After someone dies, someone (called the deceased person's 'executor' or 'administrator') must deal with their money and property (the deceased person's 'estate'). They need to pay the deceased person's taxes and debts, and distribute his or her money and property to the people entitled to it.

As the Executor or Administrator you’re responsible for the assets from the date of death until the date everything has been passed on to the beneficiaries. This is known as the ‘administration period’.

During this period you may have to:

• pay any debts left by the person who died
• sell assets such as properties or shares
• pay tax on any income the estate generates
• report the estate value, income and tax liability to HM Revenue and Customs

The executor or the administrator may have to apply for a grant of representation to gain access to the money. An application for a grant of probate or letters of administration is made to the Probate Registry.

If the deceased person left a valid will, the Probate Registry will grant probate of the will. If the deceased person left an invalid will or no will at all, the Probate Registry will issue a grant of letters of administration.

As the executor or administrator of the estate it is also your legal responsibility to pay off any debts the deceased had before you can distribute the estate. Executors are responsible for a deceased’s estate ‘in perpetuity’ and they have an obligation to locate all the assets in an estate to not disadvantage the beneficiaries.

You must show that you have made an effort to locate all assets liabilities and to tell as many people as possible about the deceased’s estate. This is to give anyone with a claim the chance to come forward.

You can do this by performing a VERAFI Financial Asset Search and by placing a Deceased Estates Notice in the The Gazette, the official newspaper of the UK government, and a local newspaper. If you don’t you could be liable if someone comes forward with a claim after you have distributed the estate. By law anyone who wants to claim has two months and one day from the date of the notice being published to come forward.

It is vitally important during the administration process that Assets and Liabilities are located.  This can have an affect on the value of the estate and applying for probate and  any inheritance tax that may be due.  Implications for executors failing to locate and distribute all assets during the process include potential HMRC fines for undeclared IHT and additional costs to the estate. 

Our VERAFI Financial Asset Search Solution aims to help locate Assets, Liabilities, Shares and ensure due diligence in your role as Executor or Administrator.

 It is estimated that  ­UK Financial Institutions have £1.3 Billion approximately held within lost, dormant and active accounts which increases annually, adding to this £3 Billion in NS&I and an estimated £200 billion in unclaimed pension accounts. It’s probable that a high percentage of those belong to people who have passed away. *Data Taken from Commission on Dormant Assets Report dated March 2017.

 Conducting a VERAFI Financial Asset Search significantly reduces the time and complications incurred by the executors trying to locate all assets when writing to financial institutions.

 In the last 12 months 86% of our financial asset searches have produced at least one positive match in regards to the estate whether its closed, dormant or active accounts.