Dying Without a Will - Intestacy

When someone dies leaving a Will, it will be clear who is named as the Executor and who the beneficiaries of the estate are. When someone dies without a Will, they are said to die ‘intestate’.  In these circumstances, strict legal rules determine who is entitled to administer the estate and who the beneficiaries of the estate are. Our Wills and Probate solicitors in Essex and London have significant experience dealing with intestacies.

When someone administers an intestate estate they are legally known as an administrator. Whether a person is acting as an Executor or as an administrator their duties, responsibilities and potential personal liabilities are the same.

An administrator will be required to carry out some or all of the following tasks:

An essential part of an administrator’s role is to ensure that the estate is distributed to the correct beneficiaries in the correct shares. Sometimes it will not be obvious who the beneficiaries are and specialist legal advice may be required to ensure that an administrator distributes an estate correctly. As part of this process, it may be necessary to instruct a specialist genealogist to trace the family and obtain specialist loss beneficiary insurance to protect the administrator from any losses that arise as a result of any incorrect distribution. 

Our Wills and Probate solicitors recognise that acting as a lay administrator often means dealing with complex and unfamiliar legal issues. It is essential for an administrator to be fully aware of their legal obligations and the potential personal liability of not administrating an estate properly. If an administrator needs legal advice, it is important it is taken as soon as possible. Pinney Talfourd offers whatever level of assistance an administrator may require. This can range from a one-off consultation with an administrator, to fully administering an estate on their behalf.