Avery Associates

House Clearance & Probate Valuation Services


  • HOME
  • HOUSE CLEARANCE
    • Probate House Clearance
    • House Clearance
    • FAQ
    • Hoarder House Clearance
    • Garden Clearance
    • Charity Donations
    • Recycling
    • House Clearance Gallery
    • Our Locations
  • PROBATE HELP
    • Probate Valuation Guide Fees & Advice
    • Probate House Clearance
    • Executors Information
    • Services For Solicitors
    • Our Locations
  • PROBATE VALUATIONS
    • Probate Valuation Explained
    • RICS House Valuation
    • Classic Cars
    • Jewellery
    • Coins
    • Books
    • Stamps
    • Vintage Toys
    • Records
  • REVIEWS
  • NEWS
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT

Why Can’t I See My Father’s Will Before the Probate?

April 27, 2019 By Richard Farrell

A young lady called us in a panic the other day. When she calmed down a little we learned her father had passed away after nominating her brother as his sole executor. It seems the two siblings were not the best of friends. Indeed, she was openly accusing her brother of intent to ‘rip her off’ as he held the only copy of the will.

A rather large postage stamp collection was at the heart of her concerns. There was no public record she knew of listing the contents of the collection. All she knew was her father had promised her “Someday these stamps are going to make you very rich.” She was beginning to wonder if that would ever happen.

Unfortunately the Lady Was in a Tight Predicament

English law states quite clearly that only people named as executors may read a will before a grant of probate. This grant authorises them to carry out the deceased’s wishes. Therefore the lady had no automatic entitlement, although it is perfectly normal for executors to share the content of wills with family members.

However, strictly speaking the brother was in his rights to keep the information to himself until a probate court issued the grant. After that, his father’s will would become public knowledge on the internet, because he had to submit it with the application. In the meantime his sister’s choices were limited.

Her Cheaper Option Would Be to Accelerate the Probate Process

We suggested the lady ask another member of the immediate family to explain an executor’s responsibilities. We thought her brother would be keen to know as he presumably had an interest too. His duties would include:

# Satisfying himself the will was the original, final testament

# Placing a death notice in The Gazette

# Valuing the estate and reporting this to HMRC

# Gathering the assets together and securing them

# Provisionally allocating any nominated assets

# Allowing the beneficiaries to lay claims for the rest

# Paying any inheritance tax to Revenue and Customs.

# Settling any debts, and distributing the remaining assets

If an executor fails to carry out these duties during a reasonable period, then the Probate Court may appoint an administrator to wind up the estate.

What Happens if This Process Drags on Too Long?

The law may be stubborn, but is not a complete ass. A person who reasonably believes they are a beneficiary may apply to a Court for relief after exhausting their other options.

The Court may then decide to order the executor to release a copy of the will. They may also have to pay the Court’s cost if it finds they acted obstructively. Of course, this might have all been avoided if the deceased had appointed their solicitor as executor.

Lawyers do play a useful role under such circumstances. If you are leaving your assets to a quarrelling, fractious family you may like to appoint a lawyer to assist. After all, your beneficiaries will foot the bill, so effectively it’s from their pockets.

Filed Under: Probate Valuation Tagged With: always use a lawyer for probate, london probate valuers, Placing a death notice in The Gazette, probate contents valuation, you cant see your fathers will before probate

Our House Clearance Services

We provide a full house clearance and property management solution:

  • We clear hoarded houses, regardless how big or how cluttered
  • We clear all types and sizes of property, irrespective of location, or access is restricted or where parking is difficult or not available.
  • We can help avoid water damage by draining the central heating system.
  • We can secure the property and change the locks.
  • We can reinstate the gardens and maintain them whilst the property is empty.
  • We can provide 24 hour security to eliminate the risk of squatting or unlawful occupation.

As well normal house clearances we specialise in clutter clearance and we can clear a hoarded house which may contain years of accumulated possessions, or which have abnormal amounts of general household items, sometimes as a result of compulsive hoarding syndrome.

Equally we can help to clear a property where the occupants were previously unwell and unable to care for themselves or their property which sometimes results in insanitary, dangerous or just plain unpleasant conditions.

More info

About Richard Farrell

What We Do

Get A Quick Quote

Client Reviews

Feb 1, 2021
by Sally Thompson on Avery Associates
Sensitive House Clearance

You have done an excellent job, given that you had very little time. Brenda and I do appreciate how much you have done and feel it is really kind of you... Read More

Feb 1, 2021
by Sacha Hawes on Avery Associates
Hoarded House Clearance

I would firstly like to thank everyone at Avery associates for their hard work . We called Jeff after the sudden death of my father. He was a "hoarder... Read More

Feb 1, 2021
by Jennie Adams on Avery Associates
House Clearance And Search For Valuable Items

We are very grateful to Jeff and his team for carrying out a clearance on a very cluttered relative’s house. He fitted in with our timeframe organising... Read More

Page 1 of 39:
«
 
‹
 
1
2
3
›
 
»
 

Share, Email or Print

Looking For Something?

Our Latest News & Advice

  • What is the Difference Between Probate Value and Market Value?
  • A More Holistic Approach to Animal Hoarding
  • How Covid-19 Affects the Way We Do Our Probate Work


Avery Associates
291 Mitcham Rd
Tooting SW179JQ

Tel: 0800 567 7769 or 0208 640 0044

Services provided throughout London and the Home Counties. View our clearance case studies.


Website Terms | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Copyright © 2005-2018 Avery Associates
Website Development by Avara Web Media