Taking over an estate’s administration from an insolvent firm of solicitors

We recently assisted two executors with the administration of an estate which had been much delayed on account of their co-executor, a firm of solicitors, going into liquidation. We were able to advise on how this impacted the estate’s legal position and identify and prepare a roadmap which would allow the remaining executors to progress and finalise the estate’s administration.

The professional executor entering caused several deadlines to be missed, including those for the reporting and payment of inheritance tax, which meant that interest and penalties were accruing. The executors’ attempts to progress matters, including obtaining the original will, had been frustrated and delayed by the cessation of the firm’s right to trade and the transfer of authority to the liquidator. There was also a further deadline looming insofar as the deceased’s pension needed to be paid out within 2 years of the date of death to avoid a further charge to tax becoming payable. This pension trustee would require a grant of probate to make this payment, which meant there was not the luxury of time.

With persistence we were able to locate the original will and negotiate with the liquidator for both its release and the liquidator’s renunciation on behalf of the insolvent firm of solicitors, as a matter of urgency. We then prepared the inheritance tax papers, which confirmed that an inheritance tax liability in the region of £50,000 would be payable. The potential tax charge on the pension was approximately £125,000. However, we also identified variations which could be made to the trusts created by the Will, which would unlock additional tax reliefs for the benefit of the estate. The executors instructed us to make these variations before the inheritance tax papers were filed, which not only reduced the tax payable to zero but avoided the penalties and interest which had accrued. Further, we managed to secure the grant of probate before the 2 year deadline, which also avoided the pension tax charge.

Feedback:

I was happy enough with the service provided over my divorce but your handling of my father’s estate and the complications involved would lead me to recommend TS&P to anybody.