Probate Made Simple

Dealing with probate comes at a difficult time when a stressful legal process is particularly unwelcome. Probate can certainly appear daunting in its complexity and can be expensive in solicitors' fees, but it is possible to simplify the process and minimise the cost by taking a logical approach.

The essentials of probate work do not require special skill or expertise and it is therefore eminently feasible for most people without legal training to do the bulk of the work themselves. This means you can avoid paying expensive legal fees for select parts of the probate, making a saving of hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

Probate Made Simple, written by a solicitor with over 15 years' experience in wills and probate, sets out the detailed and specific steps to follow in order to work on probate logically, ensuring that the reader completes everything in the the right order and at the right time and that no vital stages are overlooked.

It also identifies areas of probate where the advice and indemnity cover of a solicitor is beneficial.

Where the involvement of solicitors is necessary, essential inside information is provided to help the reader negotiate realistic legal fees, no matter the level of professional help required. Guidance on how to minimise and evaluate solicitors’ quotes, and get the most out of legal professionals for less - with breakdowns of what typical probate tasks involve, and what charging methods solicitors employ - make the book an indispensable guide for getting fair legal services.

In addition to this, over thirty template letters are provided as practical examples of the correct approach to follow when contacting banks, insurance firms, beneficiaries of the will, solicitors and others.

Saving money on probate work in the simple ways outlined in this book could make a real difference to your inheritance and to the sums received by the other beneficiaries of a will. This is the book anyone going through this potentially expensive, stressful and opaque process needs to have to hand.