Estate administration: what happens once the grant arrives

1. Register the grant with each institution

Send an office copy of the grant to every bank, building society, pension provider, insurer and registrar holding an asset. Most will close accounts and pay the balance to an executor account within a few weeks. Order enough office copies at application stage so you can send several at once rather than in sequence.

2. Open an executor account

• Keep estate money entirely separate from your own — mixing funds is the fastest way to a dispute
• Every payment in and out should be traceable to a document
• Keep receipts for funeral costs, probate fees, statutory notices and travel

3. Settle liabilities in the right order

Funeral expenses and the costs of administration come first, then secured debts, preferential debts and finally unsecured creditors. Beneficiaries are paid only after everything owed has been settled. If the estate may not cover its debts, stop and take advice — an insolvent estate has its own strict rules.

4. Protect yourself with statutory notices

Placing notices in The Gazette and in a local newspaper, then waiting the statutory two months and one day, protects you personally against claims from creditors you did not know about. It is inexpensive and worth doing on almost every estate.

5. Deal with tax to the date of death and after

• A final personal tax return may be needed to the date of death
• Income earned by the estate during administration may need reporting
• Capital gains can arise if property or shares are sold for more than the probate value

6. Prepare estate accounts

Estate accounts show every asset at date-of-death value, everything received, every payment out and the resulting balance split between beneficiaries. Sending them for approval and signature before you distribute is the single best protection an executor has. Our workspace produces these accounts automatically from the figures you record.

7. Distribute and close

• Consider waiting until six months after the grant before final distribution, in case of a claim against the estate
• Obtain a signed receipt from each beneficiary
• Retain the file and supporting papers for at least twelve years