Intestacy / Letters of Administration

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The loss of a loved one can be a very emotional and distressing time, even more so if you are faced with sorting out the deceased’s financial and personal affairs. While some people feel that they need to do as much as possible in order to keep busy, others need someone to help ease the burden and deal with the legal intricacies.

Dealing with the affairs of a deceased person is often more complicated and time consuming than people expect, and if dealt with incorrectly the personal representatives may leave themselves vulnerable to claims against the estate and even personal financial liability.

Our specialist team can deal with as much or as little as you require in the course of the administration of an estate.

The administration of an estate can be complicated by factors such as the payment of Inheritance Tax, missing beneficiaries, executors who do not wish to act, Trusts, claims relating to Trusts, Wills and Estates, and difficulty in establishing the estate assets and liabilities.  Our team at Hay & Kilner is experienced in dealing with all of these issues.

Intestacy

If there is no Will, a person is said to have died ‘Intestate’ and those administering the estate may require ‘Letters of Administration’, this document confirms the identity of those appointed to act in the administration of the estate.  The law sets out who is entitled to apply for Letters of Administration and the people appointed are called ‘Administrators’.

The Administrators are responsible for valuing the extent of the estate and paying any Inheritance Tax due before applying for Letters of Administration. They will then encash the assets of the estate, pay the liabilities and distribute the estate in accordance with the law.

The law governing the administration of an Intestate estate is found in the ‘Intestacy Rules’.

We can help you to deal with all aspects of the estate administration, including valuing the estate, paying any Inheritance Tax liability, applying for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration as appropriate, collecting in the estate assets, settling any liabilities and distributing the estate in accordance with the Will or the Intestacy Rules.

Our team is experienced in dealing with both very large, complicated estates and very small estates, estates which include business assets, those with farming assets and estates which include foreign assets.

We can also help with claims relating to Trusts, Wills and Estates.

For further information or advice, please contact Alison Hall on 0191 232 8345 or email Alison.Hall@hay-kilner.co.uk