What Happens After Probate Is Granted?

The first useful output after the grant is a reconciled administration plan: who holds each asset, what evidence they need, what is owed and what can safely happen next.

The first week after the grant

1. Check the grant: names, capacity, deceased details and limitations.
2. Store it securely: keep the digital or paper original and record every official copy sent.
3. Update the asset list: note which institutions now require the grant and what each will release or transfer.
4. Review deadlines: property, insurance, tax, court and claim dates continue after the grant.
5. Tell the right people: give beneficiaries a stage update and advisers the authority evidence they need.

Do not send the only usable grant document indiscriminately. Ask whether the organisation accepts a digital grant, an official copy or a certified copy and track its return.

What the grant does and does not prove

The grant proves the authority of the named personal representatives. It allows them to collect and administer estate assets that require formal authority.

It does not prove that:

• every asset belongs beneficially to the estate;
• all date-of-death values are final;
• all creditors or beneficiaries have been found;
• IHT, Income Tax and CGT are complete; or
• the estate can now be distributed.

Contact each asset holder with a clear instruction

For each bank, investment platform, insurer, debtor or other holder, decide whether you are asking for information, closure, sale or transfer. Obtain a final statement and record post-death interest, dividends, fees and market movement.

Institutional timescales and release limits are policies, not probate law. Ask each provider for its current bereavement process rather than relying on remembered figures or generic promises about how quickly banks release funds.

Route money into a traceable estate account and reconcile it with the inventory. Differences can be legitimate, but they need an explanation for tax and accounts.

Make a documented property decision

Check the title, joint ownership and any mortgage before treating the whole property as an estate asset, and make sure it stays insured and maintained now the estate controls it. Whether to sell, assent or appropriate the estate's interest is a later administration decision with conveyancing and tax consequences. Use the selling probate property guide before agreeing anything, and the post-grant administration guide for the decision framework.

Why the estate may not be ready to distribute

The grant proves authority, not readiness. Verified debts and expenses, tax, claims, and the identity and entitlement of every beneficiary all have to be controlled before money leaves the estate. The post-grant administration guide carries the full distribution checklist, interim payments and reserves.

The one-year rule is often misread. Section 44 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 runs from the date of death, not the date of the grant, and it permits delay — it does not require it or turn the first anniversary into a payment date. Where creditor risk matters, consider the Trustee Act notice route and its claim period before distributing.

Tax work continues after the grant

Finalise the deceased's tax to the date of death, IHT adjustments and tax arising during administration. Estate income can require an informal HMRC report or formal registration and a Trust and Estate Tax Return.

Do not wait until the closing accounts to discover a reporting duty. A taxable disposal of a UK residential property by the estate normally requires a report and payment within 60 days of completion, so plan for that return before agreeing a sale. The full post-grant checklist covers the current rates, the £500 estate-income rule and the registration thresholds.

Give a stage update, not a guaranteed payment date

Tell beneficiaries:

• that the grant has been issued;
• which major assets are being collected, sold or transferred;
• which tax, debt or claim steps still prevent final distribution;
• whether an interim distribution is being considered; and
• when the next update will be given.

Keep confidential or privileged material protected. A beneficiary's right to reasonable information does not require the personal representatives to circulate every document or discuss another beneficiary's private affairs.

Move from grant application to estate administration

Use the post-grant estate administration guide as the primary end-to-end checklist. It covers:

• asset collection and reconciliation;
• debts and section 27 notices;
• estate Income Tax and CGT;
• property and investment decisions;
• estate accounts and R185 statements;
• reserves, interim payments and final distribution; and
• IHT30 and closing records.

EstateManager can turn that work into assigned tasks, document records and beneficiary updates.

Frequently asked questions