When you make a will, it may also be a good idea to sign a Power of Attorney, so that if you remain alive but lose your mental capacity to look after your money and assets, you have chosen those of your family and friends who can step in to look after your finances in those circumstances. If you do not sign an Enduring Power of Attorney, it will be too late if you lose mental capacity later on in life; and your assets may then have to be dealt with through the Court of Protection and the Public Guardianship Office in London. Stevenson Glassey have plenty of experience in dealing with these bodies and can advise you how to get the best out of them, but it is better to sign an Enduring Power of Attorney while you can.

When making your Wills or signing an Enduring Power of Attorney, we can give advice on how nursing home fees can be paid if that situation arises at some time in the future.

If there is a Will and you have been appointed an executor, what do you do? Before any distribution of assets can take place you have to “prove” the Will, obtaining the Grant of Probate from the High Court of Justice, there is a registry in Manchester where you can attend yourself to apply but the forms are not easy in all but in most estates, it is often best to have the advice of experienced solicitors like Stevenson Glassey. If there is no Will a relative or friend has to agree to act as an administrator and applies for a Grant of Letters of Administration, in the same was as a Grant of Probate of the Will. In these cases, where there is no Will, it is very usual to get the advice of an experienced solicitor before making your application to administer the estate.

All probate matters are undertaken and/or supervised by one of the two partners within our firm, namely Nigel Glassey and Sheryl Stevenson; with the assistance of other members of our staff. You will be provided with details of the day to day case handler and supervising partner in our client care letter.

The following is a summary of the key stages of the work likely to be carried out:

• Collating valuations of the Estate Assets and Liabilities, in accordance with the instructions you provide;
• Undertaking a Lost Account Search to ascertain whether there are any dormant accounts held in the name of the Deceased. Should this produce any positive results, we will notify you accordingly;
• Writing to the DWP and HMRC in order to confirm the position in relation to any State Benefits/Pensions etc.;
• Valuing the Estate and determining whether or not Inheritance Tax is payable and, if so, preparing the necessary calculations for your approval and submitting the documentation to HMRC on behalf of the Estate and dealing with any Inheritance Tax (IHT) due (if appropriate);
• Completing the necessary documentation required to enable an application to be submitted to The Probate Registry for a Grant of Representation; obtaining your approval and signature thereto and completing the application on your behalf, either electronically or in paper format;
• Once we start to receive any Estate assets, we will hold these on your behalf in our client account/designated deposit account (where they will be subject to the protection of the Law Society’s rules regarding solicitors’ firms handling clients’ money). This also helps us to start to prepare the accounts, which will show the assets of the Estate and details of any liabilities, i.e., outstanding bills, the funeral costs etc.;
• Once we start to receive the Estate assets, we can pay any bills that may be due;
• Obtaining confirmation from the DWP and HMRC that there are no outstanding liabilities from the Estate;
• Finalising the Estate Account and distributing the net Estate assets in accordance with the Will or in accordance with the Rules of Intestacy.

The length of time this process can take can vary depending on a number of factors but, generally, this entire process takes between six months to a year.