Wills & Probate Northern Ireland

Get Expert Advice On Making Your Will, Your Way

Our team is highly experienced in handling all matters regarding wills and probate.

Whether you are planning for the future of your loved ones or negotiating the complexities of being named in the will of another, we are here to make your process run smoothly.

Will Services

It is essential that all adults, not just the elderly, have a will. If you have any assets or property, this is especially important. A Will is simple and relatively inexpensive. If prepared well, a Will can be used to reduce tax liability and other expenses upon death. This will ensure that your final wishes are honoured upon your death and that the family you have left behind are well taken care of. We offer a Will writing and advice service for a very reasonable fee

A will can help avoid family conflict during challenging times reserved for grieving a death. Our expert Probate and Wills team at Clarendon Legal Solicitors will endeavour to ensure that you have the least stress possible at a difficult time.

Our will-drafting services include but are not limited to the following:

• Writing and executing your Will
• Providing relevant inheritance tax advice
• Advice on alterations in your circumstances and how your estate will be affected
• Protecting the interests of your children/dependents and appointing guardians

A professionally prepared Will shall ensure that your estate is managed in accordance with your wishes.

To get started with your Will, get in touch today.

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Wills FAQ

Your Will determines who will inherit your assets, money and property after your death. These are your beneficiaries. You will be considered Intestate if you have died without making a valid Will, whereupon a legal framework dictated by legislation is then used to govern the distribution of your assets. This may be different from your wishes.

Without a Will, your status will be intestate. As a result, your estate might not be distributed to those you vocally choose. Intestacy rules are a unique way to distribute your estate. The State has prepared a statutory framework for the distribution of your Estate in the event that you should die without leaving a valid Will. This may be a lot different from how you wish your Estate to be distributed upon your death.

If you and your partner are not married or in a civil relationship and haven’t made a Will, they don’t have an automatic right to inherit from the estate. This applies regardless of whether you have been married or had children together for a long time.

If your spouse or partner has died, your children will inherit all the assets, split equally. If there is no partner or children, your estate may be inherited by parents, siblings, brothers, nieces, nephews, and sisters.

You should review your Will at regular intervals, particularly if you experience a significant life change such as the birth of a grandchild or the acquisition of a new material asset or property.

Never alter the original document. However, you can add a codicil to your Will if you make minor changes. The codicil must be signed and witnessed in the same manner as the Will. However, the witnesses can be different.

You should create a new Will if you need to make significant changes.

Probate Services

After a family member’s death occurs, you might not get what you expected to inherit. You may also be responsible for managing an estate that is being litigated upon. Legal difficulties tend to arise in situations like these, but Clarendon Legal’s probate solicitors can offer highly specialised advice and expert guidance.

Clarendon Legal understands the importance of a personal and sensitive approach. Therefore, our team will guide you through the legal process.

Our probate specialists can help you with the following:

• Incapacity, invalidity or undue influence that may pose a challenge to a Will
• Claims under the Inheritance Provision for Family and Dependants (NI) Order 1979
• Expropriation of assets from problematic individuals
• Problematic executors and inefficient administration

Our specialist lawyers can help you to defend and/or manage the legal challenge to the Estates of loved ones.

For expert legal advice on probate matters, get in touch today.

Probate FAQ

Probate gives you the legal challenge to manage the Estate of a Deceased Person. First, the court will prove the will of the deceased as their last Will and Testament and issue a Grant of Probate. The Grant of Probate then serves to administer the estate of the deceased.

A grant of Probate is required in Northern Ireland if an individual’s assets exceed £20,000, and they have left a valid Will and Testament.

If a deceased person has assets in excess of £20,000 and they have not left a valid Will and Testament then the application is brought by the Administrator of the Estate (this person’s entitlement to bring the application is determined by a very strict statutory legal framework), and the application is then to obtain a ‘Grant of Letters of Administration Intestate’ to the Deceased’s Estate.

It is important to consider the need to make a Will, regardless of whether you are married, or single, in a civil partnership or cohabiting with another person to ensure that all of your assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes upon your death rather than to leave your Estate to be distributed in accordance with the regime determined by the State and embodied in legislation.

The Estate of a deceased person is all of their assets at the time of their death, taking into account all of their liabilities also, such as a mortgage, funeral account or outstanding loans.