Acting as an Executor: first steps
Following a death the first thing to do is to establish who should deal with the estate.
If the deceased did not make a Will, there are strict rules about who should act and it is important that these are followed. If you are in any doubt about who has the right to do this you should seek legal advice.
If a Will was made by a professional, it should set out who the Executors are. With a homemade Will this might not be as obvious, and the first step should be to seek legal advice before any action is taken.
The Role of Executor is an important one and it should not be undertaken lightly.
Ideally, the deceased will have put a lot of thought into choosing the most appropriate person when the Will was produced to ensure that they are able to deal with the complexities of the estate administration.
As an Executor, it is always wise to seek legal advice about your role and the steps you may need to administer the estate. For instance, will you need to apply for probate, will any Inheritance Tax be payable and if so, how do you value the estate? You can also ask for an explanation of any clauses within the Will, which may at first glance appear to be written in a foreign language.
If an Executor does not feel that they are able to deal with the Estate Administration then they are able to ask a professional to act on their behalf and the cost of doing so can be met from the estate, so there will be no cost to the Executor.
If the original Will is still stored by the professional who drew it up, it might seem the simplest way to proceed is to instruct them to deal with the estate administration.
However, the relationship between the deceased and the firm holding the Will might only have been a fleeting one, where that firm only acted on the drafting of the Will. If this is the case, then you might want to consider instructing a solicitor either more local to the assets in the estate or indeed more local to you, if you would prefer to meet your lawyer face to face to discuss the ongoing administration of the estate.
You might also want to consider having an initial chat with the person who you are considering instructing. As this could be a professional relationship that goes on for some time, you should ensure that it is someone that you could work well with as this will make things considerably easier for all parties.
If you have been appointed as an Executor and you’d like to speak about your roles and responsibilities, please contact Cath Collins on 01945 898090 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
