Estate Administration Solicitors

Being asked to sort out someone’s affairs after they die is a significant responsibility and it usually arrives at the worst possible moment, while you are still coming to terms with losing them.

Our estate administration solicitors take that weight off your shoulders. We can handle the entire process for you, or step in to help with the parts you would rather not tackle alone. Either way, you will have an experienced specialist alongside you, explaining what happens next in plain English.

TV Edwards is a long-established, Legal 500 recognised London firm. Our Private Client team administers estates of every size and complexity, including intestacies, estates with missing beneficiaries and high-value estates with assets overseas.

TV Edwards were exceptional in their help with regards to my late father’s estate. Their timely and efficient correspondence with my sister and I was a great benefit in a time of need. We are very grateful.

Let us take this off your hands 

You don’t need to know what you’re doing before you call. Most people who contact us have never administered an estate before and aren’t sure where to start — that’s exactly what we’re here for.

We’ll explain the process, tell you what’s actually involved in your situation, and give you a written quotation before any work begins. Where we deal with the whole administration, our fees can usually be paid from the estate itself rather than out of your own pocket.

Call us on 020 3440 8000, email privateclient@tvedwards.com or contact us online.

What Is Estate Administration?

Estate administration is the process of dealing with everything a person owned and owed when they died, and passing what remains to the people entitled to it.

In practice, that means identifying and valuing their assets, sorting out tax, settling their debts, and then distributing the estate correctly, either according to their Will, or according to the intestacy rules if they didn’t leave one.

It is often described as “doing the probate”, but probate is only one stage. The administration itself usually runs for many months afterwards, and it is the stage where most of the work and most of the risk of getting something wrong, actually sits.

Who Is Responsible for Administering an Estate?

The person legally responsible is called the personal representative. There are two types.

Executors

If there is a Will, it will name one or more executors. If you’ve been named, you can choose whether to act but if you do, the responsibility for administering the estate properly is yours.

Administrators

If there is no valid Will, or the named executors are unable or unwilling to act, an administrator takes on the role instead. The intestacy rules set out who is entitled to apply, usually starting with the surviving spouse or civil partner, then children, then other close relatives.

Whichever applies to you, the duties are broadly the same and so is the exposure. Personal representatives can be held personally responsible if the estate is distributed incorrectly, or if debts and tax aren’t dealt with properly. That’s not intended to alarm you: it’s simply the reason most people in your position choose to have a solicitor involved.

Is a Grant of Probate Always Needed?

Not always. A grant is the document that proves your authority to deal with the deceased’s assets, and whether you need one depends on what they owned.

You will usually need a grant where the estate includes property held in the deceased’s sole name, or where banks and other institutions hold more than their own release thresholds. You often won’t need one where the estate is small, or where assets were held jointly and pass automatically to the surviving owner.

Where a grant is required, our team can guide you through applying for probate or handle the application as part of a full administration service.

What Does Administering an Estate Involve?

Every estate is different, but most follow a similar path:

• Establishing what there is. Tracing bank accounts, investments, pensions, property, policies and possessions, and obtaining date-of-death valuations for each.
• Identifying debts and liabilities. Mortgages, loans, credit cards, utilities, care fees and any outstanding tax.
• Dealing with HMRC. Reporting the estate and paying any inheritance tax due — often before the grant can be issued.
• Obtaining the grant. Applying for a Grant of Probate, or Letters of Administration where there is no Will.
• Collecting in the assets. Closing accounts, encashing investments and, where necessary, selling or transferring property.
• Settling debts and expenses. Paying creditors and the costs of the administration itself.
• Preparing estate accounts. A clear record of everything received and paid out, which beneficiaries are entitled to see.
• Distributing the estate. Paying legacies and passing the remainder to those entitled.

Realistically, a straightforward estate takes several months from start to finish. Estates involving property sales, tax complications or difficulties tracing beneficiaries take considerably longer, and we’ll always give you an honest view of the likely timescale at the outset rather than an optimistic one.

Where Estate Administration Becomes Complicated

Distributing an estate can be problematic for all sorts of reasons and these are the situations where professional help matters most.

