Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
When you fail to make a Will, you depend on the law of succession for the distribution of your estate. That means the state will dictate who and to what extent your family will share in your estate. This article deals with the law of succession in Scotland.
Dealing with shares in a public limited company (plc) when acting as an executor, is relatively straightforward. These types of shares are publicly traded and the value at the date of death can be readily ascertained. However, if the deceased held shares in a private limited company, dealing with these is not entirely straightforward.
Losing financial assets as you progress through your life might not be as unusual as it sounds. Gone are the days when people had a “job for life”, staying with the same company from leaving school through to retirement. People are much more mobile these days and are likely to not only move job but move house several times throughout their lives. For example, there may be pensions from different employers or savings or investments which have been lost through time because the institutions holding these were not notified of something as simple as a change of address.
When someone dies their executors must ascertain the value of the estate before an application for Confirmation (the Scottish equivalent of Probate) can be made. Confirmation is the document granted by the court which gives the executors the legal authority to ingather and distribute the deceased’s estate. Valuing an estate may appear to be straightforward but there are some important factors to consider.
It would be fair to say that solicitors who deal with estates sometimes need to spend time trying to discover whether someone who has died, made a Will whilst they were alive. Clients who make a Will should be applauded. However, having done that, it is important to decide where the Will should be stored and who should know about it.
