Is It Possible To Avoid Expensive Probate Costs & Delays?

Our recent blog explained the process and requirements of obtaining Probate; a process that follows the death of a loved one.

Solicitors generally charge between 3-5% of the value of an estate when dealing with the Probate process and the administration of the estate.

You may have seen adverts on various social media channels from companies offering “pre-paid Probate services”, to “ensure that your family do not have an outlay after your death.” 

This offering is not as clear as it may seem, however. It means you paying the fee in advance, instead; something that not everyone would be able to do.

What if there was a way of avoiding the Probate procedure completely?

This is a question we have been asked many times. The short answer is yes. 

It is possible to avoid the Probate process by using what is known as a Lifetime Trust. Quite simply you create a Trust during your lifetime and transfer into the Trust the assets that you own. Typically, this could be your house and savings. 

You would be the main beneficiary of your own Trust, making sure that only you have access to the assets during your lifetime. In real terms, you still live in your house, you are the beneficiary of your savings (having access), until your death. 

Any assets in the Trust are exempt from any Probate procedure on your death, and would then be distributed by your chosen Trustees to the beneficiaries of the Trust – normally mirroring the beneficiaries under your Will. Such as your children, for example. 

If it can be proved that main reason for setting up the Lifetime Trust was to avoid Probate related issues, it can be argued that the Trust would then also help to protect the assets from any future assessment by the Local Authority if the person who set up the trust ever needed care in the future.

If the person who set up the Trust were to need an element of care in the future, provided that:-

1. they were in good health when the trust was set up;

2. care could not be envisaged in the short term, and;

3. the Trust was set up solely with the avoidance of Probate in mind

the Trust should then be protected from assessment by the Local Authority. Setting up a Trust with a deliberate intention to shelter assets from care assessment will not work. Specific advice should always be taken in this highly complicated area of course. 

Mark Tucker, the founder of MT Legal Services has nearly 40 years of experience in matters regarding Wills and Probate. As a member of the Institute of Professional Will Writers, you can be sure that you’re in good hands when you employ MT Legal Services.

To book your FREE CONSULTATION, please get in touch!

T: 01604 591242

E: mark@mtls.co.uk