents
  • Life insurance policy
  • Deeds of property
  • Mortgage statement
  • Household/utility bills
  • Bills for goods or services
  • Loan statements
  • Credit card bills

Whether probate is needed depends on the value of the estate, the type of assets in the estate and how those assets are held (whether in the deceased’s sole name or in joint names with another person). If the amount of money held in banks, building societies etc is over the probate threshold commonly between £5,000 – £50,000, then Probate is likely needed.  This threshold can differ though with financial institutions, and they can still request a Grant of Probate before releasing the money even if the value is less.   Probate will definitely be needed if the deceased owned a property in their sole name and likely, if they held stock and shares in their sole name and they need to be sold or transferred to the beneficiaries.

Do you need Probate for joint assets such as joint bank accounts:

The joint asset/bank account will usually pass automatically to the surviving joint owner on death without a Grant of Probate.  This happens by the process called “Right of Survivorship”.

Do you need Probate for a jointly owned property:

This will depend on how the property is owned.  There are two ways in which a property can be jointly owned, namely by way of “joint tenants” or “tenants in common”.   If the property is held by way of “joint tenants,” this means the property is owned equally by the two people and they have the equal right to keep or dispose of it – so probate is not required to transfer the property.  Whereas “tenants in common” means that each party owns a specific percentage share of the property, and so the “Right of Survivorship” does not apply, meaning they can pass the percentage of the property to whoever they choose in their Will – so probate will be required in this instance.

What to do if you need probate:

If you have established from valuing the estate that probate is needed, you will then need to proceed to make an application for a Grant of Probate.  A Grant of Probate is a legal document that proves the Will is valid (if there is one) and allows the Executor named in the Will to administer the estate.  Once you have the Grant of Probate, you can then proceed to start closing accounts, collecting assets etc, so you can you administer the estate in line with your loved ones wishes within the Will.

Can I deal with probate myself:

It is possible for you to deal with Probate yourself, but it can be stressful or overwhelming, and sometimes complicated. It also carries risk because as an Executor you will be personally responsible for making sure the estate is dealt with correctly such as interpreting the terms of the Will, reporting to HMRC, declaring the estate position to the Court, dealing with any unpaid debts or if the beneficiary does not receive the correct inheritance.  To avoid any stress or risk to you, you can always instruct a firm of solicitors to deal with this on your behalf.   My Probate Solicitors are here to help, and we will support you throughout the journey.

This note is not intended to give specific legal advice and is prepared by My Probate Legal Limited trading as My Probate Solicitors, a limited liability company registered in England and Wales under registration number 15337116. Registered office: Centurion House, 129  Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3WR. Authorised and regulated (under SRA number 8007072) by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.