Beneficiaries Who Cannot Be Found

Sometimes a beneficiary has lost contact with the family over the years, or the total number of beneficiaries simply isn’t clear. You cannot safely distribute an estate until you know who is entitled to it and have made proper efforts to trace them.

When There Is No Will

Where someone dies intestate and the personal representative doesn’t know all the family, it may be necessary to instruct genealogists to prepare a family tree and locate everyone entitled under the intestacy rules. We regularly manage this process on our clients’ behalf.

A Beneficiary Has Died or Lost Capacity

A beneficiary may have died before the deceased, or shortly afterwards — and each of those situations produces a different outcome. A beneficiary may also lack the mental capacity to receive their inheritance directly, which raises the question of who can accept it for them. These are exactly the points where well-meaning personal representatives get into difficulty.

Complex, High-Value and International Estates

Business interests, trust assets, agricultural or heritage property, and assets held abroad all add layers of complication — particularly around valuation and tax. We deal with complex and high-value estates regularly, including those with international elements, and we understand the specific challenges they bring.

Getting the Distribution Right

As personal representative, it is your responsibility to ensure the estate is distributed correctly to those entitled to it. Getting this stage right protects you as much as it protects the beneficiaries.

Two things are worth understanding before you pay anything out – Most estates are expected to be finalised or near finalised within the “Executor’s year”. May saying they are not entitled immediately/until matters are concluded properly –  — you are allowed the time needed to do the job properly, however much pressure you may feel under. Second, there are steps that can protect you against claims from creditors or beneficiaries you didn’t know about, including formal notices and observing the period during which certain claims against the estate can be brought.

Distributing too early, or without those protections in place, is one of the most common ways personal representatives end up personally out of pocket. We’ll make sure you’re covered before anything leaves the estate.

If a dispute does arise — over the Will itself, over provision for a family member, or over the way the estate is being handled — our contested probate solicitors can advise you separately.

How Much of the Work Do You Want to Take On?

There’s no single right answer, and it depends as much on your circumstances as on the estate.

Some clients ask us to take on the full administration, from the first valuation to the final estate accounts, so they don’t have to think about it again. Others want us to obtain the grant only, then deal with collecting and distributing the assets themselves. Others again are managing perfectly well until a specific problem appears — an untraceable beneficiary, an unexpected tax question, a property that won’t sell and simply want expert help with that one issue.

We’re happy to work in any of these ways, and you can change your mind partway through. Tell us where you’d like the line drawn and we’ll quote accordingly.

Related Private Client Services

How Our Estate Administration Solicitors Can Help

When you instruct us, we will:

• Explain where you stand. A clear picture of what needs doing in your particular estate, and how long it’s likely to take, from the very first conversation.
• Give you a written quotation. You’ll know the cost before we start, and where we handle the full administration our fees can usually be taken from the estate — provided there are liquid assets alongside any property.
• Take on as much as you want us to. Full administration, grant only, or help with a specific problem. Your choice.
• Deal with the difficult parts. HMRC, missing beneficiaries, genealogists, property sales and asset valuations — the elements that consume the most time and carry the most risk.
• Protect you as personal representative. We’ll make sure the right steps are taken before the estate is distributed, so so personal exposure is minimised
• Keep you informed throughout. Regular, jargon-free updates, and a named solicitor you can actually reach.
• Meet you however suits you. In person at our London offices, or by telephone, email or video call.

Why Choose TV Edwards?

• A dedicated Private Client team. Led by our Head of Private Client, with solicitors who administer estates day in, day out.
• Experience with the difficult cases. Intestacies, untraceable beneficiaries, beneficiaries lacking capacity, and complex or international estates.
• Transparent quotations. In writing, before we begin — no nasty surprises.
• Fees payable from the estate. In most full administrations, you won’t need to fund our costs yourself.
• Legal 500 recognised. Part of a long-established London firm independently recognised for acting in clients’ best interests.
• Genuine compassion. We support hundreds of bereaved families every year and never lose sight of what you’re going through.
• Continuity of contact. Wherever possible, the same solicitor sees the administration through from start to finish.

 Contact Our Solicitors Today

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