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When someone dies, either having left a will, or intestate, the law requires that someone take the responsibility of dividing up the estate, according to the will, or to the intestacy rules, if no will has been left. These people are known as Personal Representatives, as they represent the deceased person, and there are two types.

Executors
Are people who are appointed by the deceased person, through his will, to administer his estate. If there are conditional provisions in the will, it is also up to the executor to decide when they have been met, and distribute the assets accordingly.

Administrators
Where the deceased is held to have died intestate (I.e, there was no will) his next of kin may apply to the courts to be appointed as an administrator. It will be his duty to divide up the estate according to the intestacy rules (see Intestacy Law)

Personal representative have four main duties to perform with the deceased's estate.

Valuing The Estate

So that the estate can be divided properly, and inheritance tax can be paid on it, the exact value of the estate must be found. This involves finding out how much money is in any bank accounts or savings schemes, selling off shares and valuing land, properties, and all other goods. Institutions such as banks will usually not release confidential information about the value of the deceased's assets unless the personal representative can produce a certified copy of the death certificate.

Paying The Inheritance Tax

For the personal representative to actually administer the state, he requires a 'Grant of Probate' from the court, however, the courts will refuse to release this until inheritance tax has been paid on the estate, to ensure that the tax is not avoided. This causes a particular problem, as a portion of the estate must be sold to pay off inheritance tax, and a grant of probate is required to sell off the estate, but a grant of probate will not be released until the inheritance tax is paid, which is what you# wanted the grant for in the first place!!!

This means that administrators simply have to take out a loan to pay off the inheritance tax, and then sell a portion of the estate to pay off the loan. Your solicitor could probably arrange for a preferencial interest rate for this purpose.

The Grant Of Probate

In order for an executor to gain control of the estate, so that he can begin the process of dividing it up, he must request a grant of probate from the High Court. this is normally a straighforward matter, however probate is sometimes (very rarely) contested by relatives of the deceased.

A Grant of Probate will only be released where there is a will, so administrators must instead apply for 'letters of administration'. These are basically the same, but only apply in instances where there is no will.

In order for the High Court to release a grant, they will need to see the following:

• A copy of the original will, if there is a will
• An affidavit (a sworn document) by the personal representatives, detailing how the will empowers them to act, as well as gving an evaluation of the estate
• A reciept from the Inland Revenue, proving that the Inheritance Tax has been paid is also required where the estate is large enough for Inheritanc Tax to be paid

Dividing The Estate

Once the Personal Representative has a grant, they can begin the process of selling off assets to pay any outstanding bills or debts left by the deceased. The remaining sestae can then be divided up amongst the beneficiaries of the will, or, where there is no will, amongst the immediate family, according to the intestacy rules.

The Personal Representative must keep a formal account of all money and assets, which have passed through his hands, including the interest accumulated on assets since the death of the deceased. He must show this account to any of the beneficiaries who request this.