Free Guide: What does an Executor do? Duties of Executors of a Will

Free Probate Guide: What Does an Executor Do – or How Not to Become a Criminal

An executor of a Will is the person or people who are responsible for sorting out a person’s legal and financial affairs after they have died. Strictly, they are only an executor if they were appointed in the Last Will of the person who has died. In some circumstances you would be an administrator – if there is no Will, or the Will did not appoint a valid executor. The term “personal representative” is a wider term identifying other names for what is essentially the same role in different circumstances. So what are the executor’s duties in England and Wales?  The responsibilities and rights of executors (administrators) are often WILDLY misunderstood and such badly considered actions can be criminal.  The executor usually has very little discretion, and many fail to understand the rules set down in the Will or Rules of Intestacy.

Technically the executors are responsible for arranging the funeral, a delicate task in many cases as everyone thinks they know what the deceased wanted, and they all disagree.  Ideally, find out before they die! Here is our guide to planning a funeral.

To look at professional help options go here.Being the executor of a Will (or Administrator in some circumstances) is a job requiring total integrity. Beware of fellow executors/ administrators who are less than 100% honest as you could end up carrying the can for their mistakes or dishonesty, as all executors are potentially responsible for the job being performed honestly.  You can potentially renounce or reserve your powers but washing your hands of your duties is perhaps not the right thing to do in these circumstances.  Maybe insisting that the work is taken over by professionals will be cheaper in the long run as probate disputes can be so expensive that sometimes the beneficiaries get nothing, the lawyers could be the only ones who benefit. (See* below if you know Dickens) Contentious Probate (as any disputed case is called) is often very expensive, dwarfing the cost of paying a professional to do the probate work in the first place (especially some of the firms we recommend).

The executors’ job

is to find out what the persons’ assets and liabilities were, to pay any tax due and then apply for Court approval (a Grant of Probate in its’ various forms), then to collect in the assets of the estate, pay off any debts and then distribute what is left over in accordance with the Last Will, or in accordance with the Rules of Intestacy if there was not a valid Last Will.

Until the assets are distributed, the executor must ensure that property and other assets are secure and properly insured, and if they fail to do so they may be personally liable for any losses caused by their neglect.

WARNING

It has to be said that many families underpay Inheritance Tax because they don’t realise how the gifting rules work, or the effect of lifetime gifts or what is a gift with reservation of benefit. The most disastrous for many is simply transferring your home into the children’s names – so it is subject to lifetime and death IHT, Capital Gains Tax on sale and children’s divorces and is often uninsured because people don’t understand how insurance works! To cap it all the Local Authority will almost certainly refuse to contribute to any care fees! EXPENSIVE. Contact us and we’ll find you an adviser.HMRC opened 2,029 investigations between April and November 2023 alone, recovering £172 million. This is part of a larger trend – with over 3,100 investigations and £251 million recovered in the previous tax year. Interest is at 7.75%.

Back to the normal issues:

Common issues for lay executors:

