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Estate Planning & Administration Lawyers

When someone dies, it is necessary to establish who has the legal right to administer their estate. Freeths offer a variety of detailed information guides, including your duties as an estate administrator.

Estate planning & administration expertise

When someone dies, it is necessary to establish who has the legal right to administer their estate. Probate is the process of proving a Will, in which executors apply for and are issued with a ‘Grant of Probate’. This confirms their legal authority to administer the money, property and possessions of the deceased.

If someone left no Will or did not appoint an executor, the next of kin or beneficiaries apply to the Court to appoint an administrator to act as a personal representative. A grant issued to administrators is known as a ‘Grant of Letters of Administration’. Executors or administrators are known as the personal representatives.

Freeths offer a variety of detailed information guides, including your duties as an estate administrator, the documentation required, and price lists for our legal services. Please get in touch if you would like a copy.

Why choose our estate planning & administration team?

  • Freeths have a highly experienced probate team offering clear and considered advice
  • National reputation for private client services, acting for executors, trustees and beneficiaries
  • You can ask us for advice on tax mitigation and the practicalities of estate administration
  • Our probate lawyers have expertise relating to international assets and cross-border issues

Freeths have significant experience of advising executors, administrators, trustees and beneficiaries, and have a deep-rooted understanding of the issues they face. Our solicitors understand that the circumstances of each case can vary widely. Their aim is to help personal representatives to wind up the estate as quickly and efficiently as possible, overcoming any practical difficulties and mitigating financial liabilities.

Contentious probate cases

Occasionally, Wills are inappropriate, incomplete or ambiguous, or make inadequate provision for dependants. Or, there may be doubt about the circumstances surrounding its creation.

We have a specialist litigation team who will deal with any contentious probate cases effectively and efficiently. The time administering an estate depends on the nature and value of the assets, as well as the complexity of the deceased individual’s affairs. We can provide an estimated timescale at the outset, but unpredictable factors, including claims instigated against the estate, may alter this throughout the course of action.

We sensitively handle all aspects of estate administration, whether the estate is straightforward or complex. We also deal with intestacies (when a person has left no Will) and we can trace missing beneficiaries.

Call our specialist Probate & Estate Administration team on 0330 100 1014 to find out more about how we can help you.

Key contacts

Sarah Foster's Profile

Sarah Foster

Oxford Office Managing Partner & Joint Head of Private Client Services

Mark Keeley's Profile

Mark Keeley

Partner & Joint Head of Private Client Services

Get in touch

Notable work

  • Advising a family in relation to challenges to Wills on grounds of lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence and want of knowledge and approval.
  • Administering estates in which there are difficult relationships, including acting in complex contested estates where a court-appointed independent administrator/judicial trustee has been appointed.
  • Disputes between executors and between executors and beneficiaries and the removal of executors and trustees.
  • Representing a group of intestacy beneficiaries at trial in relation to a claim brought against the estate based upon a nuncupative (oral) Will.
  • Assisting in finalising estate matters where a grant of representation was not required, but other formalities had to be complied with.
  • Defending the executors of an estate from a claim to have the transfer of a property to their father set aside because of incapacity/undue influence.
  • Acting in a complex Inheritance Act claim for a claimant who was a long term co-habitee of the deceased, where estate assets were tied up in a farming business.
  • Separately pursuing and defending proprietary estoppel claims valued at over £1 million in relation to promises allegedly made in relation to the inheritance of farms.
  • Assisting in the administration of an estate where a charity is the sole beneficiary.
  • Acting in the administration of the estates in numerous contested probate cases, acting for both executors and independent administrators.
  • Acting for trustees in relation to an application to court to resolve a dispute in the administration of a family trust involving interests in a group of companies and property assets.
  • Resolving a long running dispute over life-time gifts made shortly before death and allowing the executor to complete the administration of the estate.
  • Acting for a beneficiary of a trust in an action against the trustees for improper investment of the trust fund.
  • Assisting in the administration of an estate with a large number of investments and beneficiaries abroad.

Testimonials

  • "I would again like to thank you both for all the constant reassurance I needed throughout the whole process. You did an amazing job. After my prev...

    Client testimonial

  • "You have certainly been brilliant throughout and I can't imagine where I would be without your ongoing efficiency, excellent advice and good humou...

    Client testimonial

  • "Thank you for all the support you have given us in this difficult, complicated and interesting case, you have explained all the jargon in easy to...

    Client testimonial

  • "Freeths is 'pre-eminent for contentious trusts and probate'. ACTAPS member Mark Keeley is 'a safe pair of hands', and 'actively promotes mediation...

    The Legal 500

Meet the team

Sarah Foster's Profile

Sarah Foster

Oxford Office Managing Partner & Joint Head of Private Client Services

Mark Keeley's Profile

Mark Keeley

Partner & Joint Head of Private Client Services

Louise Lewis's Profile

Louise Lewis

Partner & Joint Head of Oxford Trusts, Estates and Tax Team

Lisa Mark-Bell's Profile

Lisa Mark-Bell

Director & Joint Head of Oxford Trusts, Estates and Tax Team

Get in touch

Contact us today

Whatever your legal needs, our wide ranging expertise is here to support you and your business, so let’s start your legal journey today and get you in touch with the right lawyer to get you started.

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