What are the differences between Estate Administration and Probate?
To conveniently sum up the difference between probate and estate administration; probate is just one part of the wider estate administration process. Probate provides you with the legal right to carry out the estate administration, including dealing with property, money and personal possessions.
What is Probate?
Probate may be required when someone passes away. It refers to the ‘grant of probate’, officially known as the ‘grant of representation’ in England and Wales and ‘confirmation’ in Scotland.
Probate is required by law if the estate is worth more than £5,000 in value, if the deceased owned any property or if a financial institution (e.g. a bank or building society) needs to see the ‘grant of representation’ in order to release the funds. Probate will not be needed if the assets were held jointly as they will automatically pass to the surviving spouse or civil partner under the rules of survivorship.
Applying for probate involves:
- Completing the application via a PA1 form in England or a C1 form in Scotland
- Submitting the application by sending all of the details, including the death certificate, to the probate registry
- Once the probate registry has received the application, you’ll be required to swear an oath which is a promise that the information you have given is true to the best of your knowledge. You’ll need to do this in person at a local probate office or at the office of a commissioner for oaths
Probate is often mistaken for all of the tasks to be completed following a bereavement but it actually just refers to obtaining the grant to enable you to carry out these tasks.
We offer an award-winning probate service, learn more here.
What is Estate Administration?
To put it simply, estate administration is the process of handling a person’s legal and tax affairs after they’ve died. This means dealing with all of their assets (e.g. property, personal possessions, shares and bank accounts), paying any Inheritance Tax and Income Tax and distributing inheritance to the estate’s beneficiaries. Estate administration can often be extremely complex, time-consuming and an added stress at an already difficult time for the Executor or Administrator.
Obtaining the grant of probate is usually a part of estate administration but it is so much more and could involve:
- Applying for probate of confirmation
- Completing all Inheritance Tax forms
- Income Tax work for the year of death
- Postal redirection
- Registering unregistered properties
- Valuing assets
- Property valuation and sale
- Cancelling or transferring utilities
- Arranging for a pet to be re-homes
- Distributing funds to beneficiaries
- And much more
The Executor or Administrator does not have to take full responsibility, they can choose to employ a professional to provide advice, guidance or practical support to help them deliver their duties. behalf.
Talk to an Estate Planning and Probate Specialist
Redwood Financial is one of the South’s leading Probate, Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning providers and we are dedicated to helping families to grow, protect and enjoy their wealth. With our unrivalled knowledge of financial wealth planning, we can advise on any situation.
Call us on 01489877 547 or email info@redwoodfinancial.co.uk to book a FREE Initial Meeting with us to review your financial planning needs.
