Q. I have become a personal representative (executor) what do I do now?
A. You should let us know about the death as soon as you can. This helps to avoid relatives being upset by tax bills or letters addressed to the deceased person.
When someone dies, the person responsible for settling his or her affairs and for administering the estate is known as the executor or the administrator. The responsibilities are the same, and we use the term personal representative to cover both roles.
Before you can act as a personal representative, you usually have to apply to your local Probate Registry to get legal recognition on 'a grant of probate', or 'letters of administration'. In Scotland, you have to apply to the Sheriff Clerk's Office to get 'confirmation'. You will have to pay a fee for this and may have to pay at least some inheritance tax before you get recognition.
