Administering the Estate of the Deceased

Administering the Estate of the Deceased

If a family member or friend has died and you are named as an Executor in their Will, do you need to have a Probate Solicitor help administer the estate?

There is no obligation for an Executor to engage a Probate Solicitor to administer the estate. However, as Executor, the obligation is yours to fully administer the estate, this includes (this list is not exhaustive); the transfer and encashment of assets, dealing with any property, applying for a Grant where applicable, dealing with any Inheritance Tax or any other taxation issues, paying all debts and distributing the estate.  However, many Executors approach us and ask us if we will assist with or deal entirely with the administration of the deceased’s estate.

In what circumstances might an Executor engage our services to assist them?  There are many reasons as follows:-

• The deceased is the survivor of a husband/wife/civil partner.
• The Estate may be over the IHT threshold.
• There are many assets to be dealt with and encash.
• There is a property to be sold or transferred.
• The Will may be challenged.
• You need to apply for a Grant of Probate.
• There may be Trusts or tax issues to be dealt with.
• There may be other complications or tensions between family members or Executors.
• Unusual requests or assets outside the UK.
• You may feel that the help and support from a professional would be beneficial.

Our Private Client Team at Colchester and Dunmow are available for appointments so please do give us a call either at the Colchester office on 01206 577676 or our Dunmow office on 01371 873277.

Any email enquiries can be sent to [email protected]