Probate
When someone dies, it is necessary to establish what they owned and what they owed at the date of their death. The person who died might have left a Will appointing executors to do this or they might have died without making a Will. Either way, we can help you to:

• Work out where necessary who is entitled to share in the assets
• Value the estate
• Lodge any papers that might need to be sent to the Inland Revenue Capital Taxes Office and the Probate Registry
• Distribute the estate to the right people.

Through our extensive list of contacts, we can also help to arrange funerals, advise on registering a death, find missing people and, sometimes, restructure things to save tax even after the person has died (although it is always better to plan ahead).

Wills, Trusts and Inheritance Tax Planning
It is a sad fact that too many people die without making an adequate Will. In one case that we dealt with, an elderly lady made a home-made Will in which she tried to leave her estate to a few family members and charities. Unfortunately, the lady was not very expert in Will drafting and what should have been a very straightforward affair turned into a complicated matter. We were able fully to resolve it in the end but we think that about £100,000 went to people whom she did not necessarily intend to benefit and it took a long time and a lot of money to trace all the people who were entitled. A simple Will would have avoided this problem completely.

Another sad fact is that more and more people are needlessly paying Inheritance Tax. This is a largely voluntary tax and if you do not wish to leave an Inheritance Tax burden when you die, we can often help you to reduce it substantially.

We can also help to protect the interests of young, disabled or otherwise vulnerable people.