A family member or beneficiary
You have questions about a will, inheritance or the way an estate is being administered.
The Private Office
When an inheritance becomes more than a probate exercise, somebody needs to understand the whole position.
Death does not always bring families together.
Sometimes it exposes disagreements that have existed for years.
Questions about a will. Concerns about executors. Complicated assets. Family businesses. Trusts. Tax. Property. Beneficiaries who no longer speak to one another.
When several issues collide, dealing with each one separately can make the overall position harder to see.
The Private Office helps you establish what is happening, understand what matters and bring the appropriate professional expertise around the position.
Begin with understanding
The will may only be one part of the problem.
A complex estate can involve far more than reading a will and applying for probate.
the validity or interpretation of a will
the administration of the estate
executor or trustee decisions
competing beneficiary interests
lifetime gifts
trusts
property and valuations
businesses and shareholdings
inheritance tax
financial provision
family history
professional records
events that happened years before the death
The first objective should not be to assume there is a dispute. It should be to understand the position.
Don't start with the argument.
Start with the position.
A person may arrive believing the problem is that they have been left out of a will.
An executor may believe the problem is an unreasonable beneficiary. A beneficiary may believe an estate is taking too long.
Those may be symptoms rather than the complete position.
Before deciding what should happen next, establish what has actually happened.
Who this may be for
Different perspectives. One need for clarity.
An executor
You are responsible for an estate that has become complex, contentious or difficult to coordinate.
A family with a complex estate
Property, businesses, trusts, investments, overseas interests or complicated family relationships mean several specialists may be required.
A professional or adviser
You are dealing with one part of an estate but recognise that the client needs wider coordination across several disciplines.
The Private Office model
One position. The right professionals. Clear oversight.
Client
Private Office
Whole position
Specialist workstreams, where appropriate
Contentious probate solicitor
Private client solicitor
Barrister
Accountant / tax specialist
Chartered surveyor / valuer
Financial planner
Trust specialist
Business / corporate specialist
Other appropriate professional
One position. Coordinated expertise.
These workstreams are examples, not automatic requirements. Qualified or authorised professionals remain responsible for their own legal, tax, regulated financial, valuation and other specialist advice.
What the Private Office does
A disciplined sequence for an unclear position.
01
Listen
Understand the history and what has happened.
02
Establish
Separate known facts, assumptions, concerns and unanswered questions.
03
Map
Build a clear picture of the estate, people, assets, documents and professional workstreams.
04
Identify
Determine which issues require specialist professional assessment.
05
Coordinate
Help bring the appropriate professionals around the position.
06
Track
Maintain visibility of the different workstreams, information requirements and next actions.
07
Clarify
Help the client continue to understand the overall position as it develops.
The estate position map
Make the whole estate visible.
The map is adapted to the estate. It does not suggest that every position requires every category.
01The person who died
02The will / codicils
03Executors / trustees
04Beneficiaries / potential claimants
05Family history
06Property
07Businesses
08Investments
09Trusts
10Lifetime gifts / transactions
11Liabilities
12Tax
13Valuations
14Professional records
15Important dates
16Questions / concerns
17Specialist assessment required
18Next actions
A question does not have to become a war.
Having concerns about an estate does not automatically mean commencing litigation.
The appropriate first step may simply be establishing facts, obtaining documents, understanding the administration, identifying the correct professional question or opening communication between the relevant parties.
Where specialist legal advice or representation is required, that work should be undertaken by an appropriately qualified and authorised professional.
The Private Office's role is to help ensure that the wider position does not disappear between separate workstreams.
Some estate questions are time-sensitive.
Depending on the circumstances, probate, estate administration, court procedures and potential claims can involve important procedural steps or time limits.
If you have received legal documents, know that probate is being sought, believe an estate is about to be distributed, or have another potentially urgent concern, tell us at the beginning.
We can help identify the appropriate specialist to assess what action, if any, is required.
The Private Office is not only for people challenging an estate.
Executors can find themselves responsible for substantial estates involving family disagreements, property, businesses, tax, trusts and competing professional requirements.
The Private Office can help maintain a whole-position view while the appropriate professionals deal with their respective areas.
I am an executorIf something doesn't make sense, start by understanding it.
Being disappointed by an inheritance does not automatically mean that something has gone wrong. Equally, questions should not simply be ignored because an estate appears complicated.
The starting point is evidence. What does the will say? What is known about the estate? What has happened? What remains uncertain? What requires professional assessment?
I have questions about an estateYou don't need to know which professional you need.
Start by telling us what's happening.
Complex situations rarely arrive neatly divided into legal, tax, financial, property and family problems. Your life doesn't work like that. The Private Office begins with the whole position and helps determine what needs to happen next.
Start with the positionProfessional boundaries
Clear roles protect the client.
Inheritance Made Simple and The Private Office do not automatically replace or perform the role of solicitors, barristers, probate practitioners, accountants, tax advisers, valuers, financial advisers or other regulated professionals.
Where specialist or regulated advice is required, the appropriate qualified professional should provide it.
The Private Office does not promise that a will can be challenged, that exclusion creates a claim, that inheritance can be recovered, that distribution can be prevented, that litigation will succeed, or that every dispute can be resolved. It does not provide legal representation unless that service is separately verified, agreed and delivered by an appropriately authorised professional.
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The Private Office
Complex or contested estate?
When wills, executors, beneficiaries, property, businesses, tax and family history collide, start by understanding the whole position.
Explore the Private Office