Estate Administration

At Kiteleys we offer a professional and discreet approach to Estate Administration. We appreciate that losing a family member or friend can be a truly challenging time and our aim is to support you through this by removing any legal and administrative burden.

What is estate administration?

Estate administration happens before and after getting probate. Gathering information about assets, paying taxes, submitting the probate application and distributing money to beneficiaries.

From a legal perspective, the estate administration process is largely determined by whether or not someone has left a valid Will and also the assets which comprise the estate. Generally speaking, in order to deal with a person’s assets after they have died, you will need to obtain what is known as a Grant of Representation which proves that you are legally entitled to deal with the assets. If the deceased left a valid Will this is known as a Grant of Probate and if they died without a valid Will (intestate) this is known as a Grant of Letters of Administration.

Many of our clients opt for the reassurance of appointing Kiteleys as their Executors under their Wills but we provide the same level of service to those appointed personally as Executors who choose to instruct us.

We are also able to advise our clients on the tax implications of Wills and set up any Trusts that may be included within the Will or are implemented by way of a post-death variation.

Other connected areas that we can help include:

• Post-death variations (also known as deeds of variation)

• Selling the property

• Inheritance Act Claims