• incorrectly identifying tax liabilities and leaving themselves open to tax penalties potentially doubling the unpaid tax.
• Paying the wrong beneficiaries.  Many wills are badly worded and family relationships are confused.  Children are not always legally children, more distant relations are often not correctly identified.  In one case we saw recently, there were thought to be 11 cousins able to inherit, but there were three more in New Zealand whom no one mentioned.  The executor could have found herself personally liable to pay them their share as she had already paid all the money out to other cousins.
• Not correctly checking for debts.  They can come back to haunt the executor – who can be personally liable – years later.
• Working out the beneficiaries’ shares incorrectly – charities can be exceedingly uncharitable if they don’t get every penny they are due!
• They are taking expenses from the estate above those they are allowed to by Law. They are VERY limited.
• It is possible to take our Executors Insurance to cover accidental errors, but for full protection, it would be necessary to renew it for 12 years, after which most creditors would not be able to claim against the executor.  Executors may be worried about an error during probate and concerned about their unlimited personal financial and legal liability. Many find such cover prudent, as most Last Wills allow reasonable expenses – such as the cost of the policy, to be reimbursed from the estate.   The Trustee Act of 2000 imposed a statutory “duty of care” on both lay and professional executors, which means you can be held legally or financially responsible for any errors you make.
• Do watch out for the possibility of claims under the Inheritance (Dependants and Family) Act 1975 which allows dependants – children, partners, mistresses, flatmates – anyone who might claim to have been supported by the deceased person – to sue the estate in the person of the executor for financial compensation for their loss of support.  The claim need not have any foundation in reality to cause a great deal of trouble and expense.
• Executors frequently mix estate money with their own because they fail to open up and correctly manage a proper executor’s bank account.
• Not actually wishing to act as executor but “intermeddling” with the estate so they find themselves legally required to act as executor, even though they had no wish to do so. The answer to that particular one is to delegate to a sensibly charging professional.
• Not downloading our free probate guide for executors!

Whilst most lay executors can only take provable out-of-pocket expenses, they can delegate all or part of the job to a professional firm of executors who will be paid by the estate.  Our Instruction Form is included in the Free Guide to Executors Duties that you can download above and to the right.  There is no obligation.

In the meantime, we have borrowed this video which may help if you are the executor of a Will:

(NB we now offer only general guidance, not legal advice.)

Essentially, the duties of the executor of a Will (or administrators if there is no valid Will) are to sort everything out after the death, and once they have done so, usually by obtaining probate if it is required, they hand it over to the trustees.  The trustees are usually actually the same people – it is an extension of the role of the executor in most cases to do with collecting the assets, paying the bills, and distributing what is left.  But – if there is a long-term job, for example, managing a property trust or a trust for children etc it may be a substantial commitment and in terms of years not just months.

The trustees will need wide powers in relation to these funds, including the power to advance money for the maintenance or education of a beneficiary and the power to invest. The most commonly used set of powers is called the STEP provisions which enable all the necessary powers for the executors of the Will to perform their duties without adding several more pages to the actual document. The STEP provisions can be added with a brief sentence.

A Trustee is a person who is usually your Executor and who holds your property on behalf of the beneficiaries while your estate is being administered. Frequently, Trustees are needed to hold your estate for the benefit of infant children while they are under the age of eighteen, so it can be a long-term job.

It should be noted that TRUSTees are so named as they have a legal obligation to act honestly and in direct support of the terms of the Will or of the Rules of Intestacy if there is no valid Will.  What they cannot legally do is to play favourites or make secret profits over and above the reasonable and provable minimum of out-of-pocket expenses. Residuary beneficiaries have the right to see the full accounts of the case, so mixing estate money with your own is extremely dangerous. Family executors cannot be paid for their time unless the Will specifically makes provision for that, often by way of a specific financial legacy. There can be no such provision if there is no Will, so family administrators generally cannot be paid.Our free Probate Guide fro executors does not cover Trusts, and I believe some professional advice to be crucial where there any trusts as they can be an expensive trap for amateurs. 

Duties of Administrators where there is no valid Will.

Administrators have the same responsibilities as the executors of a Last Will but the Rules of Intestacy are (in effect) the Will they are working to. So keep reading!

 Other aspects of being the executor of a Will.                                                   Local Pages

Duties of Executor of a Will: what do they have to do?

An executor (or more usually, executors) is appointed in a will to administer the estate after the death. It is usual, and sensible, to seek the agreement of the executors before the appointment is made in the Will. After the death, the executor’s duties are defined in what is called ‘the executor’s oath.’

The duties of the executor of a Will are in general:

“To collect, get in, and administer according to law, the estate of the deceased” in accordance with the terms of the will. Or in accordance with the Rules of Intestacy.

Often, executors of Wills make arrangements for the funeral, and when doing so, make themselves personally liable for the funeral account. If they do this they are entitled to be repaid by the estate. (Estate = assets and liabilities of the deceased).

