
Best estate administration and probate services provider
Co-op Legal Services has been named best estate administration and probate services provider in the 2022 cfi.co awards.
Our probate solicitors offer fixed fee probate services, with no jargon and no upfront costs to pay.
Named best estate administration & probate services provider UK 2022, Co-op Legal Services has the largest team of probate solicitors and specialists in the UK, and is trusted to deal with over £1.8 billion in estates annually. We help and support thousands of bereaved individuals and families, many of whom come to us from Co-op Funeralcare. As part of the Co-op Group, our values of openness, honesty, social responsibility and caring for others are core to the service we provide.
Our probate solicitors and specialists offer a probate complete service. We take full responsibility for getting the grant of probate and dealing with the legal, tax, property and estate administration affairs on your behalf.
A probate consultant can hold a meeting with you either face to face (via video call) or over the phone. In this meeting, they will explain the probate process, answer your questions and provide you with a written fixed fee probate quotation.
Once our probate specialists have provided you with a written quote that price will not change, unless the original information we are given is shown to be incorrect or circumstances change.
We can pay all the costs of a Co-op Funeralcare funeral and pay back any deposit paid, if you instruct us to represent you; providing that the estate owns sufficient assets that can be sold in due course.
Co-op Members save £100 or get 5% off, whichever is higher, on probate and estate administration, terms & conditions apply.
There are no upfront costs to pay as our probate and estate administration fees are deferred and will be taken from the estate once it is in funds.
At Co-op Legal Services we take full responsibility for completing the estate administration process for you. Our probate team includes specialist probate solicitors and trained probate case managers, advisors and consultants.
A probate solicitor needs to have excellent legal, accountancy and administrative skills. But most of all, they need to be good with people to support them through the probate process.
As probate solicitors, we understand the law. We understand wills and when they are (or aren't) valid and we're familiar with the the legal terms used in wills. We can also help you to understand what happens and who gets what when someone dies without a will, which is called dying intestate.
Probate solicitors are also experts in the different taxes that have to be dealt with when someone dies, such as Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax. There are various tax returns to complete when dealing with an estate, and our probate solicitors will deal with HMRC directly, ensuring all available tax exemptions and reliefs are applied, tax calculations are accurate and payment deadlines are met.
During probate, there will be a lot of money coming in and going out, as assets are sold and debts settled. It's crucial to keep track of this, and our probate solicitors will prepare detailed estate accounts.
Using a probate solicitor isn't compulsory in England or Wales, but doing probate yourself is not a task to be entered into lightly. Probate can be a lengthy and time consuming process, which can involve many hours of administrative work and take a year or more to complete.
If you make any mistakes when carrying out any of this work, you could be held legally or financially responsible. If you instruct a probate solicitor to carry out this work on your behalf, they will take responsibility for their work.
In addition, a probate solicitor is a specialist in estate administration. They will be experienced in administering estates, finding missing assets, locating beneficiaries, liaising with HMRC and applying all available tax reliefs and exemptions. This can help to ensure that the beneficiaries of the estate receive the full inheritance that they're entitled to, while reducing any personal risk to the executor or administrator of the estate.
With our probate complete service, we will take full responsibility for carrying out this work on your behalf.
how long after probate is granted does it take to receive inheritance?
what’s the difference between grant of probate and letters of administration?
For more answers to probate questions see what is a grant of probate?
Co-op Legal Services has over 600 staff working in different businesses with offices in Manchester, Bristol, Stratford-upon-Avon, Sheffield and London.