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Grants of Representation for a deceased person’s estate

Types of grants and who applies for them

There are two different types of grants:

  1. Grant of probate - if the deceased died with a valid Will in place
  2. Grant of Letters of Administration - if the deceased died without a valid Will in place

If you obtain either one of these types of Grant, it gives the named executors or administrators the authority to deal with the administration of the deceased’s estate.

You do not have to act as executor if you do not want to. If you do not want to take on the role of an executor, you can do one of the following:

  1. Renunciation - give up all your rights to act as an executor
  2. Power reserved - reserve your right to act as an executor in case you want to be involved in the future

If there are other living executors, then they can apply and simply include the information regarding the death of the other executor in the application. If all of the executors chosen in the first instance are unable or unwilling to apply for a grant, then the replacement executor(s) may apply (if there are any). If not, an administrator will have to apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration with the Will annexed.

When a person dies without making a Will, the Intestacy Rules will apply in terms of who can apply for this Grant. If their application is successful, then they will be known as an administrator of the deceased’s estate.

The long waits at the Probate Registry are well documented. Therefore, you must be efficient when gathering the information to do the Grant application, as the Probate Registry is currently taking around 16 weeks to issue Grants. This means if you delay gathering the information to begin with, it will elongate an already lengthy process.

Client feedback

I recently contracted Winston Solicitors to support me in obtaining a grant of probate following the death of a parent. I worked closely with Emily and found her to be supportive, have great communication and be able to navigate the IHT and probate processes very efficiently.
John
I would highly recommend Winston Solicitors to help with your personal needs.. 100% .. very professional, very helpful and considerate
Sheila
Emily looked after us ! Would recomend 100%
David
Emily was very helpful, with my change of will, explaining things, to me, making sure I understood what I was doing , a very pleasant experience for me.
Nigel
Special praise for Emily Spencer ,who is more than efficient , very thorough in her work and I am sure , a very good member of the Winstons team ! Well done her ( plus Jeremy re our registration with the Land Registry .!)
Stuart
Emily Spencer has handled our Will & Probate and has explained what we needed to know and made it a very straightforward experience. She has been extremely patient with our sometimes tardy responses.
Mr & M
Having used Winston Solicitors twice, once for the sale of a house and also for Probate. Both experiences were very good, and will be using again when the need arises.
Mike
We have created our WIlls and Power of Attorney with the assistance of Emily Spencer at Winstons. Great service with everthing clearly and considerately explained and executed with us. Would thoroughly recommend Emily & Winstons to anyone seeking this type of assistance.
Suzannah
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