After an approach to Breens Solicitors, a Will Search Combined provided certainty to them and the genealogists on the case to press ahead contacting more than fifty beneficiaries in an intestate matter.
In the matter, the private client team at Breens Solicitors was initially approached by the nephew of the deceased before they passed, however a Will was not written between that time.
As the deceased’s nephew and his family had taken care of her until her death, he took it upon himself to go back to Breens Solicitors to arrange for the estate to be administered as no-one had come forward.
Once working on the probate matter it was apparent that there were no next of kin or a surviving spouse, no Will, and the nephew was a nephew ‘by marriage’ rather than a relative able to instruct a solicitor for estate administration by the rules of intestacy.
To confirm this, the team undertook a Certainty Will Search Combined which brought back no registered or unregistered Wills from the searches, nor anything through the Missing Wills Noticeboard, showing that as much was done as possible to show beyond reasonable doubt that there was no Will.
With this now confirmed, genealogists were able to locate upwards of 50 beneficiaries for Breens Solicitors to begin administration and distribution of the estate, with one of the beneficiaries obliging to instruct them as they were the ones to find them.
Certainty through Will Search
By conducting a Will Search Combined, the private client team at Breens Solicitors can illustrate that all reasonable steps were taken to prove beyond doubt that the deceased’s estate is indeed intestate.
Searching for a Will before involving a genealogist in intestate cases saves both time and money in the long run. If a Will was to be found through a Will Search and one not undertaken, it could potentially had triggered a contentious probate case which, in this case, would have involved upwards of 50 people included.
When taking the decision to search for a Will with The National Will Register, Faye Lowery of Breens Solicitors said: “Due to the high number of intestate estates we deal with, we are aware of how vitally important it is that all steps are taken to ensure the correct administration of the estates and that no stones are left unturned in ascertaining the correct position”.
Find out more about how a Certainty Will Search protects your practice, your clients, testators, executors and beneficiaries by clicking here or speaking to your account manager if you are a member.