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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.
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a minster, castle, and city walls. It is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of the wider City of York district. It is located 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Leeds, 90 miles (140 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 207 miles (333 km) north of London. York's built-up area had a recorded population of 141,685 in 2021.[1]
The city was founded under the name of Eboracum in 71 AD. It then became the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and later of the kingdoms of Deira, Northumbria, and Scandinavian York. In the Middle Ages, it became the northern England ecclesiastical province's centre, and grew as a wool-trading centre.[2] In the 19th century, it became a major railway network hub and confectionery manufacturing centre. In the Second World War, part of the Baedeker Blitz bombed the city. Although York was less targeted during the war than other, more industrialised northern cities, several historic buildings were gutted and restoration took place up until the 1960s.[3]
Historic local governance of the city was as a county corporate, not included in the county's riding system. The city has since been locally governed as a municipal borough, county borough, and since 1996, a non-metropolitan district (the City of York), which also includes surrounding villages and rural areas, and the town of Haxby. The current district's local council, City of York Council, is responsible for providing all local services and facilities throughout this area.
