We were recently contacted by a potential client who was in a situation which is sadly all too common. Here, Amanda Taylor, a solicitor in our wills, probate and asset protection department, advises what should be done after a sudden death.
Q: My mother has unfortunately passed away after a very short-term illness. We are all heartbroken and shocked.
To confound this, we are also very confused as to what happens next. My father is in his 80s and we found a copy of her will where she has named me as the executor. I have no idea what I need to do now as the solicitor who drafted the wills has now closed down.
Can you please advise us as next of kin what happens next or, if we contacted yourselves, what you do and how much it costs?
A: Firstly, may I pass on my condolences for your loss. I understand that losing a loved one can be very difficult.
Initially, if you haven’t already registered your mother’s death, you will need to inform your local registry office for births, deaths and marriages. When you register her death, they will ask whether you would like to use the ‘Tell Us Once’ service which will inform local authorities such as the DWP that she has passed away.
You may also wish to attend banks that your mother had accounts with and provide them with a copy of her death certificate. This will freeze her accounts and stop any automatic overpayments by direct debit or standing order which would only need to be sorted out after they had been taken from or paid into her account if the bank/(s) were not informed.
You will need to address whether or not you can locate your mother’s original will. If you have looked through your late mother’s paperwork and cannot find the original will, you should try to locate it elsewhere.
You can contact the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority to see whether they have details about the firm that has closed down i.e. whether they have amalgamated with another firm or if the wills and other original documents that they were storing were sent off to the SRA to be archived.
You can also contact Certainty, a company who will conduct a will search for you or advise whether your mother’s will was registered on the National Wills Database/Register.
If you have exhausted all options to find the original will, you can attempt to get the copy will you have proven by the Probate Registry. If you contact your local Probate Registry, they will advise what you need to do. You will need to complete the relevant paperwork as executor which can be downloaded online.
Let a Legal Expert Do it for You
If you need guidance or indeed you would prefer for a professional to deal with this for you, you can contact us and we will arrange an appointment for you at your earliest convenience. During this appointment, we can discuss your options, including whether you want us to obtain a grant of probate to your late mother’s estate, or whether this is necessary if your father is still alive, and also how much our services cost.
We also deal with full-estate administration, which means that we can deal with not only obtaining the grant of probate for you, but also deal with collecting in your late mother’s assets, paying any debts or liabilities of her estate and then finally distributing her estate to the beneficiaries named in her will.
You of course can do this yourself, and we have a number of articles which can help. However, given the circumstances, I think it is very important that you speak with a professional wills and probate solicitor.
Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck dealing with your late mother’s estate.
If you have suffered similar circumstances and would like legal advice, please get in touch with our friendly team.
