Legal services with your weekly shop?!
Following a new law that came into force in October 2011 changes are beginning to take place in the legal market. From 2012 supermarkets and other organisations will be able to provide certain legal services. You may have already noticed a “legal access point” in your local WH Smith PLC or heard that your bank or supermarket is planning to offer legal services.
Some argue this will make buying legal services easier but would you be comfortable buying legal services with your weekly shop?
What about probate work?
The loss of a relative or a friend is difficult and can be more so if you have been appointed as an executor under that person’s Will. An executor’s role can be a demanding one and is often underestimated by people until they are appointed. If you are appointed an executor it can often be hard to know where to start. This is where assistance from an established law firm could prove invaluable.
Do I need a lawyer to administer an estate?
There are an awful lot of loose ends to be tied up and formalities to deal with for executors. Once you have located the Will, registered the death and arranged the funeral the real administration starts!
You will need to:
- make thorough enquiries to find out what the person who has died owned;
- sort out valuations, deal with insurance and contact all the appropriate authorities;
- consider the tax issues, not just inheritance tax but also capital gains tax;
- consider whether there are any tax ‘gains’ or ‘losses’ to be made;
- consider how any tax ‘gains’ or ‘losses’ should be dealt with; and
- complete the actual application for probate and distribution of assets.
There’s a lot to do and it’s not as straight forward as it might seem. And don’t forget the potential liability of the executor if things go wrong. Executors may not always be insured so they’ll be taking a ‘personal’ risk.
Is it really worth it?
If you do instruct a lawyer to help you out you need to make sure they know their stuff. Probate law is not something that can be dabbled in; we looked over a case for a client where the client was set to inherit some money under a friend’s Will. We discovered that something had been missed by the other firm of solicitors which had ended up in a significant tax overpayment to HM Revenue & Customs. When it was sorted our client ended up inheriting £30,000 more!
The GD Estate Administration Team
At George Davies Solicitors LLP we have a dedicated and experienced team that specialises in the administration of estates. We are here to help. For further information please contact Philip Chynoweth on +44 (0) 161 234 8824 or send an email.
