Wills & Probate Wills The major part of estate planning is writing a will. A will is one of the oldest forms of legal document, but at Hedleys we use wills as part of 21st century tax planning as well as a way for people to express their wishes in the event of their death. Wills are especially good at passing on those feelings of appreciation and recognition that we all would like to think were understood. You can use your will to appoint a guardian for children.

Probate

When somebody dies, the procedure for proving that their will is valid is known as going through "probate". Sometimes that might appear quite straightforward, but often it is not, especially when administrative forms about the worth of the estate and Inland Revenue submissions also have to be completed. Having a solicitor do that work and advise upon which assets form part of the estate eases the burden at what is almost inevitably a difficult time.

We have a lot of experience of guiding estates through probate and that can be one thing less to worry about.

Even if no will has been left, we can still help obtaining authority to deal with the estate through what is known as obtaining Letters of Administration.

Variation

When there is a will, sometimes the arrangements are not as appropriate as they should be and that can lead to disputes or even a general agreement that the distribution set out in the will should be changed by agreement. When there are problems Hedleys can assist in resolving those disagreements that break out in the emotional period of bereavement. Sometimes it may be possible and prudent to vary the provisions in a will; we have the added neutrality to help assess those situations and the skill to organise the paperwork.

More information is available on the Probate Registry website.