A Personal Representative is someone who is appointed to deal with the administration of the estate. An Executor has been appointed by the Will and an Administrator is someone who has been appointed by the Court (because there is not a Will). Overall, both Executors and Administrators are called ‘Personal Representatives.’ 

For more information on the role of an Executor please refer to our Executors Guide.

A Grant of Probate is granted by the Probate Court if there is a valid Will. 

A Grant of Representation can refer to a Grant of Probate or some other type of Grant if there is not a valid Will or Executor but, in essence, this give the Administrator the same power as an Executor.

The Grant of Representation gives power to the Personal Representatives to deal with the administration of the estate.

Probate can mean different things to different people. Some people refer to probate as a Grant of Probate whereas some call the administration of the estate being probate. 

Some estates do not need a Grant of Representation for instance if the estate is small or if all the assets are held jointly. 

A Grant of Representation will be required if someone owns a property or land in their sole name or if they have a large amount of money in bank accounts in their sole name. Whether a Grant of Representation is required for a bank account, depends on the banks’ own rules and regulations on when they will close a deceased persons account.

Unfortunately we cannot give timescales as to how long the administration of an estate can take. Each estate is very different and there are a range of factors which can affect the time it takes including, the assets, if there is any type of tax to pay, if there are foreign assets, the number of beneficiaries, if there is a dispute with the validity of the Will or the distribution of the estate, if there is a property to sell, if there is not a Will etc. 

Sometimes the administration of the estate can appear to be simple but there can be external factors which affect the time it takes.

Some estates can take 6 months to complete whereas some estates can take a few years to finalise. 

Everyone has a tax allowance (called a Nil Rate Band) of £325,000 and if they are over this threshold on their death, they may be required to pay tax. 

A Nil Rate Band can be reduced if someone makes gifts over their gift allowance within the 7 years before their death.

In addition to the Nil Rate Band, someone’s estate might be eligible for the Residence Nil Rate Band Allowance which is worth up to £175,000. To be eligible for this allowance, you must own a property which you leave to your ‘lineal descendants’ (e.g. children, step children, grandchildren etc). 

If you are married, you can transfer your allowances to a spouse. 

We will discuss Inheritance Tax matters with you when you make a Will.