How Long Does Probate Take?

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How Long Does Probate Take in UK

After the death of a familiy member in the UK, one has to follow different legal procedures like registering for death, funeral organising, and getting probate for estate. However all these processes are not automatic and take anywhere upto a few days to months in order to complete.

If you want to learn everything about the probate process in details, then this blog is all you will ever need. We will clear all your doubts regarding probate, how to apply, where and when to apply and so much more.

How long is the probate process?

The probatre process on average takes about an year from the day of death to actual distribution of the estate. It may take lesser time but 6 months is minimum duration for probate completion. However after the issuance of Grant of Probate teh estate is distributed within a time frame of 6 weeks.

Stages of probate UK

Lets take a look at the different stages of how long does a probate take.

Pre-application steps

Before you apply for probate there are some mandatory steps one has to follow after the death of their loved ones like notifying the government, registration of death, funeral arrangements.

Ater the funeral you will have to check eligibility for bereavement benefits aling with your own benefits, taxes and pension. For additional support you may be required to choose the acess between bereavement services and support.

In case your living right in the UK were dependent on the deceased person then you will have to check whenther you have to apply again to stay. Post that you can arrange for the valuation of the deceased’s estate and inheritance taxes. Once you have recieved the death certificate the estate valuation has been done and payment of inheritance taxes is completed you will have to wait for 20 days before you can apply for the probate.

Remember that you will not need probate if the estate of the deceased values less than £5,000.

Applying for probate

After the succesfull completion of above listed necessary steps, you can either apply online oer via post for probate. The process of online application can be a bit lengthy however it does allow you to pay the fees online and submit the statement of truth. Remeber that you will be needed to provide various proofs like id, death certificate etc.

if you wish to apply via mail then you will have to fill either the PA1P form or the PA1A form. After successfully completing all the relevant forms send it to the adress stated on documents.

Receiving approval

If the request for probate has been successful, you will recieve the grant, letters of administration, letters of administration with annexed. You will get the grant of probate only in case the deceased individual has left a will. After recieving the probate you can apply for estate valuation.

What are the costs related to probate?

You will be required to pay £273 fee for probate grant in case the estate is worth more than £5,000.

Is it possible to speed up probate UK?

No, there is no method of speeding up the probate granting. However there is a way to make the application process easier by including accurate information. In exceptional cases when the request is justifies you will be asked for probate registry to make the application process quicker, but it does not guarantee it.

How to get get probate faster?

While there is no way to speed up the probate process however after the application is submitted you can make teh process efficient. In order to do so you will have to hire an experinced solicitor to apply for the probate on your behalf.

Any professional probate solicitor will have to fill in and navigate the process in legal form. This prevents any chances of inaccurate information or mistakes to happen that may later cause problems in the processing of application later.

What is the longest a probate can last?

Although the size and availability of deceased’s estate necessary information will affect the suration of probate. usually over a year is the longest timeframe for any person for probate. There is no set time frame for the robate application process but many legal and tax issues increase te time frame upto 12 months or more.

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