Wills and Probate in Manchester

Our Manchester wills and probate solicitors help individuals and families with everything from straightforward Will writing to complex estate administration involving property, business interests, and disputes between beneficiaries.

Writing a Will in Manchester

A Will is a legal document that sets out what should happen to your assets — your property, savings, personal belongings, and any other possessions after you die. It also lets you nominate guardians for any children under 18, and appoint executors (the people responsible for carrying out your wishes).

Without a valid Will, your estate is distributed according to the rules of intestacy — a legal framework that doesn't necessarily reflect your actual wishes. Unmarried partners, for example, inherit nothing under intestacy rules regardless of how long you've been together.

Why Make a Will?

There are a lot of reasons, but these are the ones we hear most often:

• You want to make sure your partner is looked after, especially if you're not married
• You have children and want to control who looks after them and what they inherit
• You own property and want to avoid complications for whoever needs to deal with it
• You want to leave something to a charity or a specific person who wouldn't otherwise inherit
• You have a business and need to plan for what happens to your share
• You want to minimise the amount of inheritance tax your estate pays
• You want to appoint specific people as executors rather than leaving it to chance

Our Will Writing Service

We offer Will writing appointments at our Manchester offices, and in certain circumstances, we can arrange home visits or remote consultations for clients who find it difficult to travel.

Our approach is straightforward. We ask you about your circumstances — your family, your assets, any specific concerns — and draft a Will that reflects exactly what you want. We explain your options clearly: what happens if a beneficiary dies before you, how to deal with property held jointly, how to structure gifts to minimise tax, and so on.

We also ensure your Will is properly executed. A Will that hasn't been signed and witnessed correctly is invalid — which is why it's worth using a solicitor rather than a DIY kit.

Types of Wills We Draft

• Single Wills (for individuals)
• Mirror Wills (for couples with similar wishes)
• Wills with testamentary trusts (for protecting assets for children or vulnerable beneficiaries)
• Wills with property trusts (particularly useful for protecting the family home

Lasting Powers of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you appoint someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so yourself — whether through illness, accident, or cognitive decline.

There are two types:

• Property and Financial Affairs LPA — covers things like managing your bank accounts, paying bills, and dealing with your property
• Health and Welfare LPA — covers decisions about your medical treatment, where you live, and your day-to-day care

Many people assume that a spouse or close family member automatically has the right to make these decisions. They don't. Without an LPA in place, if you lose mental capacity, your family would need to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order — a process that's slow, stressful, and expensive.

We strongly recommend making LPAs at the same time as your Will. The two documents work together as part of a complete estate plan.

Probate and Estate Administration

When someone dies, their estate needs to be administered — which means collecting in their assets, paying any debts and taxes, and distributing what's left to the beneficiaries.

If the deceased left a Will, the executors named in that Will are responsible for administering the estate. If there's no Will, the rules of intestacy determine both who inherits and who has the right to administer the estate (usually the next of kin).

In most cases, before the executors can deal with the deceased's assets, they need to apply for a Grant of Probate (or, if there's no Will, Letters of Administration). This is the legal document that confirms their authority to act.

Do You Need a Solicitor for Probate?

Not always. Some straightforward estates — small amounts of money, no property, no inheritance tax — can be administered without professional help. But many families find that the process is more involved than they expected, and getting it wrong can cause real problems.

You should seriously consider instructing a solicitor if:

• The estate includes property (especially if it needs to be sold)
• There is inheritance tax to pay
• The deceased had complex financial affairs, multiple bank accounts, or overseas assets
• There's no Will, or the Will is disputed
• There are potential claims against the estate
• Beneficiaries are minors or vulnerable adults
• You simply don't have the time or capacity to deal with it yourself

What Our Probate Solicitors Do

We can handle the process from start to finish, or provide more limited help — for instance, just dealing with the Grant of Probate application and leaving the rest to the executors. We're flexible.

A full estate administration service typically includes:

• Advising on the validity of the Will and the executors' duties
• Valuing the estate (property, investments, bank accounts, personal belongings)
• Completing and submitting the inheritance tax return to HMRC
• Applying for the Grant of Probate
• Collecting in the assets
• Paying debts, funeral expenses, and any taxes owed
• Preparing estate accounts
• Distributing the estate to beneficiaries

Inheritance Tax Planning

Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the value of an estate above the nil-rate band threshold (currently £325,000 per person, with additional allowances available in some circumstances). For larger estates, the bill can be substantial.

There are legitimate ways to reduce inheritance tax liability, but they usually require planning in advance. Gifts made more than seven years before death are generally exempt. Certain business and agricultural assets qualify for relief. Trusts can be used to pass assets outside the estate.

We're not financial advisers, but we work regularly with clients on the legal side of inheritance tax planning — drafting trusts, restructuring ownership of assets, and making sure Wills are structured to make the most of available allowances.

What Makes a Will Invalid?

This is a question we get asked a lot. A Will can be challenged on several grounds:

• Lack of testamentary capacity: the person who made the Will didn't fully understand what they were doing
• Lack of knowledge and approval: the person signed a Will without fully understanding its contents
• Undue influence: someone pressured or manipulated the testator into making or changing a Will
• Fraud or forgery
• Failure to comply with formalities: for example, the Will wasn't properly witnessed

If you're concerned about the validity of a Will — or want to make sure your own Will couldn't be challenged — we can advise you.

Why Use Our Manchester Wills and Probate Solicitors?

There are Will writing services available online and through high street banks, and for the simplest cases they can be adequate. But for anything more than the most basic Will, it's worth using a proper solicitor.

The difference is this: a solicitor doesn't just record what you tell them. We ask the right questions, identify issues you might not have thought of, and make sure the document you end up with actually achieves what you want it to. We also carry professional indemnity insurance, so if something goes wrong, you're protected.

Our team works with individuals and families at all stages of life — people in their thirties making their first Will, couples planning for retirement, and executors dealing with estates that can be complicated and emotionally charged.