Full Administration

Our legal and accountancy professionals offer a full estate administration service for executors, administrators and attorneys. If required, our fiduciary company is able to act as principal or agent.

Our full estate administration service spans from registration of the death through to the distribution of assets to the beneficiaries. Our experts will ascertain the assets and liabilities of the estate and establish the gifting pattern of the previous seven years if appropriate. Once complete, we will prepare all of the necessary inheritance tax returns and court documentation and liaise accordingly with HM Revenue & Customs and HM Courts & Tribunal Service.

Throughout the process, we liaise with the estate’s beneficiaries and all other third-parties, encashing or transferring assets as appropriate, paying legacies and dealing with all of the taxes of the estate administration period. As the process concludes, our accountants submit a detailed set of accounts for approval alongside any tax reporting documentation for the estate’s beneficiaries.

In Practice

  • Gifts with reservation of benefit

    The estate of J was relatively straightforward, consisting of savings and investments alongside some small personal items. J had owned her own home for most of her adult life but some years before her death had transferred it into a trust. The terms of the trust allowed J to reside in the property until death, with the sale proceeds then passing to her children.

    The transfer of the property into the trust and J’s continued occupation gave rise to a gift with reservation of benefit: for the purposes of inheritance tax the house was treated as part of her estate and thus brought into account for tax on her death. In addition, the trust assets were subject to an additional inheritance tax charge in the form of the periodic charge, or ten yearly charge as it is commonly known. Our solicitors advised on the best way to dismantle the trust and settle its taxes; in addition, they drafted all of the necessary documentation to achieve the desired result.

  • Attorney administrators

    With one executor in northern Europe and another frequently travelling, our clients appointed Arcadia Trust Corporation Limited as attorney administrator of two connected estates – one for a brother and one for his sister.

    This enabled the probate process to be conducted at a much faster speed than would otherwise have been the case.

    With the signing of documents contained internally, the formalities around the sale of the deceased’s homes and their overseas assets, costs were contained as the work involved in providing periodic updates was far less than in the alternative.

  • Business relief

    L was employed in the family business for most of his adult life, eventually rising to become managing director and one of two members of the family partnership. During retirement the business had wound down a little from its heyday but nonetheless still traded actively and still made a profit.

    Whilst some premises were retained for the trading activities, others had been let out to third parties for many years. Some premises were within the partnership whilst others were not. Our solicitors analysed the nature of the trading activities and the relationships that the premises bore to those activities; from this, they were able to compile the necessary evidence for HM Revenue & Customs and prepare optimal claims for inheritance tax relief.

Our experts are on hand

Catherine Murton
Catherine Murton
Director | Solicitor
With extensive experience in all aspects of private client work, Catherine heads up Arcadia's legal team. Continuously recommended by existing clients, she is a trusted advisor to a significant number of families across the country.
Susie Rycroft
Susie Rycroft
Director | Solicitor
Susie qualified as a solicitor in 2005 and has specialised in private client ever since. Susie's expert knowledge of trust law and her pragmatic, client-centered approach is welcomed by trustees, executors and beneficiaries alike.
Hannah Cook
Hannah Cook
Associate | Solicitor
Specialising in probate, wills, court of protection and powers of attorney, Hannah's clients always welcome her hands-on and head-down approach to getting the job over the line.
Alyssa Martin
Alyssa deals with the drafting of wills, trust documents and powers of attorney. A recent graduate with a Masters in Law, her technical knowledge lends itself perfectly to the varied needs of Arcadia's legal team.