My wife, an accountant and conveyancer, was the executor of the will of a frail aged aunt (died at 92) who had been in a retirement/nursing home for many years. Her estate was quite simple, the deposit held by the nursing home and a modest savings account. The value of the estate was less than that required to go to a Grant of Probate. The nursing home would not pay out the deposit until they sighted a Grant of Probate. The original copy of the will and the death certificate were not sufficient they said and would not budge. So the unnecessary expense against the estate of employing a legal firm and going to the Supreme Court for a Grant of Probate was incurred. My wife was furious and the admin staff at the nursing home got a proper tongue lashing to no avail.
By the way, you can't write unworthy rellies out of a will (Testators Family Maintenance Act) unless it states that they are getting nothing because they were not dependant on the deceased or the estate and during the testators life they had received valuable consideration. In other words they had already got their share. A solicitor mate told me that if you are planning to cut out the bludgers and urgers from your estate it is best to do the above but leave each of them a modest sum and list the "valuable considerations" they have received. You can leave your estate to the pet's home or your mistress but it needs to be done by a skilled law firm.
