6 months to give money to beneficiaries ?

polkadot90 · 25 January 2015 at 12:34PM

Different literature says different things. Can the majority of the money in the accounts be given to the beneficiaries before the house sale (leaving some left for extra bills & estate agent fees)? Or does the money have to stay in the account for 6 months?

What if the house gets sold before the six months? Does the money need to stay in the account till the six months deadline has passed?

Do I need to put an advert in the paper to by pass it? Sorry for all the questions. It's confusing me loads... Well, over thinking things.

getmore4less · 25 January 2015 at 1:28PM

What is this 6 month deadline you talk about?

g6jns_2 · 25 January 2015 at 1:32PM

There is no fixed deadline except that the executors should do everything within twelve months. There is no obligation to make interim distributions. It is up to the executors who need to be carefull in case some unexpected costs arise.

Mojisola · 25 January 2015 at 1:42PM

chessiex wrote: »

Different literature says different things. Can the majority of the money in the accounts be given to the beneficiaries before the house sale (leaving some left for extra bills & estate agent fees)? Or does the money have to stay in the account for 6 months?

What if the house gets sold before the six months? Does the money need to stay in the account till the six months deadline has passed?

Do I need to put an advert in the paper to by pass it?

If you don't know the deceased's financial history, advertising in the London Gazette protects you, as executor, from future claims. If you do advertise, you need to leave time for claims against the estate so don't distribute any money too quickly.

If there is loads of money as cash, the executor can do an interim payment but should always protect his/her own position. The executor is personally financially liable if money is paid to beneficiaries before all debts are paid.

polkadot90 · 25 January 2015 at 1:59PM

getmore4less wrote: »

What is this 6 month deadline you talk about?

On a few websites regarding probate it talks about not distributing the estate for 6 months after the person has died due to possible claimants and financial liability.

Beenie · 25 January 2015 at 4:27PM

When reading about this previously, i am sure that the wording was along the lines of 'executor(s) must act timeously' but no actual time limits were set. In other words, it takes as long as it takes. There are instances where estate settlement can take years if property sale is required. That was a number of years ago, but it seems common sense that individual estates differ and so you cannot set time limits.

g6jns_2 · 25 January 2015 at 5:42PM

Beenie wrote: »

When reading about this previously, i am sure that the wording was along the lines of 'executor(s) must act timeously' but no actual time limits were set. In other words, it takes as long as it takes. There are instances where estate settlement can take years if property sale is required. That was a number of years ago, but it seems common sense that individual estates differ and so you cannot set time limits.

It is very rare for an estate to take more than a year to distribute. You may be thinking of the need, in most cases, to pay any IHT due within six months.

Beenie · 25 January 2015 at 7:32PM

An aunt who died and left us a small legacy would have been astonished at how long it took to pay out. Her flat was on the market for about 2 years.

From memory, it took about 3 years from date of death to receiving the legacy. Very welcome at the time and I'm not complaining, but it certainly wasn't within a 12 month time limit.....

g6jns_2 · 25 January 2015 at 8:22PM

Beenie wrote: »

An aunt who died and left us a small legacy would have been astonished at how long it took to pay out. Her flat was on the market for about 2 years.

From memory, it took about 3 years from date of death to receiving the legacy. Very welcome at the time and I'm not complaining, but it certainly wasn't within a 12 month time limit.....

The only reason for a property to take that long to sell is that it is seriously overpriced. Property owners often have an inflated view of their property's worth

Beenie · 25 January 2015 at 8:39PM

We weren't executors. That was her equally aged brother and decrepit brother-in-law. Things did drag on a bit to be sure but the ggeneral point is that there were no artificial deadlines. No agencies were rushing us to get it all done and dusted within a certain timeframe.

g6jns_2 · 25 January 2015 at 9:02PM

Beenie wrote: »

We weren't executors. That was her equally aged brother and decrepit brother-in-law. Things did drag on a bit to be sure but the ggeneral point is that there were no artificial deadlines. No agencies were rushing us to get it all done and dusted within a certain timeframe.

As a general rule executors need to get things done in a timely manner. In a rising market delay may of course benefit the estate. In a falling market the executors can be liable if the day unduly so the estate loses money.

6 months to give money to beneficiaries ?

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