When someone dies leaving a will, sorting out their financial affairs can seem an onerous and complex task, especially when you’re grieving the loss of a loved one.
To help you manage and handle this challenging responsibility, here’s everything you need to know about what to do when someone dies leaving a Will and how to deal with a deceased person’s estate.
When someone dies, one or more executor(s) named in the Will will be responsible for managing the estate and distributing the assets of the deceased in accordance with its terms.
First and foremost, before attempting to do anything with the will, you should first:
When you write a will, you need to ensure it is a legally valid will by signing it in accordance with the legislation set out in Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837.
To comply with this Act, the Will needs to have been signed by ‘the testator’ (that’s the person who the will is about and written by) in the presence of two independent witnesses, who must also sign and print their name and address near the testator’s signature and the will must also be dated.
Note: Due to the Covid pandemic lockdowns, witnessing of a testator’s signature was permitted to be done online from 31st January 2020 until 31st January 2022 although the end date is subject to amendment.
If, upon inspecting the Will, you find it hasn’t been properly prepared and/or executed in accordance with the legislation, then it will be deemed invalid and the Rules of Intestacy will apply as though the deceased had not written a will.
You might want to read: Making a will checklist: estate planning
If you’re a named executor in a legally-binding Will, then it is your responsibility (along with any other named executors) to apply for probate to obtain legal authority to deal with the administration and distribution of the deceased’s estate by either:
The deceased may also have made a Letter of Wishes alongside their will and whilst these wishes aren’t legally-binding, an executor is expected to comply with and follow the wishes of the deceased as far as is reasonably and practicably possible.
Read more: What to do when someone dies
Yes, in most cases you will need to apply for probate if someone died with a will.
The only circumstances where probate is not usually required are:
To be absolutely certain that probate isn’t required, you should:
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As soon as possible after a death, and usually within a month or two.
However, a will is not officially ‘read’ (i.e. you do not have to attend a formal appointment at a solicitors’ office for them to read out the contents of the will to you). Instead, an executor will send a letter to any beneficiaries as soon as possible after the death to notify them that they are dealing with the administration of the deceased’s estate and to confirm that they’re a named beneficiary in the deceased’s will.
Although they’re not obliged to, it is commonplace for an executor to also confirm to a beneficiary what they will be entitled to receive from the estate once probate has been issued.
That said, legally speaking, only an executor is entitled to ‘read’ a will prior to the issue of probate but once probate is granted, the will then becomes a public document and anyone (including the beneficiaries) can apply to the probate Registry and pay a fee to see a copy of it.
Read more: What is probate?
One or more executor(s) named in the will (who are typically close relatives or loved ones of the deceased and/or probate solicitors) are responsible for dealing with the will.
Some people nominate a probate specialist to be the executor and others, very often with smaller, less valuable and less complex estates, are happy for a competent close friend or relative to oversee the administration duties.
There is also very often more than one executor named in the Will. For example, sometimes the testator can choose to name a probate specialist as one executor and a close friend or relative as another executor who will both jointly oversee the administration of the estate.
You might be interested in: What is a Deed of Trust?
If there is no will, the deceased will officially die intestate and the Rules of Intestacy will apply.
The administration and distribution of the deceased’s estate will usually be overseen by their next of kin, a close relative or friend who may have to apply for letters of administration, instead of probate, in order to deal with the estate.
If a will is declared void as it hasn’t been properly prepared and executed meaning it isn’t legally binding then, again, the deceased’s estate will be distributed according to the Rules of Intestacy and as though they hadn’t left or written a will.
Read more: Who inherits an estate when there is no will?
An estate worth £5,000 or more may need to go to probate, but it will depend on the financial institutions who hold assets for the deceased and what their individual requirements are.
An executor will need to contact all financial institutions and utility companies (etc.), who hold assets or debts for the deceased to:
While you’re waiting to hear back from all the asset holders, you should make a list of absolutely everything that’s included in the estate and then calculate the value of the estate and prepare draft estate accounts. You can update the accounts with the information provided by the financial institutions in due course to get your final estimate of the estate’s value.
Note: If you’re dealing with the administration of an estate yourself, here’s a link to free, helpful template documents including ‘Estate and Distribution Accounts’ you can download as a Word document. If you haven’t got MS Word on your computer, you can instead download and then upload a Word document as a Google Doc to Google Drive, for free.
Once you have prepared estate accounts and have an estimate of the estate’s value, at least 20 working days prior to applying for probate, you should:
Note: Inheritance Tax should be paid within six months of death. For more information about valuing an estate, visit the Government’s website for step-by-step guidance.
20 days after reporting the estate’s value to HMRC, you can apply to the probate Registry for probate online or by post by: