Probate & Estate Administration
for your estate

When someone dies, the executors named in the will, or the administrators where there is none, take on the job of gathering the estate, settling debts and tax, and distributing what remains to the beneficiaries. It is a legal responsibility carried out at a difficult time, and the inheritance tax account and the application for probate sit at the centre of it. Getting the valuations, the tax, and the deadlines right is what stands between a smooth administration and a personal liability for the executors.

Estate administration support is the practical work of valuing the estate accurately, preparing the HMRC inheritance tax account, calculating and arranging payment of the tax, applying for the grant of probate, and producing the estate accounts that show beneficiaries exactly what happened. Inheritance tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the month of death, often before probate is granted, which creates a funding problem that has to be planned for.

We connect executors with accountants who handle estate administration regularly, so the figures going to HMRC are right, the reliefs and bands are claimed, and the deadlines are met. The accountant prepares the account and the estate accounts and works with the probate solicitor where one is involved. We make sure executors reach someone who does this work routinely rather than facing it alone.

Estate administration follows a defined path, but each step carries traps for an executor doing it for the first time. The estate has to be valued at the date of death, the inheritance tax account prepared and the tax paid, the grant of probate obtained, debts and legacies settled, and the residue distributed with estate accounts produced for the beneficiaries. Executors are personally responsible for getting this right, including for any tax underpaid because of a valuation that was too low or a relief claimed that did not apply. A specialist takes the technical load and keeps the record that protects the executor.

Valuation is where the figures that drive everything else are set. Property is valued at open market value at the date of death, usually with a professional valuation rather than an estate-agent estimate, because HMRC can and does challenge values it considers low, particularly where assets are later sold for more. Investments are valued on the date of death, bank accounts include accrued interest, and personal possessions of significant value need proper appraisal. Business and agricultural assets require valuation alongside an assessment of which reliefs apply. Getting these right at the outset avoids both underpayment, which exposes the executor, and overpayment, which costs the beneficiaries.

The inheritance tax account is the formal return to HMRC. It schedules the assets and liabilities, claims the available nil-rate band, any transferable band from a predeceased spouse, the residence nil-rate band where the home passes to direct descendants, and any Business or Agricultural Relief, and it accounts for gifts made in the seven years before death. Failed potentially exempt transfers within that window are added back, with taper relief reducing the tax on gifts made more than three years before death, never the value of the gift itself. The account has to reconcile, and the reliefs have to be supported, which is the detailed work a specialist does so the estate pays the right amount and no more.

The payment deadline is the pressure point. Inheritance tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the month of death, and in most cases the grant of probate will not be issued until the tax due on delivery of the account has been paid. This creates a familiar problem: the executor needs to access estate funds to pay the tax, but cannot fully access them without the grant, which they cannot get without paying the tax. The routes around this include the direct payment scheme, by which banks release funds straight to HMRC, paying the tax on certain assets such as property and some business interests by ten annual instalments, and short-term borrowing. A specialist plans this funding so the deadline is met without penalty and interest.

Once the tax position is settled or the required first payment made, the application for the grant of probate is submitted. The grant is the legal authority the executor needs to deal with the assets: to sell or transfer property, close accounts, and collect investments. After the grant, the executor settles the deceased's debts and the specific legacies in the will, deals with any income tax arising during the administration period, and prepares the estate accounts. These accounts show the beneficiaries the full picture: what the estate was worth, what was paid out in debts, tax, and expenses, and what residue remains for distribution.

The administration period itself has its own tax consequences that are easy to overlook. Income arising during the administration, such as rent, dividends, or interest, is taxable, and gains on assets sold during the period can attract capital gains tax, with the estate having its own allowances and rates. Distributions to beneficiaries have to be timed and recorded so the right tax certificates can be issued. Closing the estate cleanly, with the accounts signed off and the tax position settled with HMRC, is what finally discharges the executor's responsibility, and is the reason executors are well served by a specialist who closes estates routinely rather than improvising.

Claiming the transferable nil-rate band on a second death depends on evidence from a first death that may be many years in the past. The personal representatives have to establish how much of the first spouse's nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band was unused, which means tracing the value of that earlier estate and any gifts made in the seven years before it. Where records are thin, this reconstruction is painstaking, and it has to be done within the claim time limits. A specialist knows what HMRC will accept as evidence and assembles it, rather than risking a band being denied for want of documentation.

Estates that include a business or a farm have become materially more complex from 6 April 2026, when the 100% rate of Business Relief and Agricultural Relief became capped at a combined GBP 1,000,000 per person, with 50% relief above. Valuing the business, determining how much qualifies, applying the cap, and deciding whether to pay the resulting tax by instalments are all judgement calls that affect both the tax and whether the business can survive the administration intact. This overlaps with succession planning and should be handled by someone who understands the reliefs, not treated as a routine asset.

Insolvent or marginal estates, where debts may exceed or approach the assets, require a different and careful approach. Executors who distribute to beneficiaries before settling all the deceased's debts can become personally liable to creditors, so the order of payment matters and statutory advertisement for creditors is a protective step. Where the estate cannot meet its debts, the administration follows a defined order of priority. Getting this wrong is one of the clearest ways an executor incurs personal liability, and it is precisely the situation where specialist support earns its cost.

Disputes, missing beneficiaries, and assets that are hard to value can stall an administration for years. A contested will, a beneficiary who cannot be traced, foreign assets, or an unusual asset such as cryptocurrency or intellectual property all complicate the account and the distribution. The executor still has the tax deadline to meet regardless of the dispute, which can mean paying tax on a contested figure. A specialist helps navigate these, including making interim provision to HMRC and using missing-beneficiary indemnities, so the administration progresses without exposing the executor.