If a loved one has died and Probate is required on their estate, you will probably need a solicitor with Probate law experience to assist you. We have many years supporting our clients at this time of stress and sorrow, and strive to make the process is as easy as possible while getting you the optimum outcome.
For help and legal advice with probate and estate administration, please call us at 01 771 80 12 or complete an Online Enquiry.
Probate gives someone, or a group of people, the authority to deal with a deceased person’s estate. ‘Estate’ is the collective term for everything the deceased person owned, including property, money in the bank, and personal items such as jewellery or artwork.
Probate is a legal process that involves making an application to the Probate Office. If this application is successful, the Probate Office issues a document called a Grant of Probate. Those named on the grant are legally permitted to handle the deceased person’s assets. It means they can do things like selling their property, pay any remaining debts, and distribute the estate to the beneficiaries. This is known as estate administration.
Probate only happens when someone dies, although it is not needed following every death. Typically, Probate is not required if for example:
If Probate is needed, the deceased’s assets are frozen until a Grant of Probate is issued. This means the beneficiaries cannot receive their inheritance until the proper legal processes have been fulfilled.
If someone close to you has recently died, you might be wondering if you have to go through Probate. It is not always clear, particularly as different financial institutions have different rules. To find out, speak to a solicitor who specialises in Probate and estates. We can investigate the size of your loved one’s estate and establish how assets were owned. Afterwards, we can advise whether Probate is needed.
There are rules around who can and cannot apply for Probate. If there is a valid Will in place, then the responsibility falls to the executor(s) named in the Will. Where there is no Will, it is the duty of the deceased’s next of kin to apply to the Probate Office for a type of Probate called a Grant of Letters of Administration. For Probate, this person is called the administrator.
Being the executor or administrator of an estate is not an easy job. There is a lot of administrative work to complete, and you must get to grips with various legal and tax issues. Some of the duties of an executor or administrator involve –
The role of executor or administrator is a big responsibility, especially as you are accountable for any mistakes or unpaid tax. For example, if a beneficiary defaults on their tax bill, the executor or administrator becomes liable.
If you are an executor or administrator, you are allowed to ask a legal expert for help. You do not have to go through the process of probate and estate administration alone. Many people ask a probate solicitor to act on their behalf. This is perfectly reasonable, especially given the amount of work (and the complexity of the work) involved.
If someone close to you has recently died, please contact us at Peter Boyle & Co. Solicitors. The first step is to establish if Probate is needed. If so, we can manage the entire process for you, removing the burden from your shoulders. This will relieve you of a significant amount of stress and ensures everything is finalised as efficiently as possible.
Do you need help with probate and estate administration? Please contact us today to find out more about how we can help. Peter Boyle has been a Trust and Estate Practitioner since October 2006 and a member of the Irish Taxation Institute since November 2004.
Level 4, The Glass House
11 Coke Lane
Smithfield
Dublin 7, D07 WNP2
Call: 01 771 80 12
Email: info@peterboyle.ie
