Executor or Administrator Duties If you act as a Personal Representative, “Executor or Administrator” of an Estate, it’s essential to understand what this role entails and what the responsibilities are. You can be held personally liable for any mistakes that you make even if these are genuine errors or made in good faith.
Understanding the Risks
If you find yourself responsible for administering an Estate of someone after they have died, and you intend to deal with the Estate administration yourself, it’s essential that you completely understand what this means before you take on the role. Acting as an Executor or Administrator can be a complex and time-consuming task that carries a significant amount of responsibility and risk.
There is a lot of complicated legal, tax and administrative work to be carried out during the Estate administration. The amount of work required will vary depending on the complexity of the Estate but the process usually takes 9-12 months. For larger, more complex estates, this timescale can be far longer.
Amongst other things, you will be responsible for:
Calculating Inheritance Tax, Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, paying any tax that’s due and dealing with HMRC
Applying for a Grant of Representation/probate
Locating all of the Estate’s assets and selling or transferring these
Paying off any outstanding debts
Dealing with any valid claims that are made against the Estate
Locating and contacting all of the Beneficiaries
Distributing the Estate to the Beneficiaries in line with the terms of the Will (if there is one) and inheritance laws.
If you make any mistakes along the way, then you can be held personally responsible for these mistakes.
If you aren’t totally confident in your ability to carry out this work yourself, it’s a very good idea to instruct a Probate specialist to help you complete the work on your behalf.
We can explain the Probate and Estate Administration processes to you and provide free initial advice and guidance, and we provide you with a written fixed fee quote for dealing with Probate on your behalf.
