Probate needed?

[whitebunnies]

Do you need to go to a probate company or probate solicitor to distribute an estate? Can money in a savings account be distributed to people named in a will before a house is sold?

@whitebunnies just fyi, this is best practice

No you don't. My dad recently applied for probate for an elderly friend (he was executor). He filled in the form online and got the certificate several weeks later. The house still isn't sold but he distributed other physical and monetary legacies. The only thing to be aware of is that you need to keep enough money in the bank to maintain the property and pay fees etc until it is sold.

"Do you need to go to a probate company or probate solicitor to distribute an estate?"

No, if the person who died left a will then it is the executors named in the will who are responsible for sorting everything out and applying for probate if necessary.

If the person died without making a will then their nearest surviving relative (spouse, then children, then parents, then brothers/sisters, then grandparents, then aunts/uncles) can apply to administer the estate and apply for probate.

"Can money in a savings account be distributed to people named in a will before a house is sold?"

Short answer, "It depends". Long answer, "It does really depend on so many different factors that you need to speak to the executors"

But, there is nothing stopping the executors from distributing one part of the estate (eg a bank account) before all of the estate is distributed.