The extent to which an executor carries out his duties personally varies very widely. In some estates, there is very little to do beyond the closure and distribution of one or two building society accounts. Other estates can require substantially more work, typically over 6 to 12 months, but sometimes for many years.

The Duties of an Executor of a Will can be Delegated.

The executor may choose to ask a professional firm to carry out some or most of the work, or, indeed, if a firm of solicitors is so instructed, to agree between them who will do which tasks. Alternatively, they can ask The Probate Department (brokers) to find a firm to act and probably save 30 to 90%(OK – not that often that it is 90%!) of the cost – depending on whether the family executors want to help or not. The executor can choose to delegate almost all the work to a probate professional or a solicitor, or to do the entire job him or herself, or to make any other arrangement in between.

At a minimum, however, the executor of a Will should expect to be involved in a certain amount of correspondence and signing of documents. It would be usual also for the executor to do much of the initial work of locating and identifying assets in the estate and also where there are gifts of particular items to arrange for the distribution of these items, once they have been valued.

Whatever happens, an executor is entitled to have his proper expenses paid out of the estate, so the task should not normally be a financial burden – just a time one. But only professional executors can be paid for their time unless the Will says otherwise. Executors taking more than essential expenses can end up in Court – but they should not be out of pocket. One example of going too far was an executor who bought a car at the expense of the estate to make travelling to the deceased’s home easier.

Where people do go wrong from time to time, is in underestimating the need to comply precisely with the law’s requirements. For example, it is common, but quite wrong, for executors to distribute items from the estate to family members but not in accordance with the terms of the Will or Rules of Intestacy. ‘He always said I could have the clock.’ may be true, but if it isn’t what was said in the will, or memorandum of wishes, or written specifically elsewhere and which is mentioned in the will, it is technically incorrect for the executor of a Will to give the clock.

The Reading of the Will.

It is perhaps worth dispelling the myth that the duties of executors include the “reading of the will,” where the executor of the Will, solicitor, and beneficiaries gather together amid great suspense, and simmering acrimony, to reveal the contents of the Will. This happens very rarely, if at all, except in films for dramatic effect!

Common Probate Frauds and Expensive Mistakes Executors Make – often unintentionally.

