Updated 29 March 2022
5min read
If you are made the executor of someone’s Will when they die, it is your responsibility to ensure that their wishes expressed in the Will are carried out. This process is known as probate. The probate process is a new experience for most executors, so here’s a short guide to help you understand what is involved and how to carry out your responsibilities successfully.
Even if you’re not an executor yourself but just a beneficiary, this guide explains what the process involves and how long you might have to wait before receiving your inheritance.
In this article we will cover:
Probate broadly means ‘getting official permission to carry out the wishes in the Will’. But the term is now more commonly used to describe the whole process of administering someone’s estate, from getting court permission to paying the inheritance tax bill and dividing the assets.
The person who has to carry out the steps in the probate process is the executor. Usually, the deceased will have named this person in their Will, and they can choose up to four people to share the responsibility. But if the deceased hasn’t named anyone, the executor will be the next of kin. Incidentally, this is why it’s always important to choose an executor (and to make a Will in the first place), because the next of kin won’t necessarily the best person to take on this responsibility.
You can be appointed as executor without being asked. If you really don’t want the responsibility, you can apply to ‘renunciate’ (renounce your responsibility) through the courts.
Executors are responsible for paying any outstanding debts (from the estate) and distributing assets to beneficiaries. The list of tasks includes:
Much of this may sound daunting, but you can appoint a solicitor to handle the process on your behalf (and you may be able to pay them out of the estate, if you obtain permission from the named beneficiaries).
To administer a person’s Will as executor, you usually need to get permission from the court first. This process is called applying for grant of probate. Or, if the person hasn’t left a Will, it is called applying for grant of letters of administration.
You don’t need to get grant of probate if either:
Even if you don’t think any tax is due, you need to file an inheritance tax return at the same time as applying for grant of probate. Basically, you submit the two forms together. It can help to get inheritance tax planning advice at this stage to make sure you’re paying the correct amount and handling everything in the most tax efficient way.
You have to pay any inheritance tax before grant of probate is issued. You can make the payment up to six months from the end of the month in which the person died (so, if the person died on 14 June, you would have until 31 December to pay the bill). If you don’t have enough money to cover the payment, you can pay in instalments or you may be able to take out a loan that you would pay off once the estate is distributed.
Probate typically takes between nine months and a year to get everything settled. Here are the main steps you need to take if you’re an executor:
In situations where people believe the Will is not valid or that probate hasn’t been executed properly, they can contest it. To do this, they will need to lodge a caveat with the Probate Registry, which will stop the probate being issued until the dispute is resolved. The caveat expires after six months but it can be renewed.
The probate process takes around a year on average, from the date of the person's death to the estate being distributed. It may take less time, but even simple estates usually take a minimum of six months to complete probate. However, once a Grant of Probate has been issued, it should be only around six weeks before the estate is distributed.
You need to pay an application fee of £215 for grant of probate if the estate is worth over £5,000. The only other costs you need to factor in are inheritance tax (though the estate should reimburse you for this) and solicitor fees if you decide to get a professional to manage it all for you.
A financial adviser can help you manage some of the more challenging aspects of probate, such as inheritance tax, life insurance, trusts and liquidating assets (such as investments) for distribution.