If you are an Executor or Administrator of an estate in which the deceased died outside the UK, how do you collect UK assets ?
Very often the Executor of the overseas grant will simply send a copy of the probate or inheritance document that has been issued overseas, believing this to be sufficient to release UK assets. The asset holder such as a Share registrar such as Computershare will typically reply, saying the following :
`You will need to provide us with an overseas grant of representation that has been re-sealed in the UK together with a certified translation in English if applicable`Â
What is Resealing probate ?
The term resealed is in reference to a legal process known as Resealing Probate. This applies when an application is made to the UK Probate Courts for the overseas probate to be resealed once stamped and resealed by the UK Courts this enables the overseas grant to be used in the UK to collect UK assets.
Not all overseas grants can be resealed in the UK. The Country must be signatory to the UK’s Colonial Probate Act. Typically, the Countries that are signatories are commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa. If the Country is not listed under the Colonial Probate Act, then resealing probate will not be possible and an entirely different application will need to be made in the UK to obtain a Grant of Representation, which will typically involve an affidavit of foreign law setting out the law of the country in which the deceased has died together with details of the legal process that has been followed and the person responsible for the administration of the estate.
If you are based outside the UK and need help collecting assets in the UK on a Deceased Estate, we have a specialist overseas probate team that are experienced in handling all aspects of probate applications in the UK. Please contact Tim Murden on 00 44 1482 429985 or email Tim at tim.murden@tmsolicitors.co.uk
