GRANT OF PROBATE & EXECUTORS DUTY

Distribution of Assets

When you die, you are likely to have property and other valuable things that you want to give to certain people or organisations. The thought that your property will end up in the wrong hands is enough to encourage even the youngest at heart among us to consider the future! A will is of course the right way to protect your assets. The instructions you give in your will are legally enforceable and therefore you can rest assured your decisions will be made for you, right? Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen. An increasing amount of people are deciding to write their own wills - either from scratch or from the 'do it yourself' packs that are available in some shops. Why so many people trust their life's work to a small plastic package is perhaps surprising.

Making a legally enforceable will

Within the legal profession its well known that solicitors make far more money from sorting out badly written home made wills than they ever make from dealing with properly drafted wills. Thanks to the amount of people deciding to use generic �DIY� will packages, many more mistakes and disagreements are arising which keep many lawyers in good business. Members of the public are well advised to consider using a professional qualified legal firm when making a will. The most typical mistakes solicitors come across in DIY wills include:

• Being unaware of the precise requirements necessary to execute and sign the document
• Failing to distribute all of the assets which may allow the Crown to make a claim
• Failing to give instructions on how to re-distribute assets in the event of a beneficiary dying
• Altering a will improperly after the initial execution
• Not taking account of changing relationships including marriages, divorces, births and The Civil Partnership Act
• Failing to consider that dependents may have a prior claim on the estate

Executors - What are they?

Executors play a vital role in the execution of a will! You get to decide who the executors are, and it is their responsibility to carry out the instructions of your will as you wish. They first need to gather your assets and then pay all debts you may owe. After this point it is their job to distribute the remaining assets to the people you decided should get them in your will. Normally an executor will hire a solicitor to help them with this process as there is a lot of paperwork to manage and legal matters to attend to. You could even make a solicitor your executor � or indeed family members, bankers, or anyone else you feel you could trust with the job of carrying out your will.

Free legal advice

We represent a network of specialist solicitors throughout the United Kingdom. Our experts deal with wills and probate including grants of administration on a regular basis. Our members are 100% vetted by the independent Law Society Panel to ensure professional ability and a client centred approach to doing legal work. We frequently deal with contested probate cases where the validity of a will or legal document is taken into question. Sometimes someone not mentioned in the will feels they have a claim to the assets involved and will want to make a claim. It's a difficult subset of law and as such you must take legal advice as soon as possible if you are considering venturing into it! Simply fill in the contact form on this webpage and one of our friendly professionals will be in touch to offer some free legal advice on your situation. There are no charges and no obligation to use our services. We look forward to helping you soon.