Probate is essentially the legal process of administering the provisions of a deceased person's will. When you make a will you must nominate an individual to be the executor of the will. That is the person charged with actually carrying out your financial wishes. Upon your death the court must essentially approve this by issuing a grant of probate giving the executor the legal power to do so.
Often dealing with a will is a relatively simple process in that it has been fully understood in advance what a deceased person's wishes were. In this case an appointed executor can either apply directly to the court for a grant of probate or alternatively enlist the services of a solicitor to do so on their behalf. The latter option may be less time consuming as the executor will not have to deal with the different forms needed to apply. A trained solicitor will have plenty of experience with probate and so will ensure all documentation is properly filled out. Probate costs are dependent on whether you choose to apply for it yourself or alternatively enlist a solicitor. Even amongst solicitor firms costs can vary depending on whether they charge a fixed fee or a percentage of the overall estate. It is worth calculating the best option taking into account the overall value of the estate.
When someone dies without making a will they are said to be intestate and a separate application must be carried out.
If you are appointed as an executor it is always worth looking around at the different options concerning probate to eliminate unnecessary costs.
