Making a legally binding Will is the only way you can be assured that your estate, i.e. your money, property, investments and other assets and possessions, will be distributed in the way you wish them to be after your death. If you do not ensure that the document is legally enforceable and do not update it as and when necessary, it may unfortunately come to pass that your estate’s future does not align with your wishes.
Read more: Contested Probate Case a Harsh but Salutary Lesson
Losing a loved one, particularly a close family member such as a spouse, parent, grandparent or sibling, is likely to bring with it innumerable practical and spiritual challenges.
It is hard then, if when we are in the process of trying to digest our loss and attempting to recalibrate our positions in the world, we become bogged down by the bureaucratic demands of death and all the feelings of powerlessness and impersonality these can engender.
Read more: Probate Service Delays Hint at Dysfunctional Planning
Losing a close friend or family member is traumatic in any circumstance. However, it is when the bureaucracy of death takes over, becoming a complicated and time-consuming burden, that things can seem particularly difficult, preventing those concerned from being able to grieve fully and without interruption.
From obtaining medical certificates to organising funerals and registering deaths, there are so many practical matters to attend to that handling the death of a loved one can begin to feel more like an administrative hurdle to overcome than the end of a precious life.
Read more: Oratto Makes Probate Bureaucracy Less of a Burden
Francis Bacon famously said that "money is a great servant but a bad master" and over the years this quote has been adapted to fit with the truth of technology; it truly is a great servant but as a master is likely to have significant failings.
This is nowhere truer than the legal services market, where technological innovation works to simplify processes and reduce costs. Technology is undoubtedly to the benefit of the user, but when it only serves to frustrate human interaction and to create a feeling of helplessness and automation, it is not the assistance one would hope for.
Probate is an area of legal services provision where technological solutions to practical problems are at last beginning to make their presence felt after a long period of uninterrupted fustiness. However, these are not always for the better.
The probate process can be complicated, stressful and protracted; with the time it takes to complete the administration largely dependent on the size and complexity of the estate. However, in cases where there may be doubts about the integrity or legality of a Will or how the process is being handled, things can quickly become even more fraught.
Losing a family member or other loved one is an inherently emotional time and, for many, this can lead to feelings of extreme reticence when dealing with the deceased's affairs, even when there might be strong grounds for challenging probate. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced and sensitive contested probate solicitor to provide advice and guidance, challenging probate need not be an insurmountable task.
Read more: Probate Technology Doesn't Need to be Contentious
