How Long Will it Take to Deal with the Estate?
Personal representatives have at least a year before they have to distribute any of the estate. While normally the estate can be dealt with faster than that, there are some elements which may take some time.
Potential claims causing delays
- Any continuing legal disputes either for or against the estate
- Any debts claims from creditors and the use of statutory advertising to avoid personal liability for the personal representative
- Any estate interests in businesses
- Sorting out pensions and benefits agencies
- Sorting any disagreements between family members over assets
Tax and valuation delays
- Valuation of assets for HMRC – collating information and preparing statements of assets and liabilities for inheritance tax
- Income tax and capital gains tax assessment and administration time
- Collecting in assets, which becomes particularly slow when intending to sell property as part of the estate
- Sending copies of the death certificate to asset holders to obtain confirmation of any assets belonging to the estate
- Obtaining a valuation of any property and personal affects if necessary
- Any enquiries as to any foreign assets which may be within the estate
Beneficiaries
- Tracing beneficiaries if necessary, informing them of any potential inheritance
- A six month time limit for family members to bring family provision claims (see ‘Are there any risks involved in being a personal representative?’ linked below)
How long is it going to take to deal with the estate?