Estate Administration

Upon death a deceased person’s Estate must be administered and Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration obtained. The debts and tax must be paid first after which the net assets must then be paid to those who are entitled.

I’m not sure who is entitled under my mother’s Will?

If you are not sure who is entitled to a person’s Estate, please contact us.

Even if a Will is in place, it is not always clear who the Estate will go to.

I can’t find a Will!

If there is no Will, the Estate is Intestate and the Estate will be governed by the Intestacy Rules. The Intestacy Rules affect both who is to benefit and who is entitled to obtain the Grant (Grant of Letters of Administration).

We can advise you on how to proceed and what happens next.

What if tax is due. How can I pay it?

If the Estate is taxable an Inheritance Tax Account will need to be prepared. If Inheritance Tax is due on the Estate, this must be paid before a Grant can be obtained. Funds to pay the tax can usually come from the assets of the estate.

We can prepare the Inheritance Tax Account and apply for the Grant of Probate on your behalf. Ask us about this service.

What do I do about estate debts? I am worried that I don’t know about all the estate debts

Debts don’t die with you and Estate debts must be paid. As an Executor or Administrator, you may not know what debts the deceased ran up during life.

To ensure that you can safely give the net proceeds to the beneficiaries without being liable for unknown debts, we put in place Statutory Advertisements to protect you from any such liability.

The Will was straight forward and I thought the Estate would be easy to deal with. But I’m stuck!!

Many people think it should be easy to deal with an Estate. If you have started to deal with an Estate and found that it is more complicated than you first thought. We can take over the administration for you. In many cases we are happy for you to collate some of the information we can then draw up the papers on your behalf.

We can deal with as much or as little of the administration as you wish.

Where do I hold Estate funds? I am not happy with putting them in my own personal account

If you are concerned about cashing in the assets of any Estate, we can hold the funds for you. We have a separate client deposit account where your funds can be held safely. Should you wish we can undertake the distribution of Estate funds on your behalf.

Mum was going to change her Will, but never did. Is it too late now she’s gone?

If you and your family are not happy with how a Will has been drawn, or how the Estate will be distributed under the Intestacy Rules. In many cases we can rearrange the distribution of assets through a Deed of Variation.

We can vary the Estate so that the assets are distributed the way your mother would have wanted.