When a loved one passes, it can be tough at the best of times to know what to do. Especially when it comes to managing their estate or any other legal aspects.

And unfortunately, due to media depictions of what happens when someone dies, it can be tough to separate the legal process surrounding probate in the UK and what makes for a good scene in a soap opera.

When you come to Andrew and Andrew, our probate solicitors Portsmouth can break down all of the complicated jargon and help make sense of what needs to happen next. Our probate team prides itself on being compassionate and will take all the time needed to ensure that you understand this rather complicated process.

Now back to the main point, what is the reality concerning probate under UK law and what is not? Here, our probate solicitors Portsmouth discuss common probate myths that the public need to stop believing.

The probate timeline is only a few weeks

Over the last year, more people than ever have learned that the probate timeline is not a short one!

While our probate solicitors Portsmouth will always aim to keep the process as short as possible, on average, it can take upwards of 3 months for all the required information, to apply for probate or go through probate, to be collected.

Also, once probate has been granted, it can still take a while for assets to be released and at the current time, many people are finding that the probate process can take upwards of a year due to delays caused by COVID-19. So patience is key.

The will is read

This does not happen, so you won’t have to sit across from your estranged brother and argue about what you should have received.

If someone is named as a beneficiary in a will, they will be contacted by our team should you choose to proceed with us. If no will is left, then the assets will go through the laws on intestacy and the beneficiaries via this system will then be contacted.

It’s fairly simple and there will be no grand meeting of family members!

You only need probate if the will is missing

This is simply not true.

There are instances in which if an estate is worth more than £5,000, has a complicated inheritance or if the assets are held in a joint account that probate will be needed. Also, if your loved one owned properties overseas or had assets that may fall under another country’s jurisdiction, then probate can help simplify the process.

Anyone can contest a will

Once again, this is another image portrayed by soap operas and films which our team find somewhat amusing!

Few people can legally contest a will under UK law, and there are only certain circumstances in which they can do this. The most common one is due to concerns surrounding a lack of validity of the will that was left. But contesting a will is costly and time-consuming, so we find that few people do it in our practice.