• Many executors do not understand the terms of the Will, and – sometimes deliberately – commit fraud.
• Following the instructions in the Will is NOT optional though some Wills give the Trustees discretion to a greater or lesser extent.  If you don’t undertand the distinction, and 97% of readers will not, then perhaps you need a little help.
• The Administrators of Intestacies are also commonly unfamiliar with the law which specifically says where the money is going.  Being the eldest child is irrelevant, and if one beneficiary has died, that doesn’t necessarily mean the other siblings can take their share. Breaking the law is a bad thing, and ignorance of the law is no excuse!
• Joint Assets are not always legally joint assets and are commonly given to people who are not entitled to them.
• Selling assets below value to the disadvantage of beneficiaries – and sometimes the Taxman, who does not take kindly to such fraud.
• Not valuing assets which turn out to be worth far more than disclosed to the Taxman – or other beneficiaries.
• Claiming unrealistic expenses – one executor tried to buy a new car, rather than just the petrol for their old one!  It is literally out-of-pocket expenses only, and keep a thorough record as you may be called upon to prove it.
• Have you checked that there is not a later Will than the one you have? Or a Will at all if you are running with the fact that there is no Will? CHECK! Keep the evidence. If you are wrong, you could be liable to compensate the beneficiaries who have lost out. As far as they are concerned, they will think it is fraud!
• Keep Accurate Records of every significant asset, liability and expense. Prove you have had things valued, and ask for receipted bills (ideally paying by cheque out of the Executor’s Account.  If you don’t, one of the residuary beneficiaries may ask for an Inventory and Account (or you might be subject to an Inland Revenue investigation) and things could get difficult.
• Mixing Assets – are you carefully keeping your things separate from those of the deceased?  Never use your own bank account to hold estate money, you need an executor’s account. Not doing so is likely to raise concerns.
• Have you searched for assets that don’t have a paper trail – it is surprising what gets thrown away.  Maybe some chunky privatisation shares or old National Savings.  Not fraud unless you find them later and keep them!
• Before you pay beneficiaries, you need to prove their identity (unless you are certain), and always that they are not bankrupt.  If they are, any payment must go to their Trustee in Bankruptcy – who will sue you if you don’t.
• Ignoring other Executors – or in the case of Intestacy (no Will) the others in the class legally able to act (typically, children of the deceased).  Once again, being the oldest is irrelevant. Doing so will arouse suspicions, damage relationships and may lead to Court action where only the lawyers win. Where executors decide not to act, or to have Powers Reserved, I strongly suggest that both “sides” exchange letters to confirm it, for their own protection.
• Lifetime Gifts: where the deceased was in the habit of making gifts, then it is possible that gifts going back 7 years (sometimes 14) may be brought back into account for Inheritance Tax purposes, and with more and more estates paying IHT it can be dangerous to ignore. Each person can give a single gift of up to £3000 per tax year, unlimited gifts of up to £250 each to other people, and surprisingly modest amounts towards weddings.  Gifts to official charities are not counted.
• Trusts – trusts created in their lifetime or by the Will mean you should get some professional advice, as there are complexities to trust planning.
• Understand who the executor is responsible to the beneficiaries.  You are the trustee of the estate, not its owner, a mistake many executors make. Beneficiaries with specific gifts just have the right to that gift (slight simplification) but beneficiaries entitled to a share of the estate have much wider rights, so don’t provoke them by refusing information.
• Disputes – don’t just ignore them.  If you do, and you distribute the estate, it may just come back to bite you if the dispute goes to Court later and the beneficiaries have spent the money – guess who stumps up then? And don’t forget the probably tens of thousands of pounds in legal bills. Potentially you will pay both sides’ bills if your case is weak. In the normal course of events, claims need to be brought within 6 months of the Grant being issued, but if the claimant only finds out years later, the Judge may still allow the claim.  Take precautions and contact us so we can introduce you to a suitable Contentious Probate lawyer.
• Always expect the unexpected!

Can the Executor be a Beneficiary?

A question frequently asked is whether an executor of a Will can also be a beneficiary. The answer is yes, provided the Will contains the appropriate wording. However, executors, beneficiaries, or the spouses of executors, and beneficiaries, MUST not witness Wills as gifts to witnesses or their spouses will fail.

Are the Executors Young enough?

Alternative executors and trustees may be needed to look after funds held in trust for children until the date specified in the Will or the child’s eighteenth birthday, sometimes later – which gets even more complex. It is expected the trustees will need various powers in relation to these funds, including the power to advance money for the maintenance or education of a beneficiary and the power to invest.It is essential that you give your executors all of the powers possible (available in law) to enable them to administer your estate properly. If your executor is also a Trustee, you need, for example, to give your executor special powers to invest cash, insure the property and manage money for any infants. (children under 18) – see the STEP provisions above.

Appoint Professional executors?

There are certainly cases where the appointment of professionals is a good idea, and often sorting out a simple estate is straightforward, especially with some advance planning. But if there are family jealousies, blended families, difficult relationships, substantial assets, business or other complications then the professional executor can be independent and take the flak, rather than the family executors being accused of being dishonest. Many families are irretrievably split by suspicions of the role of executor being used for personal gain.You may appoint a professional company or a member of your family or both to be the Executors of a Will.   Before deciding to appoint a professional company or solicitor to be your Executor you should consider any charges which are likely to be made. You should make enquiries as to the amount of any charge before you decide to make a professional appointment of an Executor.  We are happy to advise at any stage and can source reliable help for you.

