Probate

Probate

Following a death, we understand what an emotional and stressful time this can be.

Unfortunately, when someone dies, although unwelcome, there are inevitably legal formalities and paperwork that needs to be dealt with.

Burningham & Brown will therefore look to ease the administrative burden on you by offering a holistic, sensitive and efficient service. As an established family practice, we have considerable experience in these matters. The Probate Department is run by Justine Alford who is a Salaried Partner and a member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners and Solicitors for the Elderly. She has more than fifteen years' experience and we aim to give you a Partner led service which guarantees you to direct access to high quality, helpful, sympathetic and professional advice at what is inevitably a very difficult time.

We can deal with all administrative tasks involved in obtaining a Grant of Probate (where there is a Will) or Grant of Letters of Administration (where there is no Will), and our experience in Estate administration allows us to offer a comprehensive and complete service starting with securing and valuing the assets, through to making sure any Inheritance Tax is paid, making sure the correct beneficiaries receive their entitlements as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The length of time it takes to administer the estate will depend on many factors including how long asset holders and HMRC take to respond to us.  In our experience it can take three to six months to obtain the Grant of Probate and another three to six months to wind up the estate.  However, in some larger estates the probate procedure can be longer, particularly if there are foreign assets; agricultural property or business assets; the deceased has an interest in a trust; a property takes some time to be sold; HMRC raises enquiries; the Department of Work and Pension puts in a claim or towards the end of the period of administration it is possible to make a claim for the refund of inheritance tax. 

If someone has died and you are appointed as Executor, or no Will can be found, we suggest that you contact us as soon as possible. We will be happy to arrange a free no obligation initial interview in order to discuss the Estate, and you can then make an informed decision as to whether you require our assistance and at the same time, if requested, we can provide you with our specified quote as to what we would estimate our charges would be.