Executor Of Will Selling Property? If you have been appointed an executor in the Will of someone who has died, you may need to sell a property on behalf of their estate. We take a look at the process involved and how to obtain the legal authority to sell their home.

At Lockings Solicitors, we deal with both estate administration and conveyancing, to include the sale of property after a death. If you need help with this process, we can represent you and ensure that the transaction is dealt with efficiently and without avoidable delay.

You will find our team to be sympathetic and understanding at this difficult time and we will always do all we can to make sure that securing probate and selling your loved one’s home goes as smoothly as possible.

We have a high level of experience in dealing with both estate administration and probate property sales, meaning we know the best approach to take, should any difficulties arise.

If you would like to speak to us about obtaining probate and selling a property, please call us for a FREE initial chat on 01482300200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and deal with probate sales in East Yorkshire and beyond.

The role of executor of an estate

The executor of an estate is the person named in a Will to carry out the winding up of the deceased’s affairs after their death. The role can be time-consuming and complicated. You will be required to value the estate, settle all of the deceased’s debts, apply for a Grant of Probate if required, clear and sell the deceased’s home, sell and encash other assets and prepared detailed estate accounts.

If you are not able to take on the administration yourself, you can ask a probate solicitor to do this for you and their costs can be paid from the estate.

Where the deceased did not leave a Will, their estate will pass in accordance with the Rules of Intestacy. These rules set out in order of priority who is entitled to inherit. Generally, the person who takes priority will be the one to apply for legal authority to administer the estate. This authority is known as a Grant of Letters of Administration.

Selling property after someone’s death

Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration

The process involved in selling a property after someone has died involves several stages and can be lengthy. You will need to secure either a Grant of Probate or, if the deceased did not leave a Will, a Grant of Letters of Administration. While a grant is not always needed to administer an estate, it is required if there is a property to be sold.

To obtain a grant, you first need to value the whole of the estate, to include savings, investments, property and valuables. The value of the estate will decide whether or not Inheritance Tax is payable. If Inheritance Tax is payable, this needs to be dealt with first.

We can work with you to calculate the amount of Inheritance Tax payable, to include tax owed on gifts made by the deceased in the seven years prior to death, which is payable on a sliding scale. We can complete the necessary forms and arrangement for HM Revenue & Customs to provide the receipt needed to accompany the application for a Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration.

Once Inheritance Tax has been paid, the application forms can be sent to the Probate Registry together with the original Will, if there is one, the receipt from HM Revenue & Customs and the fee. The Probate Registry take a number of weeks to process an application, so it is advisable to apply as soon as you can.

Marketing the property and instructing a conveyancing solicitor

You can put the property on the market before the Grant of Probate has been issued if you wish, but you will not be able to complete the sale until the grant has been received.

You can also instruct a conveyancing solicitor at this point. If you ask us to deal with the sale for you, we will carry out the preliminary work, to include verifying your identification as required under legal regulations, obtaining the title deeds and giving you the initial forms to be completed.

Once you have a buyer in place

Once you have found a buyer, we will send a contract for sale to their solicitor together with the paperwork in support which will provide them with the initial information they need. We can work with you to respond to any enquiries raised and liaise with you to agree on a completion date once the buyer is ready to go ahead.

You will need to clear the property by the date of completion. This can take time, so we will make sure that we keep you advised of progress during the sale so that you have sufficient notice to make any necessary arrangements.

Completing a probate sale

Once the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration has been received and your buyer is ready to complete, contracts can be exchanged. At this point, a date for completion will be set.

We will let you have the transfer document to be signed before completion and on the day itself, we will let you know once the sale money has been received. You can leave the keys to the property with the estate agent and they will release them to the buyer once we authorise them to do so.

If you have asked us to deal with the estate administration, we will carry on with that, preparing estate accounts once all of the assets have been sold or transferred, and arranging for distribution of the net estate in accordance with the deceased’s Will. Where they did not leave a Will, this will be according to the Rules of Intestacy.

Professional help

We know that being appointed as an executor and dealing with someone’s affairs after their death can be overwhelming and if you contact us, we will answer your questions and do what we can to help you.

We are used to dealing with estate administration from start to finish and if you would like us to act for you, we can take on the whole task, making the process as easy as possible for you.

Contact our probate conveyancing solicitors in East Yorkshire

If you would like to speak to us about obtaining probate, selling a property and estate administration, please call us for a FREE initial chat on 01482 300 200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and deal with probate sales in East Yorkshire and beyond.