National Grief Awareness Week is an annual event set up by The Good Grief Trust to help those dealing with bereavement to find practical and emotional support. This year the awareness week takes place from December 2 to December 7.
The theme for the campaign this year is “Growing with Grief”. The campaign emphasises how after a loss “we can grow into someone new shaped by love, memories and resilience.” A number of events are being run during the campaign to support those bereaved across the country and to remember those who have died. To find out more about their campaign and how you can get involved visit their website.
Our Wills and Probate team recognise that when a client comes to us after a bereavement they need to be supported with time, empathy and emotional understanding. The team’s work is not simply about ticking boxes and filling in forms but also providing reassurance to people at an emotional and vulnerable time in their lives.
Processing grief can be hindered by having to deal with the legal and administrative necessities of the deceased’s estate. The benefit of obtaining sound legal advice from experienced professionals comes from knowing that the deceased’s affairs are being handled correctly with skill and knowing that their wishes are being followed.
Our Wills and Probate team are well-trained and experienced in providing empathetic legal advice at an extremely challenging time. Knowing that the legal formalities are being dealt with can enable those bereaved to focus on remembering the deceased.
When a person dies there are a number of legal steps that need to be followed to arrange their affairs.
Firstly, in order to get authority to administer a person’s estate a legal document called a Grant of Representation is needed. Depending on the circumstances can be one of the following types:
- Probate.
- Letters of Administration where there is a Will.
- Letters of Administration where there is no Will.
Once a Grant of Representation is obtained our team can then deal with legal formalities including:
- Acting as executors and trustees
- Identifying and valuing assets
- Applying for Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration
- Identifying and paying debts
- Claiming benefits/exemptions from Inheritance Tax
- Preparing HM Revenue & Customs accounts
- Dealing with beneficiaries
- Deeds of Variation and family arrangements
- Administration of continuing Trusts
Depending on the complexity of the deceased’s estate these legal steps can be time-consuming and may appear daunting at a time when the last thing someone wants to do is handle legal and administrative tasks. Our Wills and Probate team aims to make this process as understandable and stress-free as possible.
Our professionals can either be fully involved in assisting or dealing with the estate or simply be on hand to assist you with the estate affairs when needed. Everyone’s situation will be different. For example, our professionals can just obtain a Grant of Representation. This may be an option where there are few institutions such as a bank to contact regarding the deceased’s assets. However, if the estate contains more complicated aspects such as shares based overseas then our professionals can either deal with just those more complicated aspects or the entire estate.
Contact us if you require more information on how our Wills & Probate team can help you.