Glossary of terms used for Estate Administration

Below is a guide to some of the common terms that are used during the estate administration process.  Please feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions about estate administration. Our probate solicitors are happy to answer your questions and explain the process to you.

 

Administrator

This is the term given to the person who deals with a person’s estate when there is no will.

 

Assets

The items of value that a person owned such as property, land, investments, bank accounts, money and personal possessions.

 

Beneficiary

This is someone who inherits from a person’s estate, either under their will or under the intestacy rules.

 

Disbursements

These are charges related to the legal matter that are payable to third parties, for example court fees or inheritance tax.

 

Estate

This is the term used to describe everything that a person owned.

 

Estate Administration

This is the process of collecting and distributing the assets that belonged to the person who has died.

 

Executor

This is the term given to the person who has been named in the will to carry out the instructions of the will.

 

Grant

The grant is a document that is issued by the court and allows the executors or administrators to collect or transfer the assets of the person who has died from third parties such as banks.

 

HMRC

HMRC stands for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and is the UK Government department responsible for the collection of taxes.

 

Inheritance Tax

This is a tax which is payable on the value of a person’s estate when they have died.

 

Intestacy

This is used to describe the situation of someone who dies without a will.

 

IHT forms

IHT forms are Inheritance Tax forms.

 

Probate

This is how we sometimes refer to the process of collecting and distributing the assets of a person’s estate once they have died.

 

Statement of Truth

A declaration that the executor or administrator has to make to confirm that information provided is correct and which forms part of the application to the court for the Grant.

 

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