Will Executors duty to benificiaries?

Question

As the executor to a will how soon after receiving the will should I inform the beneficiaries especially the principle of their inheritance

this is in the UK

Answer 1

Presumably the death has been registered and the funeral is over and it is simply a matter of sorting out the estate.

1.Make sure you get plenty of copies of the death certificate - 15 is a good working number. You will have to show copies to banks, building societies, companies with which the deceased held shares...it goes on and on. Many organisations will need sight of an original Death Certificate before releasing funds. Copies obtained from the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages are regarded as 'originals' as opposed to a photocopy of the certificate.

2.. Apply for a Grant of Probate via the nearest Probate Registry. You may well have done this already.

3. Arrange to open a Personal Representative's bank account. This will be used for paying in money due to the estate and any loan arranged to pay an Inheritance Tax bill and/or probate fees. Eventually it will be used for paying out bequests under the will. Warning: after twelve months the bank will start charging monthly fees.

4. Inform all relevant persons and organisations - banks, building societies, life assurance companies, employers, local authorities, Inland Revenue, benefit agencies etc.

5. Arrange for a valuation of the Estate. This will include the house (if owned or partly owned by the deceased) together with its contents, other personal effects, investments in savings plans, stocks and shares, life policies, building societies etc. Draw up a detailed list of all the Testator's assets.

6. Draw up a list of debts that must be paid from the proceeds of the Estate. These will include mortgages, any income and capital gains taxes, bills, credit cards, loans and overdrafts.

7. Complete the forms required by the Inland Revenue Capital Taxes Office so that it can be established whether any Inheritance Tax is due.

8. Complete the probate forms and send or take them to the Probate Office along with the original Will, the death certificate and the Inland Revenue account.

9. Provided that the case is fairly straightforward, an appointment will be made for the personal representative to 'swear the papers' within about 5 - 6 weeks of receipt at the Probate Office

10. When Inheritance Tax is due the Executor's account of the Estate is passed to the Inland Revenue and the Grant of Probate cannot be issued until the tax is paid. There will be circumstances where part of the Estate has to be sold to pay Inheritance Tax and if this is the case banks can arrange loan facilities to pay the tax straight away.

11. Copies of the Grant of Probate should be sent to everyone who owes money to the Estate. You now as Executor have a legal authority to pursue any debts owing to the Estate.

12. When the Grant of Probate is received, the Estate can be divided according to the terms of the Will. The Executor must prepare and sign accounts showing who has received what from the distribution. They must be able to show that they acted in accordance with the terms of the Will in case there is any dissent from the family of the deceased.

13. All papers, including the Grant of Probate and the accounts must be stored safely for a period of 12 years.


As you can see, it all takes quite a long time and it would be most imprudent to tell beneficiaries about their expectations under the will before you have sorted out debts owed by the estate, especially taxes. Once this has been done, then you can begin to pay out the specific legacies, but the residuary legatee (the one who stands to inherit what is left in the estate when all debts have been paid) won't know until you have drawn up the final accounts what he or she is getting.

There are some simple guides on being an executor obtainable and it would be a good idea to get one.

Answer 2

The family should be notified of the death as soon as possible.

Monies owed to the estate should be collected and debts paid.

Assuming the estate is valued high enough, once probate is granted and all accounts are settled, the estate is then distributed to the beneficiaries.

It should be straight forward so three months should be ok after the death of the person concerned.

There may be complications though as there could be express trusts, implied trusts, constructive trusts, secret trusts, half secret trusts and a whole menagery of legal beasties to contend with.

If the estate is valuable then the will may be contested in some way by a disgruntled beneficiary who felt they were going to get more than they did.

It really can be a minefield.

Go to the CAB to ask for guidance on how best to execute a will.

Answer 3

Legally; no. Your fiduciary duty (your husband's that is) is to the deceased estate, and you be judged to how you executed his will, if he didn't want them to know then you have no duty to disclose this. Morally; this is no fold, everyone has a moral claim to knowing whether their parent is alive or deceased, however your husband been the benefactor and them not receiving anything might just cause a headache for you having to explain, it depends if you can be bothered holding off the complaints of the his children.

Answer 4

You can give an early estimate (best to err on the low side), but you will have to wait until you are sure all credtors are paid before arriving at a final figure.