Timing for distribution of "estate"

MoneySeeker1

I've had various different versions of how long after probate has been granted the "estate" left in a Will can be distributed to beneficiaries.

Can anyone clarify if there is a specific time period after probate that has to pass before the "estate" can be paid to beneficiaries and, if so, what that time period is please?

Someone suggested to me that a notice has to be put in "some obscure London newspaper or other" in case anyone we don't know about emerges and puts in a claim from it.

I find that thought highly unlikely - as there is definitely a very clear Will left (albeit an unfair one in the event).

So I would have thought it just boils down to:
- sell the house involved
- work out what cash there is stored anywhere
- add the two sums together once there is "completion" on the house and then pay it out.

I can't see that there'd be any "3-4 months after probate", "6 months after probate", "10 months after probate" to quote the various timespans different people have told me.

(NB: Obviously the house has to be sold and Completion achieved obviously and that timespan is unknown - though I would think it would be within that "6 months after probate" anyway that one person said they thought it was).

Silvertabby

That so-called 'obscure London Newspaper' is the London Gazette, the idea being that you publish the details of the death and ask if any company or individual has claim to the estate, usually in the case of unpaid debts.

Be very careful that all debts - known and currently unknown - are paid before you start to dish out the estate, otherwise you could find yourself in a whole heap of bother.

[Deleted User]

You'd typically wait 6 months so as to allow for any challenges, having already posted it in the London Gazette.

Early distribution leaves the executor liable in the event of a challenge.  It sounds like a challenge is certainly a possibility from what you've posted.

Mojisola

MoneySeeker1 said:

So I would have thought it just boils down to:
- sell the house involved
- work out what cash there is stored anywhere
- add the two sums together once there is "completion" on the house and then pay it out.

You've left out 'identify any debts owed by the estate and pay those' - which is why the notice in the LG is recommended.  If you know the deceased's financial situation going back some years, it may not be necessary. 
If you don't pay any debts, you will be personally liable for them. 
Rather than rely on 'things people have told me', do some proper research before you land yourself in trouble. 

xylophone

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/deceasedestates#:~:text=Placing%20a%20deceased%20estates%20notice,liable%20for%20any%20unidentified%20creditors.

MoneySeeker1

I'm not the one distributing the "estate" and so the onus is on the executors (who are the ones on the benefitting end of the unfair Will it has turned out to be). So it would be nothing to do with me if the executors got things wrong.

I get the point re any debts the "estate" might have - though, again, that would also be down to the executors (as they were the ones that have held "power of attorney" for some months now) - and so there shouldn't be any debts/and if there was it would be down to how they dealt with the POA.

So - I just need to know how long it is between "probate date" and "gone through the process of advertising in that newspaper and then the Estate gets paid out (assuming the house has reached Completion on the sale)" date.

-taff

How long is a piece of string? There is no set time or date, it takes as long as it takes but you can expect several months.

TonyMMM

Probably depends on the executor's attitude to risk - the last estate I dealt with I didn't publish any notices at all because I was confident there were no outstanding debts. If they have been using a POA to control finances for some time, they may feel the same.

MoneySeeker1

TonyMMM said:

Probably depends on the executor's attitude to risk - the last estate I dealt with I didn't publish any notices at all because I was confident there were no outstanding debts. If they have been using a POA to control finances for some time, they may feel the same.

This is rather what I was thinking - ie that they will know the finances clearly anyway - so will be in a position to know if all bills etc are paid up-to-date (as it was their responsibility to ensure that happened).

From what friends were saying - I was picturing it as being a case of whether any long-lost relatives none of us knew about might turn up out of the blue. But it sounds as if this newspaper advert idea is done to see if any firms/utilities/etc are owed money - rather than private individuals expecting a gift handout.

So - put like that - then I guess it can all be dealt with the second that both probate has been granted and the house Completion of sale has happened and should only literally be a week or two (just putting in an advert in the following weeks newspaper, giving it 7 days for people to read it = total 21 days max = done/dusted).

theoretica

MoneySeeker1 said:

So - put like that - then I guess it can all be dealt with the second that both probate has been granted and the house Completion of sale has happened and should only literally be a week or two (just putting in an advert in the following weeks newspaper, giving it 7 days for people to read it = total 21 days max = done/dusted).

Creditors have 2 months and a day to read it, apparently.

Mojisola

MoneySeeker1 said:

So - put like that - then I guess it can all be dealt with the second that both probate has been granted and the house Completion of sale has happened and should only literally be a week or two (just putting in an advert in the following weeks newspaper, giving it 7 days for people to read it = total 21 days max = done/dusted).

Wildly optimistic.