Step by step guide to Acting as Executor

Brendan Burgess

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I couldn't find a good, clear guide to taking out probate without a solicitor, so I will compile this as I go along. Suggestions and corrections welcome.

This thread applies only

  • Where there is a valid will
  • You are the named executor
Please ask posts about any other situation in a new thread.



Stage 1

Notify the appropriate people of the death


  • The bank
  • Dept of social welfare
  • Utilities (Maybe leave these until you have them sorted?)
  • Insurance companies etc.
Get a Death Certificate

Ignore this FAQ. You need The Death Notification Form, the deceased'd PPSN, ID for yourself and money.
The doctor or hospital will provide you with a "Notification of Death". You need to go the Registrar of Births Marriages and Deaths to register the death and get the Death Certificate. Bring the Notification of Death, your own ID and €20.



Stage 2

Collect all the information relating to assets and liabilities

AIB has a Deceased Accounts dept - 6415182 - bring the will, your own photo id and your own utility bill to any branch and they will send you a statement of balances. They also have a "Bereavement Guide"

Stage 3

Complete the Inland Revenue Affidavit


Stage 4

Complete the Probate Application form
Get an appointment for interview



Stage 5

Probate Office will grant probate



Stage 6

Collect the assets and distribute them to the beneficiaries.
 
My questions

Can I start the process of selling the deceased's home? Or should I wait until Probate is granted?
 
Prize Bonds proce



17. What happens to my Prize Bonds if I die?
Prize Bonds registered in the name of a Bondholder who has died may be payable to the nearest living relative (Next-of-Kin)
or to the Legal Personal Representative of the Estate. Bonds may be re-invested in the purchase of new Bond numbers or transferred to other persons. If you are dealing with the estate of a Deceased Bondholder, you should write to

State Savings
Prize Bonds Deceased Section
Fexco Killorglin FREEPOST Co. Kerry


Enclose the relevant Bond Certificates together with a note requesting one of the above options. You must be able to show -

1. Proof of death via a Death cert, Memorial card, Obituary notice in newspaper



2. Last Will & Testament: where there is a will available, the original or a certified copy of this document should be enclosed to verify who is/are the executor(s) of the Estate. (Told me over the phone a copy would do)


3. Grant of Representation : if available, enclose the original or a certified copy. (Over the phone told not necessary)


4. Full details of all variations of names and addresses used by the Deceased at any time since March 1957, when Prize Bonds began.

On receipt of your letter, we will conduct a full search of the records based on the information you have supplied and will respond in writing as soon as possible, giving a statement of the value of the Bonds registered in the name of the Deceased, and enclosing the relevant forms which should be completed and signed by the:
1. Nearest living relative (Next-of-Kin); or
2. Legal Personal Representative(s) as declared in documents governing the Estate.

The Forms are available at www.StateSavings.ie State Savings ™ or telephone 1850 30 50 60.
 
Filling in the Inland Revenue Affidavit

This form looks intimidating and the wording is very bad. However, you should be able to work your way through it.

6) Beneficiaries
Do I list out all the people who are to receive money here? No. Just list out the information for those receiving over €16,750

"Approximate value" - Do I just estimate this? I won't know until I know how much the property is sold for? yes
"Where any prior Aggregable Benefits have been received since 05/12/1991 state the amount received under that threshold. Where no amount please enter 0" Do I have to ask the beneficiaries for this information? Yes
How can I swear that this information is correct? you rely on them to give you the correct information
 
Brendan Burgess said:
My questions

Can I start the process of selling the deceased's home? Or should I wait until Probate is granted?
Click to expand...

Why you should use the services of a solicitor!

An executors powers vest in the executor on the death of the testator - they flow from the will. So- an Administrator ( no will) can only act, in a sale, once the Grant of Probate issues.

In circumstances where it is intended to sell the deceased's property pretty quickly, in order to "fix" the value with Revenue, one suggestion is to put the property on the market, and see if it sells. If you get a buyer, you've got the market value for Probate. This eliminates issues with CGT where date of death value is lower than subsequent sale price and CGT is payable on the difference.

An executor can sign a Contract before Probate but cannot complete the sale until Probate issues. A lot of purchasers these days want to close quickly so if they have a choice of houses and this is going to take months to close, they may move on. Now, of course, if you had a solicitor acting for you..............Probate does not take as long.

mf
 
mf1 said:
Now, of course, if you had a solicitor acting for you..............Probate does not take as long.

mf
Click to expand...

Thanks mf

I don't get that bit. Why does having a solicitor speed it up?

The slow bit is in getting all the information together. I would have to do that anyway and then pass it onto a solicitor.

Does a solicitor acting as an executor, or advising an executor, have some extra powers?

Brendan
 
The solicitor generally is better at pulling everything together and lodging the paperwork in the Probate Office - it has all been pre-checked and reviewed by the solicitor. All going well, the Probate Office staff can quickly review what they've been given and grant Probate. These days we lodge everything by DX ( Document Exchange) so we very often don't even have to go into the Probate Office , let alone make an appointment.

When they are dealing with lay people, they generally have to prod and poke and review and check.

And I understand that there is a time lapse while waiting for an appointment.

mf
 
dewdrop said:
Can a person sell a property without using services of a Solicitor?
Click to expand...

Technically, yes.

In practice, very, very difficult.

If I was acting for a purchaser, I would be very reluctant to deal with a lay person vendor.

What would that person know about tax, planning law, rights of way, title, etc.,etc? Nothing - which would leave the purchaser's solicitor very exposed - they'd be having to do the Vendor's solicitor's work.

mf
 

To the best of my knowledge the Probate Office is operating on 2 timescales at the moment:
- one for the general public which is now taking c. 6 months for an appointment from lodging everything (based on personal experience - whereas last time I did this it was c. 2 months for an appointment)
- one for solicitors which is taking less time (not sure how long perhaps someone might confirm).

Probate Office has apparently been subject to staff reductions.
 
property more than 1 acre, valuation Affidavit required

Hi,
I am currently preparing a personal application as executor, and I see that now if a property is over an acre the valuation must be by way of a sworn Affidavit. When i did this in the past, an Auctioneer/Estate Agent's valuation was enough.

How do I get a valuation by sworn affidavit, must I bring the Auctioneer into a solicitor?!

regards
Ricta
 

The inland revenue form has to be filled out in Duplicate, either on paper or via the revenue online version.

For a correct valuation, you could hire an actioneer to give you an idea, or call 3 of them and say you are interested in selling, what asking price do they suggest etc.
 
In regards to property, I've been told I have to get a written valuation for Probate from a local estate agent/auctioneer.

For bank accounts; I understand bank will close the deceased a/c, open an account in the name of the executor (as in Executor of Joe Bloggs Deceased) and the exec can then pay bills etc., from that account. They will also pay funeral expenses directly from the bank account on presentation of invoice from the Funeral Directors (they pay the undertakers directly).

Credit union a/cs haven't been mentioned yet..

Two things to check on CU accounts

1.does the CU pay a death benefit (usually as a percentage of savings at time of death)
2. is there a nomination form. If there is a nomination form then the CU a/c does not form part of the estate and the money is paid by the CU to the person nominated.


For utilities - write and send photocopy of death cert ask them to maintain supply at the property until probate is completed (this isn't usually a problem).

Notify house insurance that property is empty (if it is).

Notify employer/pensions so payments can be stopped and also check if there are any death benefits payable.

Last thing for tonight (and it's more of a tip than anything else). If you go to banks/CU etc., in person bring the original death cert & certified copy of will & ask them to copy it and return the original. It saves you the cost of getting certified copies or having them keep the originals (which cost €20 a pop).

final, final thing! You can get post re-directed for 3 months at a cost of €60, it save it building up in an empty house and also means you can act quickly on anything that comes in, rather than having to go around every few weeks to pick it up.
 
I acted as executor some years ago. The main points i recall is the importance of getting some estimate from a solicitor re fees as i had some of the beneficiaries saying they could have get a lower fee. Also where a property is to be sold to get agreement from the beneficiaries re timing and prirce. Finally some unexpected bills from parties who claimed to have done work for the deceased. Unless you are of strong mind these situations can create hassle and quite frankly I would have renounced the appointment if i had known what could have arisen. A professional, like a solicitor, could deal with such matters in a detached way and i suspect the various issues might not have been raised.
 
From what I understand this isn't the business of the beneficiaries in the first place.
 
Agree Thirsty but you can suffer much unwanted hassle with people saying sell and others hold for a while. Unfortunately i do not have a tough "neck" and its amazing how personal people can become.
 
An elderly relative of mine died 2 years ago. His solicitor was the sole executor. It made life very easy. There was a house to be sold. Solicitor let us choose the EA for the sale but that was as much input as we had. There was no faffing around debating if prices would rise if we waited for a year or two. House sold, bequests given. End of the matter.
 
To my mind, there should be no problem about when to sell a property: it should be sold without undue delay. The Succession Act says
My reading is that "as soon ... as is reasonably practicable" pretty well precludes an executor or administrator from deliberately delaying the sale of a property in order to speculate on future prices.

Further, if property prices fall, the executor or administrator might be exposed to a claim that the estate was incorrectly managed.
 
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