Executor of Estate
One of the most crucial elements of any Will is the appointment of the Executor. Every person that makes a will must choose someone to deal with their estate when they die. It is important you choose someone you can trust. This person must be prepared to do some practical work when settling your estate, such as:
- Registering the death and arranging the funeral
- Contacting the Probate Registry
- Notifying businesses of the death (such as banks, council tax office, social security and utility companies etc)
- Gathering all documents set out in the Will (such as insurance policies etc)
- Putting together a list of assets, debts and liabilities and drawing up accounts to outline how the estate is to be divided up
- Investigating the possibility of any further heirs
- Paying any Inheritance Tax (IHT) bills from the estate.
- Distributing the assets of your estate in line with the terms of the will.
As you can see, being an Executor carries responsibilities and not everyone has the financial expertise to be able to organise everything. You can appoint any person you trust to become your Executor, but in many cases they will also need to appoint a third party such as a Solicitor to help out with the more complicated administration issues such as organising assets, calculating IHT and other appropriate taxes.
Let Skipton Trustees Limited help – in any circumstance
Skipton Trustees Limited (STL) offers a specialist and unbiased Executor service to help your loved ones through what is already a difficult time. Our services include:
Acting as a sole Executor – this is where STL will act as your Executor and deal with your estate on behalf of your beneficiaries. You would be required to appoint us in your Will and we will apply for the grant of probate, calculate the value of the assets and liabilities and ensure that the estate is distributed correctly to the beneficiaries.
Acting as a Joint Executor – STL will work together with any other people named in the Will nominated to deal with your estate according to your wishes.
Acting as a professional adviser to the Executor – this is where STL will take responsibility for administering and distributing your estate with full and ongoing agreement with the Executors. This is where we can help with the more complicated issues such as taxes and other calculations.
Administration of an estate with no Will – if someone has died intestate there is no indication of who is to receive the estate. STL can help with the administration to ensure that everything is distributed according to the law.
If you wish STL to become the Executor of your Will, please ensure that the relevant box is ticked in the Executor section of the Will Writing Instruction Form.
