Probate and Estate Administration
With the exception of very small estates or jointly owned property, a deceased person's estate will need to be dealt with by Personal Representatives (PRs).
When drafting a Will, it is usual to appoint two PRs but one can act alone and up to four may act together. People often appoint friends or relatives as their Personal Representatives but sometimes choose to appoint a firm to solicitors as well.
It is important to understand what will be required of your PR when appointing them and we hope the following questions and answers may be of assistance:
- What are PRs?
- What do they do?
- Do they have to go to court?
- What if someone does not want to be a PR?
- What are the main duties and obligations of a PR?
- How long does it all take?
They are named in your Will as your Executors. If there is no Will, then your next of kin will be known as your Administrators.
They will find out the full value of your estate, settle any unpaid debts and then distribute the remaining estate to the beneficiaries.
No, but they will need to obtain a Grant of Probate (unless the estate is very small, i.e. under £5,000). This is obtained from the Probate Registry of the High Court and, with the help of a solicitor, can be made by post. PRs will only become involved in court proceedings if a serious dispute develops about the estate.
The nominated PR can choose not to act as Executor and can 'renounce' the position in favour of someone else.
Once the administration of an estate has begun, the PR cannot drop out if they have simply changed their mind or the process is more difficult than expected. They can, however, retire from the process for reasons such as ill health.
Personal Representatives must always act in the interests of the estate and put the interests of the beneficiaries before their own.
Beneficiaries under a Will can also act as PRs but they must bear in that they have a dual role and their priority is their role as Personal Representative and their responsibilities to the estate.
In addition, they must not profit from their position as a PR unless authorised to do so and are required to provide scrupulous accounts to all the beneficiaries of all the monies passing through their hands. The law says that their task should be carried out "with due diligence" and PRs should act reasonably and prudently in relation to estate property. If PRs act incorrectly in the administration of an estate, they may find they have to pay compensation to beneficiaries out of their own money.
The time taken to deal with the estate varies considerably depending on all the factors involved. If you would like to discuss a specific situation, please do not hesitate to contact us and we would be happy to talk about matters further.
Due to the complexities that may be involved in obtaining a Grant of Probate, many Personal Representatives choose to instruct a solicitor to undertake the work of administering the estate on their behalf and their fees for doing this are paid out of the estate.