How Long Does an Executor Have to Pay Beneficiaries?

No fixed deadline, but there is a benchmark

The law in England and Wales does not give executors a date by which they must pay beneficiaries. What it does have is the "executor's year": an executor cannot be forced to distribute the estate until a year has passed since the death.

In practice, a straightforward estate with no house to sell is often paid out within 9 to 12 months of the death. One with property, inheritance tax or a family disagreement can take a good deal longer.

Why it takes that long

Before anyone gets paid, the executor has to:

1. find the will and value everything the person owned and owed;
2. deal with inheritance tax, if any is due;
3. apply for probate and wait for the grant (check gov.uk for the current processing time);
4. collect the money in, which banks usually release within a few weeks of seeing the grant;
5. sell any property, often the slowest step;
6. pay the debts, the tax and the funeral and estate costs.

Only what is left goes to the beneficiaries. Our guide on how long probate takes covers the first stages in more detail.

Why careful executors wait six months after probate

Certain people, such as a spouse, a child or someone the deceased supported, can ask the court for a share of the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. They normally have six months from the date of the grant to do it.

An executor who hands out the whole estate before that six months is up, and then loses a claim, can end up paying from their own pocket. So a careful executor often holds back most of the money until the six months have passed.

Executors also usually place a notice for unknown creditors in The Gazette, under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925. Once the notice has run for two months, they are protected if a creditor they did not know about turns up later. Our guide on what happens to debts when you die explains why that matters.

Can beneficiaries be paid earlier?

Yes. An executor can make interim payments once the debts and tax are known and enough is kept back to cover them. Small cash gifts, such as £1,000 to a grandchild, are often paid well before the final share-out. Where the estate is mostly cash and nobody is likely to make a claim, everything can be paid out sooner than a year.

What if it takes longer than a year?

Within the first year, a beneficiary cannot make the executor pay. After it, two things change. A fixed cash gift in the will usually starts to earn interest from the first anniversary of the death until it is paid, at a rate set by the court rules, and the interest comes out of the estate.

And if you are a residuary beneficiary (you get a share of what is left, rather than a fixed gift), you are entitled to estate accounts showing what has come in, what has gone out and what is still held.

If the executor stops replying, put your request for an update and a rough timetable in writing. Most delays have an ordinary explanation, such as a house that will not sell. If there is no answer, the next steps are a formal letter, then an application to the court, either to make the executor produce accounts or to replace them. Read can beneficiaries remove an executor? before going that far, because court cases are slow and expensive.

With PureWill

You cannot stop probate taking time, but you can make your own executor's job quicker. A clear, up-to-date will, a backup executor, and a list of your accounts kept with it all help. PureWill takes about 20 minutes and costs £79, or £129 for mirror wills. If your estate includes a business or property abroad, a solicitor is the better choice.

Related reading: what does an executor do? and how to choose an executor.