How to probate an estate without a lawyer is relatively straight forward and most people can lodge an application with little or no legal training.
If the estate is relatively complex you may need to hire a lawyer for some aspects of the estate.
However, you can hire a lawyer in a limited capacity to only carry out the legal processes that you may not wish to perform yourself in order to minimize legal costs.
Each jurisdiction has slight differences in procedure, legal documents, forms and which government agency handles the process. Don’t let that stop you from conducting simple research on the internet. Most of the processes involve following a simple procedure, writing letters, completing forms, lodging forms and paying a fee.
If you probate an estate without a lawyer,
You will save yourself thousands of dollars in legal fees.
What is Probate?
When a person draws up a Will, they need to appoint someone to administer their estate when they die. This person is the Executor. The Executor is responsible for carrying out the terms of the Will. The executor will sometimes need to apply for probate.
Probate means the official recognition from a court that a Will is legally valid. Submit the application to the Probate Registry of the Court for a “Grant of Probate”. The grant is a document certifying that the Court recognises the authority of the Executor(s) to deal with the estate. This will enable the Executor(s) to collect the assets and pay any debts of the deceased person and then to distribute the estate to beneficiaries as directed by the Will.
After granting probate, the original Will remains permanently in the Court. A copy of the Will is part of an original probate document which bears the seal of the Court.
Where there is no Will, or some part of the Will is not valid, the Executor(s) or the next of kin may need to apply to the Court to be the Administrator of the deceased estate. In this instance, the Court will issue a “Grant of Letters of Administration“.
When to Consult a Lawyer
If you are uncertain what to do ask a lawyer which type of court order you need.
Obtaining probate from the Court is the only process where you may want to hire a lawyer.
The probate process is simple once you know who is going to apply for Grant of Probate/ Letters of Administration. In the first instance it will be the Executor(s) named in the Will, otherwise, if no Will, the closest relative outlined in the rules of intestacy.
The probate application is no more difficult than opening a bank account. For a simple estate, containing a house, car, furniture, possessions, simple investments and bank accounts, you won’t need a lawyer.
If the estate contains a business, overseas assets or substantial assets you are best to seek the advice of a lawyer but you may still be able to manage most of the estate yourself to dramatically cut down the legal fees.
Lawyers love to administer a large, complex estate because they can bill the estate considerable fees for many months.
Why You Don’t Need a Lawyer to Probate an Estate
Most people don’t know that law clerks carry out the basic legal administrative processes, not lawyers. Law clerks are not qualified lawyers and only have introductory legal training and qualifications.
There will be a lawyer managing the law clerks. However, lawyers do not perform the relatively easy administrative tasks of procuring probate and administering the deceased estate.
When you hire a law firm to manage these processes you will initially meet with a lawyer. The lawyer will provide the initial legal advice and outline what needs to be done. That lawyer will manage your matter and act as your point of contact with the firm. The lawyer hands over the job to a clerk in the back office. But you will be charged a high hourly rate for these services because the services were delivered by a law firm and the lawyer.
Remember, low paid, young clerks who have little legal training complete most of these legal processes. A law firm can pay a young law clerk, say $20 per hour, and charge their work out to clients at $150 per hour. Sure there are other costs to running a law firm’s business. There is office rent, depreciation and advertising costs. However, you will be charged an enormous mark-up on a law clerk’s time (a person who has little more experience than you).
The Probate of Deceased Estates is Highly Profitable
The probate of deceased estates is highly profitable and a growth industry for law firms. The aging population is increasing the number of deaths every year. In the USA over 2.4 million people die every year (6,600 per day).
Deceased estates are one of the most lucrative areas of law for law firms. Every law firm, without fail, will handle deceased estates because it is so easy for a lawyer to generate fee income for the practice.
Generally most people who die are older persons and lawyers know that there is an estate with money in bank accounts, investments, motor vehicles, real estate, insurance payouts and other property. When a Law firm settles a deceased estate they are guaranteed to get paid from the estate. Especially as they transact all the proceeds of the estate through their trust account.
Probate of an Estate Through a Trust Account
All law firms request the executor and/or beneficiaries to sign over the rights to collect the proceeds of the estate and deposit the proceeds in the law firm’s trust account. Once in the law firm’s trust account the proceeds of the estate are used to pay debts with the surplus funds being distributed to beneficiaries. However, what they don’t tell you is the real reason why they want to channel the money through their trust account. It’s so they can deduct their huge legal fees first before any money is distributed to beneficiaries.