If you choose a member of your family to be an Executor, please remember that the Executor may need to instruct professionals in any event, for example via us, solicitors, accountants, or stockbrokers in some cases and, if this is the case, you should ensure that your last Will does provide (legally) for your Executors to obtain monies from your estate to pay for any expert advice that may be needed. It is rarely an issue, but best to avoid any chance of arguments in the family.

Being an Executor of a will: a tough job at a tougher time.   

So, what does an Executor do? When a loved one or close friend dies, they will leave a load of papers to be sorted out and lots of organising to do.   And those responsible have to cope with the loss, the paperwork, the family tensions (which often need extremely careful management if the family is to stay together), and, of course, the probate work. They can delegate with the estate paying or refunding the cost, or just use the flexible Assisted Probate Service we have negotiated on your behalf. Bear in mind that Executors’ duties in Scotland or Northern Ireland will be different outside England and Wales where we work.Just a reminder if you have yet to download our FREE Guide to Probate, it will make things a little easier.

Understand the Will.

One part of the executor’s duties is to UNDERSTAND the Will, or the Rules of Intestacy if there isn’t a valid one. Some seem to believe they have the right to do whatever they like and unwittingly (or not) commit criminal offences. What they don’t realise is that probated Wills or Administrations are available for public inspection.

Every Executor of a Will is Jointly Liable UNLESS:

Be aware that joint executor’s obligations in England and Wales confer liability on all executors who have not formally stood down.  It is their duty to ensure that the estate accounts are accurate and the distribution to beneficiaries is correct. The executors’ responsibility is to the beneficiaries as a whole, even if they do benefit themselves.  And let’s not forget the Taxman, who gets very upset if he doesn’t get his due! To avoid being responsible, you can either stand down formally as executor or step aside with the right to return with Powers Reserved. As recommended above, if you have doubts about the honesty or ability of a fellow executor who is keen to get involved, it may be safer to insist that the work is carried out by a professional.

Is the death Registered? Then Arrange the Funeral

Technically, the executor arranges the funeral, but often they don’t know they are the executor at that time, or it may be a professional, but it is not usually worth attempting to lay down the law, family peace is more important.  Waiting for the medical certificate, then registering the death, and arranging a funeral are the first steps.  If you think there may be a funeral plan, try to find it before appointing a funeral director or you may incur extra costs or lose benefits. Most people start the probate process after the funeral, though of course probate is not always required – ask for our free fact sheet and check out the Local Pages.

Is Probate Required (& Still Looking for the Will?)

If probate is required, the first step is to find the Last Will and Testament – and we mean the LAST one, as people often make many Wills and not enough people take advantage of the excellent facilities of Will Custodian or the more basic ones of the  Probate Registry.  So the whereabouts of the LAST Will is often the most crucial mystery which has to be solved as part of the executors’ duties.  No one can be sure that they ARE the appointed Executor until the current Last Will has been found.  And that is assuming that no one wants to dispute the Will, which is becoming increasingly common and potentially incredibly expensive. Woe betide the executor of an old Will which turns out not to be current and they didn’t make any effort to check.

Don’t get appointed as Executor Accidentally.

Many people accidentally take on the responsibility of being an executor by taking actions that are the responsibility of the executor – and they may find themselves lumbered with the whole task with all the responsibilities and potential liabilities that the job of executor entails. It is called “intermeddling” with the estate.  Of course, that doesn’t override the rights of the actual executors, but they may stand down and leave you to get on with it!

Get the Forms and Find the Assets and Liabilities

The next step in the Executor of a Will’s duties is to start gathering all the paperwork, discovering all the assets (and protecting them as necessary) and liabilities before completing the Tax and Probate forms.   Any Inheritance Tax has to be agreed and usually paid before the end of the sixth month after the month in which the person died.  And that is before you can even send in your request for a Grant of Probate to the Probate Registry. You cannot get the Grant needed to administer the estate until any Inheritance Tax has been both agreed and paid (though if the Taxman accepts instalments on property assets, then the first instalment should release the application for the Grant.  Probate loans are potentially available in professionally run probate cases to both executors and beneficiaries.Probate can be a long frustrating process, at an already distressing time. Even more irritating, the executor can get 95% of the assets sorted and then find that one or two fairly small assets cannot be released without obtaining a grant of probate – or even dealing with (for example) shares based in the US or Canada by which time the paperwork required may have been binned as being unnecessary!  So the search facilities are belt and braces.

