International Probate lawyers

If you are an Executor, Foreign attorney/lawyer or beneficiary outside the UK and need help collecting UK assets after someone has died we can help. We specialise in International probate and have a team that focus on this often complex area of law in the UK.

Overview of the Inheritance Process in the UK

In the UK after some has died there is a legal process to collect assets of a deceased person. This is called Probate, and is undertaken by the Executor when there is a will, or the administrator when there is no will. The probate has varying stages, but the most important document is the Grant of Probate issued by our Courts who are known as the Probate Registry. It is this document that will be required if the deceased left assets in the UK. It is also known as a Grant of Representation in England

When acting for clients outside the UK, the process to collect assets does vary significantly depending upon a variety of factors. Firstly, the Domicile of the Deceased, and the Country in which the Deceased died and whether any legal process has been followed in that Country.

Resealing probate

If the Deceased died in a former commonwealth country recognised by the UK’s Colonial Probates Act then, a process known as Resealing Probate can be undertaken ( see below ) this involves an application being made to our Courts to reseal the overseas grant and will. Countries recognised by the Colonial Probates Act very often have very similar probate processes to the UK.

Countries in which Resealing Probate is Not possible

If the Deceased died in a Country not recognised by our Colonial Probates Act, the probate process is different in the UK. In summary, we would require the Court sealed documents issued in the Deceased’s Country together with a translation if not in English. Once these documents have been obtained the probate registry may well request an Affidavits of foreign law this is a document which addresses in detail the legal process that has been followed in the Deceased’s Country. It must be signed by a lawyer conversant with the laws of the country in which the deceased died. This can be very important if the documents are not in English.

Example Countries in which resealing probate is not possible are USA, Ireland, Spain, France, Channel Islands and German and Swiss.

• International probate

Resealing probate in the UK

Our teams focus on several areas of overseas probate applications in the UK. The most common is Resealing probate in the UK, this enables a foreign Grant to be known as ` resealed ` meaning that it can be used in the UK to collect assets. The Countries must be recognised by the UK’s Colonial Probate Act, which lists the Countries who are signatories. These are mostly commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa.

For help with any Resealing probate call us now on (+44) 01482 429985 or e-mail tim.murden@tmsolicitors.co.uk

If you need help with resealing probate in the UK we will typically require the following documents :-

• Death certificate certified
• Court sealed court papers to include the will
• Details of the UK assets to be collected

Probate issued in Ireland

Unfortunately, probate from Ireland cannot be resealed in the UK, however if you need help collecting assets from Ireland we can help.

The process is different to Resealing if probate has been issued in Ireland and involves, an application being issued in our probate court for an order that probate be issued to the same person named on the probate papers in Ireland. As a result of this, we will require what is called an Affidavit of foreign law that explains what has arisen in Ireland. this has to be signed by an Irish Lawyer.

The link below confirms what we would need if you want our help releasing UK assets.

Ireland probate in England

Assistance to clients from the USA

We regularly help US lawyers and clients with probate in the UK, and are fully familiar with the differing probate laws in most US States, particularly, New York and California.

In probate has been issued in the States, then we would require the following documents :-

• Details of the UK assets
• Certified copy of the death certificate
• Details of attorney
• Letters of Testamentary ( or equivalent ) and court sealed copy of will and probate

The link below discusses in more detail the process if the Deceased died in the USA but left UK assets

USA probate letters of testamentary in the UK

Help for Channel Islands clients

If probate has been obtained in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man we can help, if you need probate in the UK.

The links below confirm the documents we would require.

Isle of Man Probate in the UK

Probate in Guernsey in the UK

German and Swiss Clients

We have considerable experience of providing assistance to German and Swiss clients – contact us if you need help obtaining probate in the UK.

Switzerland Inheritance process in the UK

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Make a free, no obligation enquiry now. Call us on (+44) 01482 429985 or click here to make a free online enquiry.

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