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Wills and Probate Solicitor
What is a Will?
A will is a legal document that you write during your lifetime. The main purpose of a Will is to set out who you want to inherit your money, property and other possessions when you pass away. These people are called your beneficiaries.
A will enables you to make other arrangements that will come into force when you die. For example, you can name executors who will be responsible for winding up your affairs and distributing your assets your beneficiaries. You can name legal guardians who will care for your children if they are under the age of 18. You can also specify any funeral preferences, such as whether you want to be buried or cremated.
If you die without a will, you are said to have died 'intestate'. Your estate (which is the collective word for everything someone owns when they die) will be distributed to your family members. The law will decide who gets what, regardless of any wishes you may have expressed while you were alive.
What is Probate?
Probate is the legal process that happens when someone dies. The main purpose of probate is to give a person (or people) the legal authority to deal with a deceased person's estate. These people are called personal representatives.
Probate enables the personal representatives to access the deceased person's assets, such as their bank accounts, property, and pensions. It means they can do things such as:
Finalise utility bills
Sell or transfer property
Gather in assets, including pensions, stocks, shares and savings
Liquidate (sell) all the assets in the estate
Pay any outstanding debts using funds from the estate
Calculate and pay any income tax or inheritance tax due
Distribute the estate to beneficiaries (as set out either in the will, or the law).
With our Probate Complete Service we take full responsibility for getting grant of probate and dealing with the legal, tax (excl VAT), property and estate administration affairs.
Probate isn't needed every time there is a death. Generally there are two scenarios where Probate won't be needed:
The deceased person's husband or wife is still alive, in which case assets that are jointly owned will automatically pass to the surviving spouse
The deceased person owned very little – known as having a small estate
Otherwise, it's highly likely that the deceased's loved ones will need to go through the probate process.
Without probate, the deceased person's assets will effectively remain 'in limbo'. There won't be anyone with the legal authority to deal with the estate, so it can't be administered and distributed to the beneficiaries.
Watford (/ˈwɒtfərd/ ⓘ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 mi (24 km) north-west of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and breweries. While industry has declined in Watford, its location near London and transport links have attracted several companies to site their headquarters in the town. Cassiobury Park is a public park that was once the manor estate of the Earls of Essex.
The town developed next to the River Colne on land belonging to St Albans Abbey. In the 12th century, a charter was granted allowing a market, and the building of St Mary's Church began. The town grew partly due to travellers going to Berkhamsted Castle and the royal palace at Kings Langley. A mansion was built at Cassiobury in the 16th century. This was partly rebuilt in the 17th century and another country house was built at The Grove.
Clarendon Road, Watford
Clarendon Road
The Grand Junction Canal in 1798 and the London and Birmingham Railway in 1837 resulted in Watford's rapid growth, with paper-making mills such as John Dickinson at Croxley, influencing the development of printing in the town. Two brewers, Benskins and Sedgwicks, amalgamated and flourished in the town until their closure in the late 20th century. Hertfordshire County Council designates Watford to be a major sub-regional centre. Several head offices are based in Watford. International conferences and sporting events have also taken place in Watford, including the 2006 World Golf Championship, the 2013 Bilderberg Conference and the 2019 NATO summit which all took place at The Grove.[2]
Watford became an urban district under the Local Government Act 1894 and a municipal borough by grant of a charter in 1922. The borough, which had 102,246 inhabitants in the 2021 census (up from 90,301 inhabitants at the 2011 census, an increase of 13.23%), is separated from Greater London to the south by Three Rivers District. Watford Borough Council is the local authority with the Mayor of Watford as its head – one of only 18 directly elected mayors in England and Wales.
