Our aim at SWW Trust Corporation is to provide friendly, efficient and professional help to Executors and Administrators of deceased persons’ estates at a competitive cost which means that the beneficiaries receive more of their inheritance sooner. This help can either be supporting you in fulfilling your responsibilities to the extent required by you or taking full responsibility for the administration of the estate.

Your Duties

As Executor or Administrator you must deal with the deceased person’s estate in accordance with the provisions of their Will or the statutory provisions of Intestacy (where there is no Will).

You need to exercise extreme care when taking on the role of Executor. You are not merely acting for the deceased person but you are taking over all their financial affairs. If not dealt with correctly you could find yourself personally liable for their debts and any losses involved.

Listed below are the principal duties of an Executor/Administrator

v  Interpret the Will (or Intestate succession laws) and identify the beneficiaries and their entitlements.

v  Establish the extent of the assets and liabilities of the estate.

v  Provide an accurate account of those assets and liabilities to the Inland Revenue (Capital Taxes Office).

v  Pay any Inheritance Tax. Collect all of the assets and pay the debts.

v  Settle the income tax affairs to the date of death.

v  Account to the Inland Revenue for the income arising as Executor and pay any Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax that may be due

v  Pay the legacies bequeathed under the Will.

v  Arrange for any bequests of assets other than cash to be dealt with.

v  House and contents may need to be valued or sold or a combination of both.

v  Make payments in cash or appropriate assets to the residuary beneficiaries.

v  Keep proper accounts

v  Provide an estate account and tax deduction certificate(s) to each residuary beneficiary.

The list takes no account of any overseas or business assets both of which place substantial added responsibility upon the Executor. In addition it does not include making appropriate enquiries to establish the extent of any gifts made in the previous 7 years and whether the deceased was interested in any trusts. To overlook any of these aspects could leave the Executor/Administrator open to personal liability.

How we can help

From the moment we hear from you we are available to offer advice so help is always only a telephone call away.

On hearing from you we can give you guidance as to the initial steps you need to take and enquire as to the level of assistance you may need. Where you only require limited assistance and are intending to apply for Probate or Letters of Administration personally we can provide standard letters in order that you can obtain details of the assets and liabilities of the estate and/or to advise beneficiaries of their entitlement. We can also assist you in preparing the necessary papers required to obtain Probate or Letters of Administration, provide letters to collect the assets and pay the liabilities. We can also deal with the financial records and produce accounts and tax certificates when the estate has been fully administered. You choose the level of assistance required and we will let you know the cost. A meeting may be necessary if matters cannot be dealt with otherwise.

Alternatively you may wish us to deal with all matters relating to the estate, including the application for Probate or Letters of Administration, in which case it would be essential to arrange an initial discussion with you.

The Initial Discussion

The purpose of this meeting is to establish the names and addresses (and ages if under 18) of all those who benefit under the Will or Intestacy plus details of all the assets and liabilities of the estate and any other relevant information. This includes jointly held property, any trusts in which the deceased may have had an interest, gifts made in the previous 7 years, assets held overseas and associated information.

To assist with this an Estate Fact Find is completed by an Estate Consultant which is then signed by you. It is then sent with any supporting papers to the Estate Manager who will be responsible for the administration of the estate to completion. It is important to disclose all details known to enable the Estate Manager to provide a realistic plan of the administration, the costs and potential problems. In addition if details concerning assets are missed the Capital Taxes Office can and will impose penalties on the estate for late or non disclosure of assets that were not originally declared at realistic values. You will be given a copy of the Estate Fact Find for you to keep as a permanent record.

The Administration Plan

Following completion of the Fact Find you will receive from the Estate Manager the Administration Plan detailing:-

v  The terms of the Will

v  A schedule of the assets and liabilities based on the initial paperwork

v  A target date for completing the papers to lead to the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration

v  A target date for receipt of the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration

v  The date for advising beneficiaries of their entitlement, periodicity for reporting

v  progress to them and potential dates for making payments or appropriating assets to them

v  The problem areas and outline action plans for each problem

v  An estimate of the total cost involved*

v  An estimate of the period of time needed to complete the administration - a simple estate may take from 6 to 9 months whilst for more complex estates it may be 2 – 3 years or longer!

* The estimates are based on the information available at the time but could change should unforeseen problems arise. In those circumstances you would be advised immediately of any revised estimates.