Probate Fees Based on the Size of the Estate
Often law firms determine their legal fees based on the number and value of the assets of the estate rather than the actual administrative work performed to settle the estate. If an estate has a high value of assets the law firm will determine to legal fees based on a percent of the estate’s value.
This method of calculating legal fees is unethical and should be banned.
Probate an Estate Without a Lawyer
In reality, managing deceased estates is easy and should be handled by family members not greedy lawyers who want a slice of the estate. It’s a difficult time for a family that has lost a loved one and the last thing they need is to be fighting a law firm over huge fees for performing simple administrative work which is not really legal work at all.
An application for probate or letters of administration in uncomplicated estates can be prepared personally by the appointed Executor or Administrator, thus saving thousands of dollars in legal fees.
It is common, for Executors to make a personal application for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, rather than make the application through a solicitor or law firm. The process is easy and there are also services available to assist you in this process for considerably less cost than more conventional legal services.
Avoid hiring a law firm as the fees are very expensive to complete these simple administrative procedures.
Law firms charge considerable fees and take a long time to perform this type of work. Law firms will contact all the financial institutions and organizations by way of sending letters. This method of contact will be very slow and become very expensive as law firms charge for every letter sent and charge for every letter received.
It is much better to take on the role of Executor/Administrator yourself and probate an estate without a lawyer.
Personally contact financial institutions and all other organizations to wind up the estate.
How to Apply for Probate
Petition the Court to be the Estate Representative
Contact or visit your nearest Court probate registry.
The Court will give you a procedure to follow and an application form to complete. Most Courts have an online website containing information about how to make a probate application including application forms you can download.
Most Courts require you to advertise, in the local newspaper, your intention to apply for probate. This ensures that there are no other interested parties that wish to administer the estate or contest the Will. Some States and Countries require a notice of your intention to apply for a grant of probate/letters of administration. It must be published in one or two places no sooner than 14 days prior to the submission of the probate application. You may be required to place a legal notice in the local newspaper. Also the Court Website or Law Reporter journal.
Check the public notice section of your local newspaper. You can copy the wording of an advertisement and change the names of the applicant and deceased.
Example of Advertisement in Newspaper
Notice of Intention to apply for Grant
After 14 days from today an application for a grant of Letters of Administration on intestacy of <deceased’s name>
late of <address of deceased>,
deceased, will be made by <name of applicant> to the <name of court> at <your city>.
You may object to the grant by lodging a caveat in that registry.
Any creditors, beneficiaries or other persons having any claim or claims in respect of the estate of the above named Deceased who died on <date of death> are hereby required to send in particulars of their claim to the undersigned within six (6) weeks from the date hereof at the expiration of which time the Administrators will proceed to distribute the assets of the Deceased among the persons entitled thereto having regard to <reference the Act that applies to your state> and to the claims of which the said Administrators shall then have had notice.
Lodged by <name and address of the applicant>.
Applications to the Court Registry
Submit applications to the Court registry by post or by attending the registry in person. The Registrar/Deputy Registrar or a Court clerk will act as your witness and accept the application.
There is a probate filing fee which can be based on the value of the estate (ask your Court registry). This is why you need to determine the financial position of the estate before applying for probate.
Some Courts require an inventory of assets and liabilities for the estate. This is mainly because the Court calculates the probate application fee based on the value of the estate.
Allow 2 or 3 weeks from receipt of the application for straightforward grants of probate. More complicated cases may take longer.
The Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration is a certificate with the Court’s official seal.
You will be able to physically collect your certificate for grant of probate/letters of administration. Or have it mailed to you by registered post.
Conclusion
For most deceased estates anyone can probate an estate without a lawyer, Follow the probate court’s process for probate application.
If the estate has business assets, overseas assets or the Will has complex instructions you will need to consult with a lawyer. Please note that when hiring a lawyer, you can hire them to provide information, perform specific tasks and check what you have done. You do not need to hire a lawyer for the entire process.
However, the vast majority of deceased estates are not complex and do not require a lawyer to apply for probate with or without a Will.
How to Administer a Deceased Estate
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