The death of a family member or loved one a truly emotional time, and often with their death comes unexpected burden.
On one particular instance, our team of specialist lawyers acted for an estate where the deceased died intestate (passed away without having made a will). The gentleman however, left a suicide note intended to be his ‘final will & testament’. In that note, the deceased named our client Bella as the executor of his estate and residuary beneficiary, meaning she was to receive any property that was not specifically left to anyone else. Also included in his note, the deceased named individuals to whom he owed money to.
Apart from requesting that the court grant probate of the suicide notes as an informal document, we were required to obtain the consent of all those named on the suicide notes as they were deemed to be ‘affected persons’ for the purpose of the Supreme Court Rules. Time was of the essence in this matter as the estate owed considerable debts to mortgagees on properties which were attracting interests.
We were able to draft and execute proper documents with respect to all affected persons to obtain their consent so that the probate application can be granted for our client and she could administer the deceased’s estate as per his final wishes.
In instances such as these it’s important to speak to the dedicated team of specialists at One Law to ensure that not only are your loved ones best interests maintained, but also that unexpected financial costs are kept to a minimum.
