What is a Grant of
Representation?
grant of representation is commonly
known as ‘Probate’. It is the document
issued by the Probate egistry. If
there’s a Will, a ‘rant of Probate’ is
given to the executors. If there is no
Will, the rules of intestacy apply.
‘rant of Letters of administration’
will be given to the administrators.
oth documents are collectively known
as ‘grants of representation.’ hey
confirm that the people named have
the authority to administer the estate.
Not all estates require a Grant of
representation. any banks, building
societies, etc. will release quite large sums
of money without it, providing their own
procedures are satisfied. However, if the
estate includes property or significant
investments or savings, a rant of
epresentation will be necessary.
What does it involve?
here are four key stages to
administrating an estate:
1 investigation on the
size of the estate
careful review of the deceased’s
personal papers, and increasingly his or
her electronic records, will ascertain what
was owned and owed at the date of death.
2 Do you need to pay
inheritance ax?
Inheritance ax may be payable if a person’s
estate (his or her property, money and
possessions) is worth more than £325,000
when he or she dies. his is called the
‘Inheritance ax threshold’. eanwhile, the
application for the rant of epresentation
can be submitted to the Probate egistry.
Once they receive confirmation that any tax
has been paid, the grant will be issued.
3 Collect or sell assets
and pay debts
once the grant has been received, the
Personal epresentatives can administer
the estate by closing bank accounts
and selling investments and property
which have not been passed to someone
else in the Will. ny money raised
can be used to pay any outstanding
debts, and reimburse any expenses
of the personal representatives.
4 Distribution
once the Personal epresentatives know
everything has been accounted for, they
can distribute the estate in accordance
with the Will or the rules of intestacy if
there is no Will. state accounts will then
be prepared to show how the final balance
for distribution has been calculated.
Do have to do it myself?
lthough some people are happy to
take on the responsibilities of being a
personal representative, you do not
have to do things all by yourself.
efore you start the administration of an
estate, you should consider the following:
1 The call on your time
Depending on how complicated the estate,
the administration can take several months
to finish. You must be sure that you can cope
with the additional demand on your time.
2 Estate complications
here may be complications with the
estate which may require some legal
expertise to resolve. or example these
can include issues such as Inheritance
ax, what to do if there is no Will, or there
are doubts about how valid the Will is
or it may be particularly complicated.
3 Family relationships
he death of a close relative is a stressful
time and this can sometimes result in
family feuds about how the estate is being
administered which can be very distressing.
4 Are you happy to take
on the responsibility?
s a Personal representative, you are
legally responsible for dealing with the
estate correctly. ny failure in carrying out
your legal duties can result in you being
personally liable and subject to putting
things right out of your own pocket.
How can a solicitor help?
By using a solicitor to deal with this for
you, you’ll have the peace of mind of
knowing that everything will be dealt with
legally, correctly and efficiently. Once
the solicitor has assessed the value of
the estate, they will provide you with a
breakdown of the charges involved.