How we proceed is determined by whether the deceased left a Will and the size of the estate.

The Executor

At the present time, all of the assets of the estate are locked up in the name of the deceased and the process of administration of the estate is to appoint an executor who is entitled by law to ingather the estate and distribute it in accordance with the Will, if there is one, or if there is no Will  by a scheme of division laid out in the Succession (Scotland) Act.

Confirmation

The appointment of the Executor is achieved by applying to the Sheriff Court for a document called Confirmation (this document is called Probate in England).

Confirmation  gives official authority to the Executor to ingather the estate and gives legal protection to any financial institution paying out to the Executor, because when they pay out to an   Executor under Confirmation they can be confident that no-one will come along later also  claiming to be executor of the deceased.

To enable us to apply for Confirmation, we need to prepare an Inventory of the   estate, which lists all of the   assets and liabilities. On this form we also calculate whether any Inheritance tax is payable, because any IHT must be paid before the Court will grant Confirmation.

The Executor should go through all of the deceased’s papers to check for any home made Will, and bring in to us any documents from Banks, Building Societies, Insurance companies, investment companies, pension providers, mortgage lenders, utility providers and so on which enable us to identify the assets and liabilities of the Estate. We will then write to the various institutions to obtain a note of the balance as at the the of death, to enable us the prepare the Inventory of the Estate and apply for Confirmation.

An important point to establish is whether the deceased’s home will be unoccupied because immediate steps have to be taken to prevent damage from frost.

For more information on how we can help, contact Marie Ross on:

Telephone: 0131  556 5522

E mail: marier@neilsons.co.uk