What’s involved in the probate process?
Once probate has been granted, you’ll be empowered to deal with all of the administration that goes with gathering and then distributing assets. That means doing things like contacting the deceased’s banks, notifying mortgage companies, the council, HMRC, Department for Work and Pensions, paying inheritance tax if any is owed, settling any outstanding bills or debts, tallying everything up, and then finding the beneficiaries and giving out what’s left at the end.
Depending on the size of estate and type of assets involved, probate can be either a relatively simple or quite complicated process.
One thing that does make things easier is the government’s Tell Us Once service, which means you can inform most key departments at once about the death. There’s also a step-by-step probate guide on the gov.uk website, to help you make sense of everything, and a guide of what to do when someone dies.
You can also use the Law Society to find reputable probate solicitors in your area, and take advantage of NHS support after bereavement.