Probate
If you are responsible for administering the Estate of someone (as an Executor or Administrator) then this responsibility lasts for life. The first steps are to ascertain whether any Will is valid and is the most current, then what the deceased’s Estate consists of. This may include assets in both sole and joint names. There may also be debts.
Once this information has been discovered you may need to complete a Tax Return to the Inland Revenue for any Inheritance Tax and the declaring of untaxed income.
A "Grant of Probate" may be needed. This represents your official authority to act and it is this which banks and financial institutions will require to release assets.
Once Probate has been obtained you can collect in all the assets, pay the debts and then distribute the Estate in accordance with the terms of the Will, or the law in the absence of a Will (the Intestacy Rules), and prepare the final Estate Accounts.
However you may find yourself confronted with disappointed beneficiaries alleging the Will does not leave them enough or even anything.
The process is very time consuming and can take many months depending on the speed of the replies to enquiries. There can be considerable tax complications depending on the nature of the assets and debts in the estate and also depending upon the terms of any Will.
Having the support and expertise of a specialist probate lawyer will greatly assist at what is usually a very difficult time.