Hope against hope that important documents have not been binned.

One lesson everyone should remember as an executor is not to throw things away – it can be a pain to get it all back again, and expensive too. You will have enough trouble finding important papers that the deceased person has thrown away without making matters worse. The executors’ duty is to create a full and accurate picture of the estate, and if they don’t make the effort, they can be personally liable.

Keep Accounts

At the end, you need to be in a position to account for every penny and asset which belonged to the estate, every bill which you have paid from the estate, and every penny you have given ti#o beneficiaries.  I always recommend paying by cheque payable to them personally so you have full proof. Residuary beneficiaries – those who receive a proportion of the estate rather than a fixed amount or item – are legally entitled to a copy of the accounts. So keep them onside with regular updates!

Clashes between Executors?

The person being an executor of a will is usually a close family member and typically a beneficiary of the will, such as a husband, wife, child, or a close friend. There can be up to four executors acting, which can be a total nightmare if they don’t work well together, it may be safest for all concerned to contact us so we can find a suitable professional executor for you – so the heat is taken out of family arguments as they are told what is what by a professional, rather than a family member.

Professionals as Joint Executors?

And watch out for professionals acting as joint executors – just bear in mind that the professionals have to be certain everything is done properly as their reputation is at stake.  So any work done by family executors is likely to be double-checked by the professionals, as they will carry the can if there are mistakes.

Family Executors are generally entitled to get Professional Help

You may be flattered if somebody asks you to be the Executor of their Last Will – but think twice before accepting unless you are authorised to get professional help (preferably via us to check for value and service!) if you need it.There is a vast difference between a professional appointed in the Last Will  (who is totally in charge unless you are quick off the mark to get rid of them) and one appointed by the family executor – who can be managed or even fired by the family executor, unlike the professional appointed in the Last Will, who must be asked to stand down if you don’t like their fees.   If you accept the appointment, please do make sure you fully understand your duties and responsibilities first.And for some reason, people seem to forget that the responsibilities of an executor are a little heavy for a person who is likely to be 85 when their work starts!

No Will?

If there is no valid Last Will, then the next of kin (and there may be several) is or all are the first in line to be executor, after that it gets a little more complex. Age has nothing to do with priority other than being over 18.

If you know there will be disputes:

Keep the family together by contacting us to find a suitable professional to take all the flak, and avoid the family members taking it out on each other. More here.

Summary: What does an executor do?

In summary, the duties of executors of a Will or administrator of an Intestacy or with Will annexed are to:Download the free Guide to Probate then:1) To inform all next of kin and beneficiaries of the death, that they are appointed executor and if jointly with whom, and of their inheritance as far as it can be detailed at this stage. Do be careful as sometimes specific items are no longer owned, or have to be purchased, depending on the wording of the Will.There is no specific legal requirement for an Executor to disclose a Will or its terms, but if you are a beneficiary, you can ask for disclosure and to be supplied with a copy of the Will. In our view, early disclosure avoids suspicions of skulduggery! Anyway, once the Grant of Probate is issued, the Will becomes a public document and anyone can obtain a copy.If you are a beneficiary and the Executor refuses to disclose the Will or discuss your inheritance then you may make a formal request in writing. Your solicitor (if used) will then advise the Executor of the consequences of not disclosing the Will. The next step would be for Court proceedings and you would include a claim for costs to be met by the Executor.If the Executor continues to ignore your request then you may be forced to take legal proceedings known as “entering a caveat” which prevents the issue of a Grant until certain steps are taken, one of which would be the disclosure of the Will.2) Arrange the Funeral – in reality, it is usually the next of kin who do this as poor planning means few families know who the executor or administrator will be.  My TIP – sensitivities are very high over funerals, so tread very carefully.3)   Protect the assets, especially in an empty property (link if there is no insurance). The building’s insurance company needs to be informed if the property is empty, and their instructions are followed to the letter or claims may not be paid, and could become a personal liability of the executors of the estate.  Contents insurance will be restricted if the property is not lived in, and it is prudent that any valuables should be valued and secured to avoid allegations of illegal profiting or theft.  It is a great idea to initially go in with an independent person and take lots of photos and make up a list of items.4) If considering professional help, look at the options and avoid sneaky extras…

