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Probate and administration of estates |
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You will find our experienced team well able to administer the estates of deceased persons with sympathy as well as efficiency. You will be given full guidance about the procedure to be followed and in carrying it through with a minimum of delay.
You may know that in order to administer the estate of someone who has died it
is usually necessary to obtain a Grant of Representation.
A Grant of Representation is a court order issued by one of the Probate Registries
of the High Court. It confirms or confers authority on the 'personal representatives'
(this means the executors or administrators) to administer the deceased person's
estate. There are a number of types of Grant of Representation but the two that
are most common are a Grant of Probate and a Grant of Letters of Administration.
A Grant of Probate is issued to the executor or executors named in the Will and
it confirms the authority of the executors who the Will appoints. A Grant of
Letters of Administration is issued where there was no Will, where a person died,
as it is called, 'intestate'. A Grant of Letters of Administration is issued
to the
persons entitled in law who are known as 'administrators'.
Personal representatives are obliged to administer the estate of the deceased
according to law. This involves collecting in all the assets, settling all the
liabilities, making the decisions available to them and distributing what is
left in accordance with the Will or the rules of intestacy. Usually, apart from
joint accounts which pass automatically to the survivor, a Grant of Representation
has to be obtained before it is possible to gather in the assets and discharge
the
liabilities of the estate.
In order to obtain a Grant of Representation the personal representatives have
to swear an affidavit for the court giving the value of the gross and net estate
and saying that they will distribute the estate in accordance with the law and
the Will if there is one.
In addition, it is sometimes also necessary in order to obtain a Grant of Representation
to submit an Inland Revenue account setting out all the assets and liabilities
of the estate and, if it is a taxable estate, and there is an immediate liability
to settle the inheritance tax. Sometimes the inheritance tax (or part of it)
that
applies does not have to be paid straight away.
Once the Grant of Representation has been obtained the personal representatives
can deal with the administration of the estate. They can gather in the assets,
selling those that are to be realised. When the liabilities are settled they
can distribute the proceeds of the assets that have been realised and the property
that is being retained among the persons entitled but only after all liabilities
have been settled. Accounts can be drawn appropriate to the case to show what
has been done.
This is the briefest of summaries for guidance only. Full legal advice should
be taken in every case. You can rely on our experienced team to help you with
sympathy and understanding and in complete confidence through all the various
stages.
For more information please contact Richard Bussell or our manager Valerie Phillips.
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