The steps that require to be followed in winding up an estate depend upon whether or not the deceased has left a will. If so, then the usual course of action is that executors are appointed whose responsibility it is to administer and wind up the estate. An inventory detailing all of the assets and their value at date of death is prepared and signed by the executors and lodged with the court, which will then issue Confirmation, which in turn enables the executors to gather the assets or to sell them or transfer them to the beneficiaries.

If there is no will then a petition needs to be lodged at the Sheriff Court to have an executor appointed. Once that has been done, an inventory is prepared. A Bond of Caution then requires to be obtained. This is an insurance bond which protects the beneficiaries from an executor failing to account to them for their share in the estate. Once the bond is obtained and lodged with the Sheriff Court, then Confirmation is issued and the estate can be ingathered.

There may well be complex issues which need to be addressed, inheritance tax for example, and we can provide sound advice on this and other aspects of estates work.

Fulton’s has been helping our clients with estates work for many years. Get in touch with us today if you would like to discuss your estate.