When an individual dies, the person administering their estate will, in most circumstances, need to apply for ‘Confirmation’ before being able to distribute the deceased’s property and money.
It is a legal document issued by the Sheriff's Court and provides an executor of an estate with the legal authority to ‘uplift’ the deceased’s assets from places such as banks and to distribute or sell them. In granting Confirmation, the court also confirms the right to administer the estate and confers on them the authority to distribute it in accordance with the terms of the Will, or if there is no Will, by The Intestacy Rules. The Sheriff Court can provide a ‘Certificate of Confirmation’ for each asset within the estate.
If the asset has a large value, usually over £10,000, institutions will often ask for a Certificate of Confirmation before releasing it to the executor. This is because it provides the necessary assurance that the executor possesses the authority to receive and deal with the estate. Without seeing the certificate, institutions may decide to refuse to release the assets, meaning the executor cannot distribute them to the beneficiaries.
Although in most cases, Confirmation is usually required, there are two exceptions:
Before applying for Confirmation, the executor must provide a comprehensive list of the deceased’s heritable and moveable estate. The inventory could include things such as:
The inventory process can be long, which is predominately because of the waiting period for institutions to reply with up to date asset valuations.
There are two different kinds of Confirmation: Small estates and large estates.
A small estate will have a total value of £36,000 or less, whereas a large estate has a total value of £36,000 or over. Although the Sheriff Clerk can assist an executor to complete forms on small estates, they cannot do so for large estates.
It is essential when calculating the total value of an estate that debts and liabilities owed by the deceased are not deducted. This includes gas, electricity and utility bills, or funeral expenses.
If the deceased did not leave a valid Will, then the estate is referred to as ‘intestate’. In these cases, the executor must usually take out an insurance policy called a ‘Bond of Caution’ before applying for a Certificate of Confirmation.
The Bond of Caution ensures an executor against applying for Confirmation when they are not qualified to do so. It also covers situations such as where an executor fails to distribute the estate in accordance with the law. There is an additional step a potential executor must take if the deceased left a large estate and no Will by making an application to be appointed executor to the Sheriff Court.
If you are unsure whether you need confirmation or not, or have questions about any other aspects of the Executory process, please don't hesitate to contact our team.
To speak with us, complete our enquiry form. Or, you can call us today at our Stirling office on 01786 235 235 or at our Tillicoultry office on 01259 753 330 to speak to our expert team of solicitors.