Problem Areas

In each estate there will be areas that can delay the administration of the estate principally being:-

v  The Will is disputed.

v  Claims on the estate made by third parties.

v  Property occupied by one of a number of residuary beneficiaries or a third party.

v  Sale of properties.

v  All businesses i.e. sole trader, partnership or private limited company shares.

v  The settlement of the income tax affairs to the date of death.

v  Missing beneficiaries.

v  Overseas assets.

v  The deceased person has been married previously.

v  Interests in other estates and/or trusts.

Any one of the above will cause considerable delay to the finalisation of the estate. An action plan for dealing with these problems will be established and agreed with you. The progress will be monitored and assessed with you on a regular basis. This activity will minimise the delay and costs involved.

Fees and Disbursements

Fees are charged in accordance with our Terms & Conditions and are either on a time basis or calculated as a percentage of the value of the estate. Additional fees may be due where complications arise but where the estate is particularly straightforward a reduction may be given. Minimum fees normally apply. Both methods of charging are extremely competitive.

In addition to the fee charged by us there may be disbursements such as:-

v  Estate Agents fees.

v  Tax Agents fees.

v  Solicitors fees and disbursements.Probate

v  Court fees.

v  Cost of advertising for creditors/claimants.

v  Cost of tracing missing beneficiaries.

The disbursements will be identified as far as possible and incorporated in the Administration Plan.

All fees and disbursements are valid testamentary expenses payable by the estate.

Our Service Standards

Communication

We will communicate with you by telephone, e-mail and post - you may choose the medium most convenient for you. If we communicate by e-mail we will protect any files by the use of a password agreed with you. We will do all we can to ensure that our computer systems are virus protected but can accept no liability should your system be infected by any computer virus directly or indirectly acquired through our computer system. If you telephone us with any enquiry we will do our best to speak with you on the same day but in any event will respond within 1 working day.

How it works

A Senior Estate Manager will contact you by telephone within one working day of us being advised of your need for advice. To enable us to advise you some basic information concerning the deceased will be requested namely:

v  Full name and address.

v  Dates of birth & death.

v  Details of whereabouts and content of any Will.

v  Details of family/beneficiaries.

v  Estate details (Assets and liabilities with rough estimates of value).

v  Any unusual or complicating factors.

The Senior Estate Manager will provide guidance and options available and you can then decide if you wish to proceed to an initial discussion. 

The Estate Fact Find will be completed at the initial discussion with you and the completed document is then sent with any supporting papers to the Estate Manager concerned either the same day or on the next working day. Within 2 working days of receipt the Estate Manager will make contact with you.

Fees

These are charged as detailed in our Terms & Conditions and are normally due once sufficient funds are held following receipt of Probate/Letters of Administration or as agreed with you. We are registered for Value Added Tax which will therefore be added to any fees payable.

Disclaimer

In providing our services we expect any Executors or beneficiaries with knowledge of the financial affairs of the deceased to provide full relevant information and we shall not be liable for any loss caused by any errors, omissions or inaccuracies with the information made available to us.

For your protection

In providing our services we will at all times be represented by properly qualified, experienced and accredited Managers or Consultants who act on our behalf and who have appropriate Professional Indemnity Insurance cover provided by us. Our staff is regulated variously by the Society of Will Writers and/or the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

SWW Trust Corporation is a business name of Probate and Trustee Services Limited. The company is registered under the Data Protection Act and it is confirmed that the data held will only be used for the purposes of advising clients concerning the administration of estates and trusts.  Data will not be shared with any other person or organisation without the authority of the Executors, Trustees or beneficiaries. Probate and Trustee Services Limited is registered in England & Wales – Company Number 05249829.

We also operate a full complaints procedure and if you have a complaint you should in the first place submit this in writing to the Managing Director at our registered address, Probate and Trustee Services Limited Eagle House Exchange Road Lincoln LN6 3JZ. The Company complies with The Society of Will Writers Code of Practice and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Code of Professional Conduct.

Download Booklet

Please download this booklet the information is provided in order to give a summary of your duties, what you need to do when a death occurs, What the options are that are available to you, the costs involved, the time it could take and how we can help relieve you of much of the burden at this most difficult time.

Initial Help and Advice

For more information, or you would like to arrange a consultation or to arrange for a consultant to contact you by telephone with no obligation simply enter your name. email and telephone number and when the best time to call you to talk to you or other members of your family.