Once the funeral has concluded, you will still need to soft our the deceased’s affairs Depending on how complicated they are this process can take weeks, months or sometimes years.
Is the deceased has made a will, all the people named as executors need to be contact at the earliest opportunity. They are legally responsible for dealing with the assets of the estate.
If there are no executors, or none of them are willing or able to execute the will, administrator of the will takes over this task. The administrator of the will is the beneficiary of what is left of the estate after bills have been paid and bequests made.
Applying for probate
Whether there is a will or not, one needs to obtain a Grant of Representation from the Probate Registry before administering the estate.
Employing a Solicitor
Unless stated in the will itself, the executor or administrator has the choice to administer the will themselves or hand over to a solicitor to deal with.
Assets and Liabilities
One of the priorities must be to establish what the deceased owned or owed, as this will be required when the application for probate is submitted.
Official notification
In addition to the registrar a number of organisations require official notification of the death.
Grant of respresentation
A legal document, called a Grant of representation, is required before any payment can be made from the estate.
The inheritance tax form
You need to complete inheritance tax forms whether the estate is above the inheritance tax threshold or not.
Administering the Estate
To administer the estate, you will collect all the assets, pay the bills and taxes and distribute the net assets according to the deceased’s instructions.
Coping with bereavement
The death of a loved one can be truly disorientating. The pain can be intense whether you have known the person for a long time or when the death was sudden.
