Probate case study

Introduction

Mr C contacted us asking us to take over the filing of probate for his father-in-law, after disputes in the family about how long the probate process was taking had become too much for him.

He was one of the two named executors, and the other had been dealing with the paperwork but now felt overwhelmed and wanted to hand over this role and responsibility wholly to Mr C in order to finish off the process.

Mr C told us he had never been asked by his father-in-law if he wanted the position of executor and that he didn’t want to deal with the pressure and responsibilities of the probate process. He felt that it was taking too much time and he was concerned about making any errors. Because of the amount of time it was taking, it had resulted in arguments with family members, causing him a great deal of stress.

Background

Mr C’s father-in-law passed away and left a will for his very complex estate (including many different insurance policies, investments and a small property portfolio) without leaving it to a professional to deal with probate proses. Mr C decided to hand the case over to LR Estate Planning to ensure he was declaring all of his father-in-law’s assets.

He contacted LR Estate Planning and one of our advisers met him at a time convenient for him in order to discuss the case.

How LR Estate Planning helped

Once the adviser was able to gather the relevant information about the situation and where Mr C reached in the process, he worked alongside the probate team to make sure that everything had been declared and the correct inheritance tax was paid.

Mr C signed the necessary forms in order to hand the case over to us, and confirming that the probate team would now become the executors of the will. Our adviser then talked through the charging process, and how the fee could be paid. Our adviser assured Mr C that we would keep in touch to let him know how the case was going and to update him about where we were in the process at all times.

What happened next

It took a further two months for Mr C’s case to be resolved, but the pressure him and his family felt had lifted when a professional has taken over the process to ensure everything was executed correctly.