Grace Li is Tax Manager at Kings Court Trust and explains what it means to be the Personal Representative of someone’s estate and what you should be aware of when it comes to submitting Inheritance Tax (IHT) forms and other documents to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

As Christmas approaches and we begin to think of turkey and other delights, I am reminded of the case of Bernard Matthews, the British poultry producer, whose end-of-life wishes were defeated by French law. This high-profile case highlights the importance of taking care of every detail regarding your estate.

Anti Money Laundering checks are an important part of the estate administration process. Kings Court Trust’s Anti Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO), Nigel Merchant, explains why we need to carry out these checks and what this means for Executors.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) has, this week, agreed new guidelines with the British Bankers Association (BBA) and the Law Society of England and Wales that will reduce administrative obstacles for both families and professionals in probate-related dealings with banks.

The short answer is, yes. Executors are legally responsible for dealing with the deceased’s estate. This typically involves applying for a Grant of Probate, administering the estate and distributing the assets to those persons entitled.

People are naturally reluctant to think about dealing with the debt of a loved one after their death and it becomes even more difficult to handle such matters when the debt is unexpected and no provisions for its repayment have been made.

The story starts with me heading north on the M6 one sunny Sunday afternoon in 2009. I was on my motorcycle going to meet a friend for a few days motorcycling around the Lakes. Then I was to meet my wife in Glasgow for a family re-union and a visit to Turnberry to see Tiger Woods in the British Open as a special birthday treat.

In his March 2012 report “Costs and customer service in a changing legal services market”, Adam Sampson, the Chief Ombudsman at the Legal Ombudsman (LeO), emphasises that customers are at the centre of what every legal services provider does. The report contains a number of stories in which he identifies that the uncertainty surrounding the cost of legal services generally, law firms’ lack of clear pricing policies and poor customer communication, as being the source of most complaints to LeO. He singles out the traditional practice of charging open-ended hourly rates for special criticism, saying that customers have the right to know in advance what the cost of buying legal services will be.

The ‘Tell Us Once’ Birth and Bereavement service was developed jointly by local authorities and central government, and was implemented in over 96 per cent of councils nationwide towards the end of 2011. The ‘Tell Us Once’ service enables customers to inform government just once about a birth or death and for this information to then be shared (with their consent) across other government services.