When someone dies, there are various legal processes that must be put into action to handle their affairs and distribute their estate. The exact procedure may vary between jurisdictions, and many aspects of the estate handling process need to be carried out in a specific way within a certain timeframe to be legal.

These duties are mainly straightforward unless the deceased has passed away intestate, when things may be a little more complex. A definition of intestate can be seen in the short video attachment.

If all affairs have been put in order prior to death and the deceased has made an accurate record of all financial obligations and assets, this process can often be handled easily by a surviving spouse or other heir. If there are any complexities or are likely to be challenges to the will, the family may prefer to hire a legal professional to handle the estate.

Dr Edgar Paltzer deals with estate planning and division of estate as part of his legal practice based in Switzerland.

The Executor of the Will

Probate is the name given to the legal process of handling an estate following a death and the probate process is usually handled by the executor of the will. This usually involves ensuring all outstanding debts are settled and the remaining assets are distributed among heirs in accordance with the terms of the will.

There are specific rules regarding probate, which can vary across jurisdictions, but typically the executor of the will is required to apply for permission to manage the estate handling process from the courts.

Almost any adult over the age of 18 can be named as the executor of a will. However, if the estate is particularly large or complex, or there are family issues that might make it difficult for someone emotionally involved to manage the division of the estate, then it can be a good idea to hire a professional to oversee the process objectively.

The executor can choose to handle the whole process themselves or take the responsibility of hiring and overseeing a professional to handle things for them.

Probate

Probate normally begins with all the relevant applications being submitted and the courts officially ruling the executor of the will as the person legally responsible for dealing with the estate. The next stage is ensuring all outstanding debts of the deceased are repaid. This involves gathering together all of the assets belonging to the deceased and using them to settle all outstanding accounts. This may include paying inheritance tax.

Each country has its own inheritance tax laws – some require hefty percentages of all estates to go to the government, some only levy IHT on estates valued over a certain amount, and others have no IHT at all. The embedded PDF looks at some examples from around the world.

Once all debts have been repaid, the rest of the estate can be divided among the named heirs if there is a will or the statutory heirs when there is no will. If there is no agreement among the heirs how to divide, a court will decide how the estate should be divided and who the beneficiaries should be. Probate can be contested in several ways, such as if there is more than one person entitled to apply for it, or if the legitimacy of the will is called into question.

The infographic attachment contains a glossary of some of the most commonly used key terms one might come across when executing a will or dealing with probate.