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Your role only comes into play when the testator (the person who has made the Will) dies.  At that point, there are certain things that need immediate attention:

• Obtain the death certificates
• Locate the original Will and get a copy of it
• Check if there are any funeral wishes in the Will and ensure the person organising the funeral, if not you, are aware of them
• Use the Government’s ‘Tell Us Once’ service within 28 days of registering the death
• If the deceased left a property which is now unoccupied, take steps to ensure it is properly secured and locked

Once the above have been dealt with and the funeral has taken place, you can start thinking about the longer-term administration of the estate.

If you are happy to deal with the estate administration yourself, then you can proceed accordingly.  If, on the other hand, you are unsure about the process, or, you’re concerned about comprising yourself, or you simply don’t have the time to handle matters yourself, then you should contact probate service providers and ask them to give you an estimate of their costs for handling the matter and instruct one when you are satisfied with the terms.

If the estate is liable to inheritance tax, you have six months from the date of death to pay it, otherwise interest will be applied.  So, whether you handle the estate administration yourself or instruct an agent, you should try to establish if the estate is a taxable one as soon as you can. To do this, you will need to gather all the details about the deceased’s assets and liabilities – details about bank accounts, investments, shares, pensions, life policies, properties, foreign assets, personal possessions of value etc.

You will also need to establish what, if any, gifts the deceased made in the years preceding death and if they were a beneficiary of a Trust or another estate.  If you have a reasonably good understanding of the deceased’s affairs, this can be fairly straightforward, if you don’t, it can be challenging, but we are here to help.

Once you have gathered this you need to contact every asset provider and creditor to inform them of the death and get values at the date of death.  These are the figures that will determine if the estate is taxable, and they will be needed to complete the probate application paperwork.

An important warning:

If you do not wish to be an executor, for whatever reason, you can renounce your role.  However, if you are thinking of renouncing, it is imperative that you do not start dealing with the estate in any way.  If you do, you are irrevocably taking up your role as an executor and you will be unable to renounce it.

To speak to one of our expert team members contact us or visit one of our offices in Dalston, Dumfries, Penrith or Workington.