Please watch our interactive video below for a brief overview of Estate Administration.

Estate Administration is the process of ascertaining and dealing with the assets and liabilities of an estate.  When a family member or friend passes away, a personal representative (an Executor or Administrator) is appointed.  They are responsible for the money, property and possessions of the person who died (the ‘Estates assets’).  They are responsible for those assets from the date of death until the date everything has been passed on to the beneficiaries (the administration period).

During the administration period, the Executor / Administrator may have to:

• pay any debts left by the person who has passed away and place adverts in the Gazette giving any creditors appropriate notice to claim;

• apply for tax refunds and complete self-assessment returns;

• deal with any income generated by the Estate during the Administration Period and continue to pay income tax

• sell assets such as properties or shares and pay Capital Gains Tax where appropriate;

• pay tax on any income the estate generates; 

• handle inheritance tax issues;

• handle any will disputes; and

• report the estate value, income and tax liability to HM Revenue and Customs

Once the formalities are resolved, the estate will then distribute any remaining money in accordance with the will, or where there is no will, the rules of intestacy.  

A Solicitor can take care of all aspects of a probate and it is important that you instruct someone to help from the outset – matters are rarely straight forward. 

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Timescales – it is difficult to advise at the outset of a probate matter how long it will take as it depends on the complexity of the estate.  Most simple estates are dealt with by one year from the date of death but more complex estates may take two to three years to fully resolve.