How Section 27 notices work, the two-month minimum, Gazette and local publication, the limits of executor protection, and safe distribution steps.
This guide is part of ProbateHelp's Probate Process guide cluster. Estimated reading time: 9 min.
No. Section 27 gives personal representatives a route to limit personal exposure to claims they did not know about before distribution. Whether to use it depends on the estate, its assets and the risk of unidentified claims.
The Gazette currently accepts a grant of probate, letters of administration or a death certificate before placement. That does not decide whether an administrator has authority to distribute: an administrator normally obtains authority through the grant.
Section 27 says the period fixed in the notice must be at least two months. If more than one notice is used, the statute measures the period from the last notice. Check the proposed publication and deadline before ordering.
No. The protection concerns claims of which the representatives had no notice when they distributed. A known claim, tax issue or unresolved liability must be investigated and provided for; advertising does not make it disappear.
No. Section 27 preserves a person's right to follow distributed property, or property representing it, into a recipient's hands other than a purchaser. The notice protects the representatives in the circumstances set by the section; it does not extinguish the claim.
Do not rely on it for that. Family and dependant claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 are different from unidentified creditor claims and have their own procedure and timing.