Once an individual who signed the will passes away, any handwritten wills and wills executed in front of witnesses must be probated by a court or notary. If you want notarial services for wills and probate, you can get in touch with our UK notary members. They can properly assist you in how you can apply for probate.
Table of Contents
Estate administration
The notary must probate the handwritten wills in order to make them official when the person passes away. A notary will attest to the signer’s legitimacy, validate his/her signature, and describe the contents of the will. Testaments that have been drafted by notaries are not subject to further probate. Because people already refer to those wills as notarized wills. Furthermore, the measures required to help an estate move through the probate procedure are referred to as estate administration.
After someone passes away, this entails settling any outstanding bills, canceling accounts, and dispersing assets to heirs. The precise obligations will be outlined in the decedent’s estate plan or by state law. The estate administration process touches on many crucial elements of estate planning, which makes it challenging to comprehend. But you can get in touch with our UK notary members for detailed assistance.
Methods to probate a will
There are two methods to probate a will:
- Probate by a notary: A will is not converted into a notarial will through notary probate. The same results can be obtained by notary probate as from court probate. However, if a will is being contested, such as if someone asserts it is a fake, a notary cannot probate the will. To get guidance about how to deal with such matters, our UK notary can help you;
- Probate by the court: You must start by applying a type of request, to the Superior Court at the courthouse in the area where the deceased person resided. Our notary members can provide you with information on this kind of application. Some individuals use a notary or attorney to draught the application. Others would rather compose it themselves and deliver it in court.
A probate judgment cannot be obtained for several weeks. Court costs must be paid. You will also be responsible for paying the fees of any attorney or notary you hire to draught the application. The process of getting the probate papers takes several weeks. Ask our UK notary how long it will take. Costs associated with probate are based on the notary’s fees.
Why do you need to probate a will?
Please find below the reasons why you need to apply for probate. The process of probate accomplishes the following:
- verifies the person’s demise;
- establishes the legitimacy of the will’s author;
- alerts those who may inherit a non-notarial will so they can raise significant concerns (such as the existence of a more recent will) or make a case against having the will probated (for example, because they believe it is a fake will);
- indicates that the will is the deceased person’s final testament.
In conclusion, probate verifies if the will satisfies the criteria for being legitimate. The contents of the will are approved by probate, but that approval does not shield those contents from legal challenge. If you are looking out to find probate, you can get the services of our notary members in London. They can offer you comprehensive guidance on probate.
Documents required to probate a will
If you want to notarize your probate and will, you are welcome to get in touch with our UK notary. However, the notary or court needs several documents, including these, to probate a will:
- the original will;
- a certified copy of the decedent’s death certificate provided by the Registrar of Civil Status;
- a sworn statement from one of the will’s witnesses, or if the will was written by hand, a sworn statement from someone who can recognize the maker’s signature;
- evidence that the probate application was sent to prospective heirs.
For any further assistance regarding probate, our members can help you. Furthermore, if you need notary services for probate and wills in Canary Wharf, our agents can assist you. You can consult with our expert team members located at our notary in Canary Wharf for details about their services.
Find probate records in England
Search for a probate record is also called a grant of representation for a person who passed away after 1857. You might need to look through the records that go back to 1996 to locate a will for someone who passed away in the early 1990s. You can check the general information below, or get in touch with members located at our notary in London for practical assistance:
- A postal search for will may cost you approximately £1.50;
- Within 4 weeks, you should receive a response.
Contact our UK notary for details about the notarization of wills and probate. Furthermore, if you especially required the notarization of wills and probate in Canary Wharf, consult with our agents. The members at our notary public in Canary Wharf can also offer you the services of a mobile notary. They offer help to individuals or companies that would not otherwise be able to visit our office. Such persons can take advantage of the convenience of the notary traveling to them.
