Once you’ve been granted Confirmation, you can close down the estate and make sure all the money ends up in the right places.
Checklist
The main tasks most Executors need to do at this stage are:
check there will be enough money to pay all taxes, debts, and expenses
check if there are any potential Legal Rights claims
decide if you want to make changes to the Will
check if any beneficiaries want any assets as part of their inheritance before you sell them
close, sell, or transfer all accounts, properties, shareholdings, investments etc.
pay any outstanding taxes, debts, and expenses (it’s worth checking if debtors will consider writing off the debt, especially for smaller amounts)
get a letter from DWP stating that the estate doesn’t owe anything to them
get a letter from HMRC stating that the estate doesn’t owe any income tax
pay out any Legal Rights claims and the rest of the estate by the terms of the Will, or by the ‘rules of intestacy’ if there is no Will
put everything in a folder and store it somewhere safe
Legal Rights claims
Legal Rights mean that in Scotland, a spouse/civil partner and children cannot be completely disinherited, even if they are left out of the Will deliberately.
Changes to the Will
The terms of a Will can be changed within 2 years of the death, as long as anyone who would lose out agrees to the changes.
This can be useful to:
reduce a beneficiary’s own future inheritance tax bill
change who receives money from the estate (someone may have been left out)
move the deceased’s assets into a trust
clear up any uncertainty over the Will
reduce other tax liabilities like capital gains tax and income tax
We strongly recommend hiring a lawyer to advise you on this and prepare an appropriate ‘Deed of Variation’. We can refer you to a solicitor who can help with this.
Keeping records
HMRC could ask to see your records for up to 20 years. Digital copies are normally fine, but it’s a good idea to keep the original Will, death certificate, and Grant of Confirmation.
Help dealing with an estate
Our Confirmation support services include detailed guides on how to close down an estate