How do you compare the costs of probate?  Our guide to probate will help expose the sneaky practices of some – no, many – professional firms which can dramatically increase the costs if you don’t spot them in time.   And we are talking about many thousands of pounds of additional, quite unnecessary, costs.  On a gross estate of £500,000, one simple marketing tactic to make fees look lower could add £9,000 to the final substantial bill for applying for probate and distributing the estate.

5) Gather details of all assets owned by the person who has died:  property, savings accounts, investments, values of cars, collections, antiques, business assets, home contents, shares, insurances which payout into the estate plus anything else of value.  Gifts of over £250 in any year to any individual made in the previous 7 to 14 years depending on circumstances will need to be reviewed if there is any possibility of Inheritance Tax being payable.  Gifts made into trusts in the previous 7 years also require special consideration as they may make a considerable difference to the Inheritance Tax situation. Remember, a careless executor could end up footing the Tax bill personally.6)    Discover all the liabilities such as mortgages and other debts. Plus tax liabilities (not including Inheritance Tax at this stage.) See The Gazette.7)    Work out how much the net estate is worth to see if Inheritance Tax is payable.8)    Complete the relevant forms.9)    Submit the relevant tax forms if necessary, then await a reference before submitting the probate forms along with the Will and death certificate.10)    Open an executor’s bank account so as not to get into trouble mixing your money with money belonging to the estate of the deceased. Executors can easily be accused of mishandling assets or money for their own ends. The best practice is to do this at the start, as some banks etc will release funds without a Grant – which still needs to be included in the application return for probate. 11) Pay Inheritance Tax where relevant. Interest and potential penalties start to accrue at the end of the sixth month after the month in which the death occurred. Banks will normally be helpful and look at paying HMRC directly if there are adequate funds, though sometimes loans are used.12)  Wait for the Grant of Probate to arrive then send it off to each of the asset holders. This is why it pays to get multiple copies, though some will ask for sealed copies, which in effect duplicate originals rather than copies.13)  Bank the proceeds, NOT in your own account, in a dedicated executors account, deal with any property then:14)  Pay the creditors and expenses (a lay executor can recover their expenses but nothing for the time.)15)  Then pay or transfer assets to the relevant beneficiaries.  Get it wrong and you may well end up refunding the cash personally, so be careful. Do NOT pay bankrupt beneficiaries direct as the fund may be due to the Trustee in Bankruptcy and you could end up repaying them personally to the Trustee in Bankruptcy. At your risk, if you don’t check – not everyone shouts from the rooftops about being bankrupt!  Specific legacies are paid first.16)   Watch out for any beneficiaries or creditors you may have missed,   it could be personally expensive.17) Plus people who may decide to dispute the Will. They have 6 months from the date probate is granted, which is why some solicitors will hold on to funds for that period. The Courts sometimes allow much longer periods than 6 months if the claimant can persuade them there is a sound reason for the delay.

The executor’s responsibilities in England and Wales.

