Probate

Helping you with probate

James Hawes & Goodchild Funeral Directors is working with the National Bereavement Service (NBS), a not-for-profit organisation, to assist and support customers and their families. NBS provides practical advice post funeral to help when dealing with legal issues, many of which may be unfamiliar.

Probate is a legal term which means the official proving of a will. You ‘apply for probate’ to have the legal right to deal with someone’s land, property, money and possessions, in other words their ‘estate’.

If the person that has passed away has made a will, they will have appointed an Executor, and may have even identified a legal firm to deal with the probate. Fortunately in most cases the process is simple and straightforward. We can help if you need guidance on DIY probate. If there is no will it can be a little more complicated and the will is resolved according to the Rules of Intestacy.

How to apply

To apply for probate you make the application to the Probate Registry and this gives the Executors named in the application the authority to act in the administration of the estate of the deceased. There are a number of stages to go through when dealing with the administration process and it can vary depending on where you are in the UK.

NBS can help guide you through all of this, call them free on 0800 0246 121 Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 1pm or visit them at www.theNBS.org where you’ll find more useful information. 

Useful links:

Applying for probate

Intestacy – Who inherits when there is no will?

Dealing the estate of someone who has died

Valuing the estate of someone who has died

Stopping a probate application

Cremations

We can assist you in every step of the funeral and cremation arrangements so please ask us about any queries you may have.

Cremations

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Funeral prices vary depending on the type of ceremony you would like for your loved one. There are many options to choose from to make it unique and special.

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Need advice?

James Hawes & Goodchild Funeral Directors can assist you in every step of the funeral so please don’t hesitate to ask us about any aspects or queries you may have.

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Featured Reviews

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Alison treated me and my family with respect and kindness. She had empathy and her customer service is of the highest order.

Philip Awuah

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My family and I cannot thank Denise and her team enough for their support, kindness and professionalism, ensuring that our mother’s funeral ran smoothly last week. The funeral was dignified and beautiful, as we had hoped it would be. Thank you Denise, Samantha, Richard and…

Pansy

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We used James Hawes for our Dad's funeral back in 2004 so we went with them again for our Mum's this week. A truly excellent service from start to finish. A huge thank you to Alison and Sam who helped us through a really difficult…

Jeff Buggins

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We had a funeral for a special mum of the family Alison was excellent arranging our funeral and all our requests The cars were fab staff were lovely this included the drivers and the lovely lady in charge of the procession Our funeral went easy…

Tina Buggins

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Thank you to Denise and her team for their support and help during our difficult time. The kindness and compassion shown to the family and attention to detail at the service was greatly appreciated, they knew exactly what we needed when we wasnt in the…

Georgia B

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Could not ask for better people to help me throughout the sad time of planning my dad's celebration of life day. Whatever was asked, was done and done to perfection. They became a part of my family and I will always be grateful for making…

Christina Wood

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I would like to say a massive thank you for the funeral directors and staff, Denise, Richard, Deanna and Sam, for the care of my Late Father Mr Patrice and the highly professional execution of his funeral. They did a wonderful job from start to…

Benjamite Queen

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A massive thank you to Alison for looking after my family at a very difficult time. A special mention to Tony who visited my Autistic grandson every evening and at the weekend to reassure him and put his mind at ease. Such an incredible human…

Harry Mason

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Absolutely — this version gives Denise proper credit for the ties and flag, and adds more detail without losing your voice. From all of our family, we honestly cannot thank Denise, Samantha and the whole team enough for everything they did for us and for…

Jen Mahon

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Denise and her team were amazing at supporting me and my friends through a difficult time. She gave a great service that I won’t forget and helped us give a proper send off to someone we lost. She would constantly check up on us and…

Edgar

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