“What to do when someone dies”
The death of someone close to you can be overwhelming, and you may need practical advice to help you manage. We can provide practical advice and reassurance from the outset and then guide you through every aspect off handling the deceased’s estate.
Executry is the name used by lawyers for the work required in winding up the estate of someone who has died. Dealing with a large estate or one where a house or other property is involved can often be very complicated and time consuming. In the event of any mistakes being made, the executor is legally responsible. If an executor is in any doubt about his or her ability to carry out the correct procedures, or if there is any dispute, the executor is strongly advised to consult a solicitor.
Our Terms of Engagement provide for a time-and-line/hourly/unit rate charge. It also makes a difference to the amount of work whether or not there is available a valid will signed by the deceased – more work and other costs are likely if there is no will. The work may involve meetings and consultations between the family/executor and the solicitor, collating and valuing the assets and liabilities of the estate, corresponding with financial and other institutions (e.g. banks, building societies, share registrars, employers/pension administrators, DWP, HMRC, council tax departments, factors, mortgage lenders and more), drawing court documents and forms for Confirmation (Scottish equivalent of Probate), dealing with the Sheriff Court processing the forms, ingathering the financial estate (i.e. collecting in all the money), accounting to the executor and distributing the bequests and shares of estate among beneficiaries. There may also be a home/heritable property to sell on the open market or transfer to a beneficiary. Finally there is the question of calculating and dealing with inheritance tax .
All of our executry work is assessed by the depute auditor of court and clients are provided with a certificate of assessment from the depute auditor and our invoice reflects this assessment