Probate a major responsibility. You must administer the estate reasonably quickly and totally in line with the Will or Rules of Intestacy, as well as be accountable for your actions and be financially liable for any mistakes. If you pay some of the estate to the wrong person (or a bankrupt one), get the percentages wrong or miss someone, then it is your problem to put it right from your own pocket. Some executors seem to think that they can treat the estate as their own money and ignore the Will or Rules of Intestacy.  Some of them are in prison.It is possible to make changes to a Will or Intestacy after death, by way of a Deed of Variation BUT only if the people losing out genuinely agree AND are all over 18 and of sound mind. If not, then Court permission is required for any change.With money at stake, things can become unpleasant, so if the family might be argumentative, it is best to contact us early and let us find you suitable professional help at a sensible cost.All on Local Pages: Why not check out our guide on what to do when someone dies? Choosing a funeral director or register a death? Click here!

Getting help with the duties of Executors in an English or Welsh Will.

There are lots of places you can go if you and the other executors decide you need help to administer the estate, but there are some things you should bear in mind.Think twice before appointing a solicitor, Will Writer or bank to carry out some or all of the probate process on your behalf. Some can charge fees of between 2% and 5% of the value of the estate. On an estate worth £300,000, this could be anything up to £15,000, with VAT on top. The contacts we have don’t charge exorbitant fees like these, and many people choose the Assisted Probate Service.For simple estates, we could recommend a low-cost support service where you gather the necessary information and they help check for pitfalls and put all the forms together for you to apply for the Grant of probate on your own behalf.  For a more complex estate, you might want a professional to do everything  – but leave you in charge.But do feel free to ask for our Guide to Probate – being better informed always helps in making wise choices.

HELP Contact Us For Sensible Probate Fee Quotes or call us on 03 300 102 300

We don’t offer probate services ourselves, we just find good prices from reliable sources for you.  Our MINIMUM target saving is ONE THIRD (33.3%) but it is usually better than that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an executor change a Will?

The duties of executors do not allow them to do anything other than follow the terms of the will.If they breach their fiduciary duty, fail to act, self-deal, embezzle or harm the estate through neglect then they open themselves up to legal action which will be VERY expensive for them.It is possible to change a Will after death, with the agreement of those who will lose out, and with Court permission if any of those are under 18 or do not have capacity.  See Deed of Variation.

Executor v Power of Attorney

I am often asked how the executors’ authority compares with that of an Attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney or Enduring Power of Attorney for the deceased.The answer is simple – the Attorney has no authority whatever, it died with the deceased.

Can an Executor decide who gets what?

Essentially, the executor must do what the Will (or Rules of Intestacy) say.  That said, in dealing with items of no significant value, executors will often distribute keepsakes as they see fit.  Not technically correct, but done fairly and reasonably with nothing of significant value, and generally no one minds.  If there is an issue, then it would probably force the executor to sell everything with many minor items of sentimental value ending up in the local tip.

  

* Jarndyce v Jarndyce) is a fictional probate case in Bleak House

(1852–53) by Charles Dickens, progressing in the English Court of Chancery.According to Wikipaedia:In the preface to Bleak House, Dickens cites two Chancery cases as special inspirations, one of which was a “friendly suit”:

At the present moment (August 1853) there is a suit before the court which was commenced nearly twenty years ago, in which from thirty to forty counsel have been known to appear at one time, in which costs have been incurred to the amount of seventy thousand pounds, which is A FRIENDLY SUIT, and which is (I am assured) no nearer to its termination now than when it was begun. There is another well-known suit in Chancery, not yet decided, which was commenced before the close of the last century and in which more than double the amount of seventy thousand pounds has been swallowed up in costs.

Based on an 1853 letter of Dickens, the first of these cases has been identified as the dispute over the will of Charles Day, a boot blacking manufacturer who died in 1836. Proceedings were commenced in 1837 and not concluded until at least 1854.The second of these cases is generally identified as the dispute over the will of the “Acton Miser” William Jennens of Acton, Suffolk. Jennens v Jennens commenced in 1798 and was abandoned in 1915 (117 years later) when the legal fees had exhausted the Jennens estate of funds; thus it had been ongoing for 55 years when Bleak House was published.

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