The Executors in your Will should be someone you trust to administer your estate. The role is time consuming and can be complex so you should be sure you are naming the correct people in this role. They are going to have the power to treat the estate as their own whilst administering your estate.
What Are The Primary Roles Of Executors Of A Will
Some of your Executors first duties include registering the death, locating the original Will, arranging a funeral (as per the wishes in the Will if applicable) freezing and securing your assets-making sure property is insured for example and freezing bank accounts.
The Executors named in your Will are going to be the people who administer your estate, apply for grant of probate, and distribute your estate as per your Will.
Proper Steps Executor Needs To Take Before Applying For Probate
Before an Executor can apply for probate, they will need to value the estate for inheritance tax purposes. This can be a lengthy process depending on the assets the deceased held and the Executor needs to be sure they have located all assets. Depending on the deceased estate value and circumstances will depend of the forms required by the HMRC. Unfortunately, if going through probate themselves (without the involvement of a solicitor) an Executor will need to pay Inheritance Tax to the HMRC before assets have been sold. If this is not feasible, there are options such as loans and making arrangements with the HMRC. Appointing a solicitor would bypass this issue.
Executor Role In Dealing With Estate Liabilities of Deceased
Another role of your executor is to deal with any liabilities on the estate such as loans, debts and any tax due by the deceased. They will need to make sure effort is made in locating any other debts and will need to put an announcement in the London Gazette to advise of the death.
Duty of Executor in Distribution of Estate According to Will
Once probate has been granted, the Executors are then able to distribute the estate as the Will states. This would require conversations with the beneficiaries and keeping full records and a final set of accounts for the estate. These accounts should be shared with the beneficiaries and approved by them also.