After the family get a moment to come to terms with the death, the first thing to do is to find out if the deceased had made a will. Make a search of filing and storage cabinets etc to see if a copy is available and contact the family solicitor to see if they hold the will.

If the deceased left a will, then your solicitor will be able to tell the Executors what the contents of the will are. The executors should contact their solicitor to make an appointment, and should bring with them all documents of the deceased, in particular they should bring bank account statements, Premium Bonds, Share Certificates, documents relating to land owned by the deceased and all other information concerning assets held by the deceased prior to their death.

We will explain the procedure to you and keep all relevant documents to distribute the estate and wind up the affairs of the deceased.

If no will is made, the law sets out how the estate is to be distributed, known as the Rules of Intestacy. In most cases the closest family of the deceased will inherit his/her estate. In some circumstances this can become very complicated and you should contact us and we will explain how the estate will be distributed.

The Court will appoint executors to help distribute the estate and liaise with the Solicitor in closing bank accounts and transferring land etc.

When an individual dies, certain steps have to be taken to sort out their property and belongings in accordance either with the terms of their will or the intestacy provisions. If the individual had made a will appointing executors and has an estate which exceeds £5000 in value then the executors must apply to the Probate Office of the High Court of Justice for a Grant of Probate. The Grant will give them official authority to act on behalf of the estate.

If the person died intestate i.e. without a will then the next of kin will have to take charge. There is a prescribed order of priority which sets out who in these circumstances may apply for a grant (in this case called Grant of Letters of Administration) which will provide the official authority required to sort out the estate of the deceased.

Depending on the size and nature of the deceased’s estate it may take a number of weeks or months to extract a Grant. If the net value of the estate exceeds £275,000 the personnel representatives may be liable to pay Inheritance Tax prior to obtaining the grant.

Occasionally it may be of advantage for the beneficiaries to the estate and the personal representative to enter into a Deed of Family Arrangement to alter the distribution of the estate.

Once the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration has been obtained, the personal representatives are in a position to collect in the assets of the deceased. It is the duty of the personal representatives to distribute any assets left over in accordance with the will of the deceased or in accordance with the intestacy provisions.

©2008 John Irwin