A Personal Representative is allowed 365 days to administer the estate and distribute the deceased’s assets to the Beneficiaries. This is called the Executor’s Year. However, this isn’t a strict deadline, and complex Estates often take longer than this to complete. Providing that the person doing the work is acting in good faith and can justify the delay, then this is unlikely to be an issue.
What Needs to Be Done during Probate?
Probate can be a complicated and time-consuming process, involving a significant amount of legal, tax and administrative work. The primary Executor / Administrator duties that need to be carried out include:
- Valuing the Estate
- Contacting beneficiaries
- Applying for the Grant of Representation
- Collecting in the assets and selling or transferring these
- Settling outstanding debts
- Preparing the Estate accounts
- Distributing the remaining estate to the beneficiaries
It’s essential to bear in mind that whoever carries out this work can be held personally liable for any mistakes made. So, while deadlines do need to be met, it’s important not to rush these steps.
When Should Probate Begin?
There’s no definitive rule on how soon after death Probate should be started, but it’s a good idea to begin this process as soon as you feel able to do so. You may find that you are unable to deal with any of the deceased’s assets until you have obtained the Grant of Representation from the Probate Registry, and this can often take around 3 months to process, sometimes longer.
Some things that will need to be done straight after the death include registering the death, securing the property (if it’s empty), contacting insurers to check that policies are still valid and notifying organisations such as the deceased’s bank.
The Executors Year Explained
The person responsible for carrying out Probate is called the Executor (if the deceased left a Will) or the Administrator (if they didn’t). The law sets out an acceptable timeframe for the Executor or Administrator to finalise the administration of an estate and distribute to the Beneficiaries. This is what the Executor’s Year refers to. After the Executor’s Year has expired, interest will become payable on any outstanding legacies.
Sometimes, however, it’s simply not possible to complete the Estate administration within this timeframe. Providing the Executor or Administrator can justify these delays and demonstrate that they are acting in the best interests of the Estate, then this is unlikely to be called into question.
If a beneficiary feels that there are unjustified delays during the Estate administration, they are legally entitled to make a claim against the Executor or Administrator. This could ultimately result in the Court removing the Executor or Administrator from their role and appointing a replacement.