Wills and probate

[LittleMissMe99]

A person was left money in a will over a year ago. Probate has been done (I can see this in a probate search on the government website). It says "Grant Only". My friend hasn't received any money and nor would she ask. But can someone explain what grant only means. The person who passed away definitely had a will

I can only guess but it will gve this a bump
Does that mean only the grant is available from the probate office?

I know a Will is a public document but I’m sure the rich and famous find ways to keep their wills under wraps?

I don't know. It says probate granted October 20th. Then says Grant. Other people say grant and will. Maybe it's still going through?? Appreciate your answer thank you.

This might help

www.probaterecords.co.uk/faqs.aspx?0

If the person is expecting money, it took about 9 months from probate being granted for dad, to the distribution of money.

There’s a legal board here, maybe ask if your query can be moved?

I think that means probate has been granted to the executor.

As far as I understand, there’s Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration. So ‘Grant Only’ means they’ve granted probate - letters of administration not needed. I think you only need those if there was no will.

The probate search should tell you the approximate value of the estate. If it’s not much, perhaps there’s no money to be shared out? Or the estate is primarily in property and the will says a dependent can live there until the end of their life? Or a property hasn’t sold yet? If the estate is complicated it can take a good long while.

If you know the contents of the will, you’d have a good idea what the scenario is. A copy of the will lodged for probate should be available to download on the probate website.

If you don’t know the contents of the will it could be there’s nothing to come?

Sometimes, even if hard because the executor is a surviving spouse, say, asking the executor is the best thing to do.

NoSquirrels “ The probate search should tell you the approximate value of the estate”

Does it? Where does that info appear please - I thought you had to buy a copy of the Will to see that.

@AcornAutumn

NoSquirrels “ The probate search should tell you the approximate value of the estate”

Does it? Where does that info appear please - I thought you had to buy a copy of the Will to see that.

From memory, when we looked up one in a similar circumstance (couldn’t ask the executor) I think it said something in the notice about the overall value of the estate that had been declared.

The will won’t tell you how much was in the estate - it won’t have the details of the bank accounts or the value of a property. The executor has to lodge the details of all this with the probate service and estimate how much it will all be.

The will just sets out to whom the estate should be distributed, in what proportions and how.

Thanks
Sorry I meant, I thought you needed to buy a copy of the Grant of Probate to see how much the estate was worth

I am very uncomfortable with the idea that the value of the estate is public information- I’m thinking that can’t really be the case unless someone actually pays to see it?

Certainly when I look on the government probate search page, that’s what you see, you don’t see the estate value declared?

I’ve just checked.

We paid the £1.50 or whatever it is to get a copy of the probate notice. On that notice it says, at the bottom of the letter

It is hereby certified that it appears from the information supplied on the application form for this grant that the gross value of the said estate in the United Kingdom does not exceed £325,000 and the net value of such estate does not exceed £X,000

The £X,000 was the total value to be divided. Not a lot, in our case - and the will attached to the probate (which you also get a copy of) showed that none of it was due to come our way anyway.

@AcornAutumn

Thanks Sorry I meant, I thought you needed to buy a copy of the Grant of Probate to see how much the estate was worth

I am very uncomfortable with the idea that the value of the estate is public information- I’m thinking that can’t really be the case unless someone actually pays to see it?

Certainly when I look on the government probate search page, that’s what you see, you don’t see the estate value declared?

Yes - you need to pay for it. But it’s a very nominal fee, hardly anything at all.

Glad that’s cleared up

I think the fee should be higher but I was thinking, it can’t be public information displayed on a website, the value of someone’s estate.