Probate is the process required to get the court’s permission to deal with a dead person’s estate – collecting up assets, paying off any debts and distributing assets to the rightful heirs.

1. If the person who has died has left a valid will, the will usually names the executors (i.e. those responsible for dealing with the estate). If executors are not named or are not willing to act, the rightful heirs can apply to the probate registry for “grant of letters of administration (with will)”.
2. If there is no valid will, relatives can apply for “grant of letters of administration”. Administrators deal with estates in the absence of wills or executors.
3. If there is no will, then the rules of intestacy mean that there is an order for who inherits – spouse or civil partner, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, parents, siblings or their children, half-brothers or sisters and their children, grandparents, uncles, aunts or their children, half-uncles or aunts or their children and finally, The Crown or Duchy of Cornwall or Lancaster.
4. Grant of probates are always needed if the deceased held assets worth more than £15,000 in a bank account, but probate might not need to be obtained at all if the deceased’s assets are owned jointly with another person – a husband or wife, for example.
5. Finders International can help with estate administration – from tracing unknown beneficiaries right through to safe estate administration.
6. Finders has a full international network and we can trace beneficiaries world-wide. In one recent case, we were able to trace beneficiaries in the Ukraine with news of life-changing sums of money.
7. For a full list of Finders International services for professionals, check out this link here.
8. We are members of the Professional Association of Legal Services.
9. We are the longest-standing supplier of Aviva online insurance policies – such as missing beneficiary indemnity insurance policies – and we are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
10. Instant telephone quotes or free advice is available from Finders International. Call 020 7490 4935 for assistance. Lines are open 24 hours a day/ seven days a week.