What to do when someone dies

A death in the family is always an emotional and distressing time. It can be even more stressful if you are unsure about all the things that you need to sort out and do not know how or where to begin to get it all done. The following pages contain some practical guidance on what to do and how to do it.

First contact the deceased's bank or building society where their current account was held to advise them of the death and give them a copy of the death certificate. If the deceased had an account in their sole name this will freeze the account and stop any standing orders or direct debits from being paid. Then you should go to seen an undertaker about the funeral arrangements. If you are not sure what the deceased's wishes were and they left a Will it is a good idea to see whether the Will gives any directions as to funeral arrangements.

You must now think about the administration of the estate. This involves finding out what the deceased owned and what their debts or liabilities are. Accounts will have to be closed and assets sold or encashed. All the debts must be paid and you must make sure that the deceased's tax affairs are in order. When all this has been done you can distribute the estate.

How the estate is to be distributed depends on whether or not the deceased left a Will. If the deceased left a Will the estate will normally be distributed in the way set out in it. If the deceased did not leave a Will the estate must be distributed in accordance with a set of rules known as the Intestacy Rules.

What a solicitor does in probate cases

Administering an estate involves a great deal of work and a heavy responsibility. There is also some risk since if you make a mistake you are likely to be personally liable. For this reason most executors will choose to employ a solicitor's firm to help and advise.

The first meeting with a solicitor will probably take about an hour. These are some of the documents and information you will be asked to provide:-

• Death Certificate
• Birth Certificate
• National Insurance Number
• Details of tax office and reference number
• Details of anyone to whom the deceased owed money
• Details of the deceased's assets (you should bring with you recent bank statements, building society passbooks, insurance policies, premium bonds, and any other title documents for assets)
• Full names and addresses of the executors or next of kin if there is no Will
• Full names and addresses of people to whom things are left in the Will (the beneficiaries) or full details of surviving family members if there is no Will.
• If any beneficiaries are under 18 their dates of birth and parent's addresses

We will write to the beneficiaries to tell them what they have been left in the Will. We send a copy of the Will to beneficiaries who have been left a share in the estate rather than a specific gift.

We also write to ask for valuations of assets and building society and bank balances. At the same time we gather the information needed to complete the deceased's tax returns.

When this information is to hand we are ready to apply for a grant of probate or letters of administration and we will normally ask you to come in to the office to go through the papers.

A grant of probate is a court order that confirms that the Will is valid. At the same time it confirms the appointment of the executors named in the Will, Letters of Administration is a similar Court Order where is no Will and it appoints the administrators of the estate. In these notes we use the expression "Grant of Representation" which covers both probate and Letters of Administration.

Having had our meeting to read and sign the probate papers we can often apply at once for the grant of representation; it will be issued within two weeks or so.

A comprehensive form listing and valuing the assets of the estate needs to be prepared and submitted to the Inland Revenue.

If an estate exceeds the Inheritance Tax Threshold of £300,000 solicitors have to calculate the amount of Inheritance Tax payable reflecting any allowances and exemptions available. Inheritance Tax on real property (land) is payable by instalments whereas Inheritance Tax payable in respect of personal property (stocks and shares, money invested with banks and building societies, proceeds of the insurance policies if due to the estate, jewellery and household contents) has to be paid at the time an Account is sent to the Inland Revenue. Solicitors may therefore have to negotiate with banks and building societies prior to an application for a Grant of Probate being submitted for an advance against the deceased's assets to enable Inheritance Tax to be paid. Only when the Capital Taxes Office has confirmed that the amount of Inheritance Tax paid is correct can solicitors proceed to apply for a Grant of Probate. Depending upon the size and complexity of a person's estate dealings with the Capital Taxes Office can be fraught and lengthy.

Any Inheritance Tax attributable to assets other than cash and investments, for example a house, can be postponed and paid by instalments though all the tax must be paid if the asset is sold.

When the Grant has been issued we will apply to close the deceased's bank and building society accounts and arrange for premium bonds, savings certificates and so forth to be encashed. We arrange the sale of assets such as shares which may need to be sold and we can deal with the transfer of any assets that are to be transferred to beneficiaries.

When cash becomes available we will:-

• Settle all the deceased's debts
• Pay specific legacies left in the Will (for example a gift of £1,000)
• Normally we will make a payment on account to the residuary beneficiaries that is the beneficiaries who have a share in the estate
• We will also make sure that the deceased's tax affairs are in order

Our Fees

Generally our fee will be a percentage of the estate which will not (except in exceptional circumstances) exceed 2% of the value of the estate. It may, however, be in simple estates where the vast majority of the value of the estate is in a single asset such as a house, that this percentage will be much less.

We will be very happy to give you a quotation for the cost on the occasion of our first meeting with you when we get to know what the estate consists of.

How to contact us

If you would like to telephone for an appointment or just to discuss matters in general, please contact Karen Grange on 0208 859 9095 or email her