When someone dies – What happens next?
I thought that it might be useful to outline briefly what happens when someone close to you dies. The first question I am often asked is, “What happens next?” “What needs to be done?”
- One of the first arrangements to be made is the funeral. Contact a local firm of Funeral Directors to discuss the services that they offer and the costs involved.
- It is then necessary to register the death at the local Registrar of Birth Marriages and Deaths and to obtain a few copies of the Death Certificate. Two or three are useful because these are needed to register the death with Banks, Building Societies and other institutions.
- One of the next steps is to ascertain whether the person who has died has left a Will. An original Will is often with the family Solicitor. A copy of the Will may be with the Deceased’s private papers. We never mind receiving a phone call from relatives who are looking for a Will.
- If there is a Will Executors will have been appointed by the deceased and it is their role to carry out the wishes of the deceased as set out in the Will. If there is no Will the Deceased has died Intestate (without a Will). In this situation there is no document setting out the Deceased’s wishes and therefore the Rules of Intestacy have to be followed. These rules state who has the right to deal with the Deceased’s estate and this person is known as the Adminstrator, (rather than the Executor when there is a Will).
- It is often at this stage that we are asked to help and we would ask you to tell us about the deceased’s assets. Is there a house, bank and building society accounts, shares, insurance policies, premium bonds and so forth? All this information has to be collated and the value ascertained. We are more than happy to deal with this.
- Most Banks, Building Societies and other organisations require a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration before they will release the Deceased’s assets to the Executor/Administrator. This is the legal document that informs the organisation that they are releasing the Deceased’s asset to the correct person.
- Once this document has been obtained assets are encashed, sold or transferred in accordance with the deceased’s Will or the Rules of Intestacy. Final bills are paid and tax affairs sorted out. The Estate is then distributed in accordance with the terms of the Will or Rules of Intestacy.
I know that this may sound somewhat complex and as stated we are more than happy to assist in this process, by doing so we hope to make a difficult time a little easier.
Hello,
Firstly, thank you for sharing this great information and sorry for posting this comment so late.
On a related subject, I was included as a beneficiary in a will where a solicitor was appointed as the executor. A proportion of the estate was left to me. The estate was mainly made up of stocks and shares.
It has now been 3 years since the death and I have not received any of the monies mentioned in the will and confirmed by the solicitor as due to me. Each time I contact the executor I am told that they are awaiting tax information or there is some new complication. I feel as though I have been left in the dark and when I do ask questions they are met with a sharp answer.
Is there anything I can do in this situation to find out exactly what the hold-up is and expatiate the process? Are there laws relating to the executor having to keep beneficiaries informed? Is there any where that I can see what is in progress, i.e. publicly available information?
Kindest thanks,
Ben
Hi Ben,
I am sorry that you are experiencing problems with this Solicitor.
Whilst three years does seem rather a long time, it is very difficult to comment without the full facts of the case. The majority of estates are usually completed within a year, but delays can arise for many reasons, some of which are out of the control of the Executors or the Solicitor, such as delays in selling a house.
It is certainly not in the Solicitor’s own interests to delay matters, as he cannot submit a final bill until all matters are completed.
Unfortunately, as a beneficiary, you are not a client of this Solicitor and therefore you have no legal entitlement to know the details of the estate or the timescale of administration. However, it would be good practice for all Executors to keep residuary beneficiaries informed as to the progress of an estate.
Solicitors usually have to ask permission from the executors in order to disclose information to the beneficiaries. In this case the Solicitor is the Executor, so there is no reason why he cannot disclose information or give a good reason for the delay.
The Legal Ombudsman expects replies to letters of enquiry by beneficiaries to be as informative as they can be in the circumstances, and for them to be sent reasonably promptly.
Executors (and Solicitors) are under a duty to collect in the assets and distribute as quickly as possible. Where there is unreasonable delay, a court action may be brought against an Executor by a beneficiary who is not paid in full. However, this would be very costly and time consuming.
My advice to you is to write to the Solicitor again, asking for full reasons as to why there has been so much delay, and ask for a likely timescale for completion of the matter. State in the letter, that if you do not receive a response within four weeks, with full information, you will make a formal complaint and ask for the complaints procedure. If you still do not receive a satisfactory response, you could consider raising the matter with the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority.
Hi William
To obtain a copy of a probate and Will you could contact a Probate Registry at Liverpool or Manchester(0161 240 5700)and they will help you.
Alternatively you could write to Postal Searches & Copies Dept., York Probate Sub-registry, 1st Floor Castle Chambers,Cliifford Street, York Y01 9RG. It would be necessary for you to give the full name, address and date of death of the deceased. I believe that the fee is £5 for a search to be made for a four year period and £3 for each subsequent 4 year period. Cheques are payable to HMCS.
A good web site is http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1226.htm#howdoi
I hope that this is useful to you William.
Regards
Claire
How can I obtain a copy of a relatives will which has been through probate