​​​Note: We have provided a transcript of the video if you are unable to listen to the audio. This transcript is generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers and may contain errors.

Probate is the legal process of dealing with the estate of a person who has died. Probate applies irrespective of whether the person has made a will or not. If a person has made a will, this usually appoints people to be the executors, who are then responsible for administering the estate. If there is no will, then the next of kin will be appointed by the court as administrators instead. And the administrators will be responsible for the management of the estate.

The first step is for the personal representatives to apply for formal authority to deal with the assets of the estate, which comes in the form of a grant. Personal representatives will then need to identify the assets and collect them in, pay any debts, calculate and pay to HMRC any inheritance tax, and then distribute the estate between the beneficiaries. In terms of timescales, most estates administered within one year, more complex or international estates could take multiple years to complete. Here at Withers, we are well-placed to project manage very complex estates where property and family members are spread across different jurisdictions due to our size and our global reach.