Estate administration is the art of securing the estate of the person who has died for the appropriate beneficiaries.
When it is done expertly, the beneficiaries of the estate either through a will is there is one, or by the rules of intestacy if there is no will would be certain that the value of the estate, remained in their family forever: safe from the threats that ensnare and entrap estates small or large up and down the land.
When estate administration is done by a master of his craft, the beneficiaries of the deceased’s estate enjoy two further principal benefits:
- confidence all relevant rules of administering the deceased’s estate have been followed, all the hassle would have been taken off their hands, and
- confidence they’ve paid the absolute minimum of inheritance tax – not a penny more.
Estate Administration & Probate
Probate and estate administration are frequently used as synonyms for each other. Many people, including professionals say probate when they mean estate administration.
Probate – obtaining the grant of probate is merely one element of estate administration. Although a grant of probate is sometimes not required; the deceased person’s estate must be administered notwithstanding the complexity or value of the estate.
Probate
Probate is permission from the courts to handle the estate of the deceased.
If the deceased person left a will, the permission document issued is a grant of probate. If the deceased left no will, the permission document is called letters of administration.
When someone dies, those managing their estate pay any inheritance tax due, and may apply to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service to obtain the grant of probate.
Depending on the nature and value of the deceased assets a grant of probate may not be required.
Can I Avoid Probate?
The meaning of this question is: can I arrange my affairs so that I don’t have to go through the estate administration process, a process that can be held up by the wait for the issue of the grant of probate.
Probate, the issue of the paperwork from the courts can be nuisance. It is possible to arrange one’s affairs so that on death one’s executors do not have to wait for the grant of probate. Indeed, I have arranged certain clients in this way. Nonetheless, it is rare avoiding the estate administration or probate process should be one’s primary objective.
It would be unwise to let the tail of avoiding the probate process wag the dog of proper and sensible estate planning.
Estate administration ensures your wealth remains in your family long after Gibraltar has crumbled.
It ensures your money remains in your family, that your family has the use and the benefit of your wealth till the end of the world.
The deceased worked hard all their life, they made sacrifices, some heroic, some spectacular, some unspeakable – to better your family; they really haven’t done all that just to throw it away at the altar of sloppy estate admin.
Ignorance, T’is no Excuse
It’s a shame that you’ve not been informed of how to overcome the wicks and straws that can drain your family’s inheritance, but this is your opportunity to bulletproof your estate.
Doing nothing to protect your family’s inheritance, not engaging a master of this craft to help preserve your family’s wealth is not a crime exactly, you can’t be sent to prison for it, but it’s a crying shame.
Your Family’s Future
In the final analysis, after all is said and done, the most fundamental, the most serious question that could come before your consideration is this: where, two, three and further generations from now would you like your family to be ranked socially, financially and even morally?
You know as well as I do that all that is good, morally, financially and socially in this country is so much easier achieved if one has had the benefit of inherited wealth which is often the key to an independent education.
The Sum of the Parts
Estate administration is more than just the sum of the parts, it’s more than just a collection of tools such as filling the probate forms, writing deeds of variation, use of trusts, and writing a will.
Estate administration is more than the sum of its parts.
With estate administration advice you’ll get an easy-to-follow plan that is tailored to your family and financial circumstances. The plan would ensure you retain control of who gets the fruit of your life’s work and under what circumstances.
- Estate administration is more than saving tax even though saving tax is important.
- Administration of an estate is more than getting the grant of probate even though probate might be necessary.
- It is more than taking care of your spouse or partner on the one hand and your children on the other hand even though ensuring your assets go to your immediate family is important.
Your Bespoke Plan
Because the plan would be especially for you, it would be no off-the-shelf job.
- No Cut and paste
- No forms
- No kits
- No templates
We would start planning your estate administration with a blank sheet of paper.
Administration of deceased estates is thinking several generations into the future, ensuring that your inheritance, be it grand or modest creates and strengthens the financial and social standing of future generations of your family.
Estate Administration & You
You’ll be recognised by your family from the next generation onwards for providing the keys to freedom from the rat race, for freedom to allow them do fulfilling work, be it nursing, teaching, or social work because their material comforts have been taken care of.
Our Desires & Responsibilities
Estate planning helps you fulfil that centuries old desire that our children, and every subsequent generation of our family would be better off than we are. That at a minimum they’ll be able to afford their own homes.
Remember, estate planning is an act of honesty, an act of ambition, an act of honesty of ambition, therefore, which would you hand to your grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a Rolls-Royce or a Mini?
Other Things I Can Help You With
My Approach to Estate Administration
You’ve seen several reviews and recommendations – they reflect the care, diligence and experience I invest in my clients.
Your family’s unique, therefore your estate planning should be unique, no off-the-peg nonsense.
You’re the expert on your family’s matters – every family is special in its own way; therefore, I’ll bend my extensive experience to your situation. I can see round corners, so I can spot possible problems and prevent them before they germinate.
A proud sole-practitioner, I start every relationship with a blank sheet of paper. I write all my estate administration documents by hand, no cut and paste. No forms, no tick-boxes, no templates. No cut-and-paste. I start every relationship with a blank sheet of paper.
Contact
020 8669 1779
18, Salisbury House, 8 Melbourne Rd, Wallington SM6 8SA
