PA14 Probate Medical Certificate:
What is a PA14 Probate Medical Certificate?
A PA14 is a medical certificate for probate use. It can only be completed once a formal mental capacity assessment has determined that the person who is an executor or administrator of a will lacks the mental capacity to act or undertake the role of executor or administrator for the estate of a deceased person. Whilst the PA14 is the administrative form, it is underpinned by a capacity assessment we administer.
Who can complete a PA14?
Only a limited number of registered medical or health and care practitioners who are approved by HM Courts and Tribunal Service as having the required specialist skillset can complete these assessments. Gary Spencer-Humphrey holds dual qualifications as a registered social worker in England and Wales and an Approved Mental Health Professional, enabling him to complete this work to a high standard.
Do I need a PA14 form?
You will need a PA14 form to certify that someone cannot act as an executor or administrator of a will, which will be required when you submit a Grant of Representation or if the person has already been granted this and has since lost the mental capacity to act. If a person is an executor or administrator of a will and now lacks the mental capacity to act in this role (or maybe they lost capacity after gaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration), you will need a PA14 form completed by a qualified professional if you or someone else wish to act on their behalf. In some cases, you may be able to act under a Power of Attorney (see below).
What happens if the person can act but would rather not?
Maybe due to age, illness, disease, physical impairment or personal choice, they no longer wish to undertake the role of executor or administrator, then several options are open if the person has the capacity. Then a PA14 is not required in this event. We strongly suggest you link with a solicitor specialising in wills, trusts and probate; we can signpost you to two local solicitors who specialise in this type of work and whom we have worked closely with, as the person may be able to appoint someone else to undertake this work. We do not get any referral payments, so we only refer to high-quality solicitors we have personally dealt with.
What are your fees?
We charge a fixed fee of £475 for this service. This includes all the consultations (face to face and on the phone), our case preparation and administrative time, the capacity assessment and report, and the critical PA14 form, which is emailed to you and posted (some courts like to have the one signed by the consultant so we post all PA14s out to you via Royal Mail Tracker). Our fixed fee also covers the postage processing fee. The only additional costs are travel time and mileage outside our Portsmouth office (for Portsmouth City, we do not charge for travel for these assessments). We provide a complete and precise quote before accepting your instruction. You will not pay a penny more, even if we have to work additional time on this assessment.
Why do you charge a fee for this? I've heard a GP could do this for free?
GPs many years ago did indeed undertake this work, and often for free or a tokenistic administrative fee, but most family doctors now don't offer this service. It's also important to remember that an assessment of capacity is not a medical assessment; it's a legal one. Not only are we trained in social work, but Gary Spencer-Humphrey also has a few law degrees, so we know what is needed, when, why and how. We have the formal legal and social work credentials to undertake this work, and you'll be pleased to hear that the courts have accepted 100% of our assessments since we started offering this service. We charge what we know to be a fair fee, which takes us on average 3.5 hours per assessment.
Why use Social Worker Gary?
We have a 100% acceptance rate on all our work submitted to probate. Unlike some other firms, you only deal with Gary Spencer-Humphrey, no assistants, or administrators and we never outsource our work to associate staff. Also, unlike some other firms, we are most proud of the promise of first-class service every time; we've never had any assessment rejected by probate. One of our private customer who waited weeks for a call back from another firm offering PA14 assessments said "...I like that if I pick up the phone, I get to speak with the you directly, and not someone who doesn't know the answer and promises a call back and never does". We are quick and thorough assessors and often finish the work in the same week. Check out what lawyers, customers and judges say about our work here.
All our assessments include the following as standard:
Our reports are always independent, so the outcome of the assessment may differ from the view of another person or professional. Please contact us, or request a free call back to discuss your requirements.
A PA14 is a medical certificate for probate use. It can only be completed once a formal mental capacity assessment has determined that the person who is an executor or administrator of a will lacks the mental capacity to act or undertake the role of executor or administrator for the estate of a deceased person. Whilst the PA14 is the administrative form, it is underpinned by a capacity assessment we administer.
Who can complete a PA14?
Only a limited number of registered medical or health and care practitioners who are approved by HM Courts and Tribunal Service as having the required specialist skillset can complete these assessments. Gary Spencer-Humphrey holds dual qualifications as a registered social worker in England and Wales and an Approved Mental Health Professional, enabling him to complete this work to a high standard.
Do I need a PA14 form?
You will need a PA14 form to certify that someone cannot act as an executor or administrator of a will, which will be required when you submit a Grant of Representation or if the person has already been granted this and has since lost the mental capacity to act. If a person is an executor or administrator of a will and now lacks the mental capacity to act in this role (or maybe they lost capacity after gaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration), you will need a PA14 form completed by a qualified professional if you or someone else wish to act on their behalf. In some cases, you may be able to act under a Power of Attorney (see below).
What happens if the person can act but would rather not?
Maybe due to age, illness, disease, physical impairment or personal choice, they no longer wish to undertake the role of executor or administrator, then several options are open if the person has the capacity. Then a PA14 is not required in this event. We strongly suggest you link with a solicitor specialising in wills, trusts and probate; we can signpost you to two local solicitors who specialise in this type of work and whom we have worked closely with, as the person may be able to appoint someone else to undertake this work. We do not get any referral payments, so we only refer to high-quality solicitors we have personally dealt with.
What are your fees?
We charge a fixed fee of £475 for this service. This includes all the consultations (face to face and on the phone), our case preparation and administrative time, the capacity assessment and report, and the critical PA14 form, which is emailed to you and posted (some courts like to have the one signed by the consultant so we post all PA14s out to you via Royal Mail Tracker). Our fixed fee also covers the postage processing fee. The only additional costs are travel time and mileage outside our Portsmouth office (for Portsmouth City, we do not charge for travel for these assessments). We provide a complete and precise quote before accepting your instruction. You will not pay a penny more, even if we have to work additional time on this assessment.
Why do you charge a fee for this? I've heard a GP could do this for free?
GPs many years ago did indeed undertake this work, and often for free or a tokenistic administrative fee, but most family doctors now don't offer this service. It's also important to remember that an assessment of capacity is not a medical assessment; it's a legal one. Not only are we trained in social work, but Gary Spencer-Humphrey also has a few law degrees, so we know what is needed, when, why and how. We have the formal legal and social work credentials to undertake this work, and you'll be pleased to hear that the courts have accepted 100% of our assessments since we started offering this service. We charge what we know to be a fair fee, which takes us on average 3.5 hours per assessment.
Why use Social Worker Gary?
We have a 100% acceptance rate on all our work submitted to probate. Unlike some other firms, you only deal with Gary Spencer-Humphrey, no assistants, or administrators and we never outsource our work to associate staff. Also, unlike some other firms, we are most proud of the promise of first-class service every time; we've never had any assessment rejected by probate. One of our private customer who waited weeks for a call back from another firm offering PA14 assessments said "...I like that if I pick up the phone, I get to speak with the you directly, and not someone who doesn't know the answer and promises a call back and never does". We are quick and thorough assessors and often finish the work in the same week. Check out what lawyers, customers and judges say about our work here.
All our assessments include the following as standard:
- A face-to-face assessment meeting with the person being assessed, and any follow-up assessment(s) required.
- Consultation with any family members or professionals concerned with your care.
- Your assessment is returned free via email generally within 72 hours from assessment (excluding where additional evidence is required).
- A formal legal deceleration regarding the assessor's independence and their qualifications.
- A printed form posted to you recorded and tracked delivery, included in the PA14 fee.
Our reports are always independent, so the outcome of the assessment may differ from the view of another person or professional. Please contact us, or request a free call back to discuss your requirements.