Are you the Personal Representative (PR) of someone’s estate?

Having a Will in place is essential to ensure your property and assets are distributed according to your wishes after you pass away. It is also important to carefully choose the Executor(s) of your Will.

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).

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.

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.

Nigel Merchant, Regional Probate Consultant here at Kings Court Trust, is frequently asked about Inheritance Tax. Here’s what he has to say:

Although we are free to make a will so that, when we die, we can leave our assets to whoever we like, we are also free to die without having made a will – or intestate – so that the state decides how our estate will be divided up. Either way, if we leave behind people who need and could reasonably expect financial help from our estate, the law can step in to make sure they get it under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The intestacy rules in England and Wales are set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925 and have not materially changed since their creation. Nick Beetham looks at amendments proposed by The Law Commission after exhaustive research and consultation.

Dealing with an estate when someone has died is a puzzle for most of us. We are faced with this task so infrequently that it is not one that is routinely learned through life experience and added to this is the fact that probate and inheritance law change from time to time; what was relevant seven years ago might not be appropriate today. In Part One of this two-part article, we looked at the early activities that take place including the considerations a family normally takes into account before appointing professional help and then after the appointment, the steps and information needed to apply for a Grant of Probate.

Although it can be risky, administering an estate is usually relatively straightforward to the experienced practitioner. Occasionally, though, some elements of a particular estate will test the mettle of the best. Nicholas Beetham looks at a recent “perfect storm” estate which, although demanding, presented no more than a welcome challenge to Kings Court, who administered it smoothly and without fuss.