UK GRO Certificates provides a fast and simple service to obtain searches and copies of Wills and Probate.
'Probate' is a term commonly used when talking about applying for the right to deal with a deceased person's affairs. It's sometimes called 'administering the estate'. This page contains information about what to expect if a loved one's estate is in probate.
If you require a copy of a will for Legal Reasons, Family Disputes, Genealogy Research or simple curiosity? From our web site you can quickly and easily request a search to be made of the Probate Registers and obtain a copy of any Will that has been probated within England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland from January 1858 up to the present day .
Order replacement Will or Probate registered in England or Wales after 1st July 1858 to 6 months from the current date.
Order replacement Will or Probate registered in Scotland after 1st January 1855 to current date.
Order replacement Will or Probate registered in Northern Ireland after 1st January 1864 to current date.
We access to indexes relating to all Probate records for the whole of England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland from 11 January 1858 up to the present day. You may apply for a copy of any proved Will, as well as a copy of the Grant of Representation. The Grant will tell you who were the Executors or Administrators (those appointed to gather in and distribute the estate). It may also tell you the name of the Solicitor acting for them (if any) and the value of the estate, although usually only in very broad terms. The financial summary shown on the Grant is the only information relating to the estate that the Probate record contains. No inventory or estate accounts are available.
A Copy of a Will becomes a public document once probate is issued. Probate is the legal term given to the process that is followed after someone has died. For example, it will be required to sell a property, or collect money from a bank. The Probate ocument will be issued to the Executor(s) named in the Will. In most cases probate takes between 3-9 months to obtain so it is important that you are aware of this.
What will the Probate records show ?
If no will exists, you receive a document called the a Grant of Letters of Administration which contains all the information above except a copy of a will.
If a Grant of Probate was not required, then a Copy of a Will is not registered or made available as a public record.
When is probate not issued ?
The whole estate was held jointly i.e. with a surviving spouse.
The estate was small and financial institutions agree to release any monies to the administrators without the need of a Grant.
What is Grant of Letters of Administration?