Administration of the Estate
Sometimes Executors or PRs (Personal Representatives) can find it difficult to deal with the administration of an Estate, either emotionally or perhaps due to time constraints.
If you are finding the thought of dealing with the administration of the estate daunting, then you can delegate this to a professional. The cost of this is an expense of the estate and would not fall on you personally.
How we can help
We can provide you with advice about the Will, or the Intestacy Rules (link to our page) and prepare the application for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (link to page) on your behalf.
Once the Grant or Letters of Administration have been received we:
-
Close the bank accounts
-
Sell or transfer any shares
-
Arrange for the sale or disposal of the personal effects of the deceased, where necessary
-
Sell or transfer any property owned by the deceased and, where necessary, arrange for the property to be cleared and cleaned
-
Arrange for all investments to be encashed as and when appropriate, including Premium Bonds and Investment Bonds
The next step is to clear any outstanding debts.
This can include:
- Overpayments of pension or benefits
- Funeral costs
- Any outstanding care home fees
- Utility accounts
- Income tax
- Credit card balances
- Any outstanding loans or finance agreements
Following this we arrange the payment of any specific legacies in the Will (for example gifts of fixed amounts).
At this stage we would provide you with a full set of estate accounts setting out:
- The value of the estate at the date of death
- The amount realised from the sale or encashment of the assets
- The amounts paid in respect of any outstanding debts
The estate accounts also show the amounts to be received by each of the residuary beneficiaries.
We would not distribute the estate until you had approved the accounts, which enables you to retain full control over the estate.
Where the estate is more complex we can also deal with payment of Inheritance Tax from the deceased's funds, in order that the Grant or Letters of Administration could be issued. We can also deal with payment of any tax which becomes payable from the estate.
