Step 1: Speak to financial organisations
The first thing you need to do is reach out to all the organisations who are owed money from the estate. They’ll be able to give you a final statement outlining any remaining debt. They’ll also be able to make sure any direct debits or standing orders are cancelled.
After speaking to banks, building societies and other financial organisations, you'll have a clear picture of any debts owed by the estate.
Step 2: Check if they had life insurance
It’s important that you check if your loved one had life insurance. Some life insurance policies pay off the whole mortgage after someone dies, and there may be a death in service benefit. If they did have life insurance, find out the policy details and what can be claimed before repaying any debts.
Step 3: Apply for probate
If you’re an executor of the will, you can start closing down accounts and paying off debts before you have a grant of probate. If you’re the administrator of the estate, you may need to apply for probate before you can sell property, close accounts and pay off debt. You can find out more about when probate is required here.
If you know you have to get probate and need help applying, please give our friendly specialists a call on 020 3695 2090.
Step 4: Pay off the debt
Once you’ve got probate, you're free to close accounts and sell property. You can then pay off any outstanding debts before distributing assets to beneficiaries.
If there isn’t enough money in the estate to pay off all the debts – even after the sale of assets – the debt will be written off. This is what’s known as an “insolvent estate”.