Free legal advice is being offered by a network of UK solicitors to families dealing with probate
The Probate Network is providing a way for people dealing with probate and estate administration following the death of a family member, to get access to some free legal advice. The service offers an easy way to connect with qualified solicitors who have specialised probate knowledge. The Probate Network helps people find answers to probate questions and allows them to determine if they need legal support to guide them through the probate process.
The Probate Network was founded in 2020 by Julie Draper, a marketing consultant working in the legal sector. She created the Network in response to the challenges her mother faced when dealing with estate administration affairs after her father’s death. She wanted to provide a way for people to get easily accessible probate help to guide them in the right direction.
Julie comments, “Following the death of my father, my mum rang solicitors to seek advice but was met with the need to book an appointment, paid for at an hourly rate. Our family didn’t need Probate for Dad’s estate,” added Julie. “If mum had taken one of the appointments offered, she’d have paid to be told she’d done a good job getting everything in order.” Julie continued, “Having worked as a marketer in the legal arena for many years, I decided to set up The Probate Network to provide people needing advice with an option to talk to a Probate Solicitor for free. The Solicitors who join the Network understand the importance of being accessible and compassionate to those who are grieving and faced with an often unfamiliar legal process.”
The Probate Network is made up of solicitors that provide free 20-minute telephone consultations to answer probate-related questions and give advice related to any issue surrounding probate, intestacy, estate administration or contentious probate. All the solicitors are members of the Law Society of England and Wales and are overseen by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the regulatory body ensuring high standards in the UK legal industry.
Appointments can be booked online and clients can choose the date and time that works best for them. Clients are under no obligation to instruct the solicitor they speak with, and solicitors don’t pitch their legal services during the consultation unless they are asked to. Many people that use the service go on to complete probate without further professional support.
If after the 20-minute consultation, the client feels they need legal representation, it’s up to them whether they move forward with the consulting solicitor. If not, they have other options through The Probate Network. Solicitors are not the only professionals involved in the probate process. The Probate Service Business Directory allows users to search for any type of probate-related service provided ranging from probate insurance to probate finance and other related services such as burial and commemorative options.
In addition to a free probate consultation, through its website, The Probate Network is helping educate people on the difficult and often overwhelming process of dealing with estate administration. They offer extensive guides, FAQs and probate news to help people make informed decisions. The growing informational portal is one more way Julie is helping people avoid potentially costly mistakes which can occur if the process is not completed properly.
As demand for the service grows, the Network is looking for more solicitors and related service providers to join the Network and Business Directory, which is free to join. For more information, visit the website: www.the-probate-network.co.uk