Estate Administration – what are Statutory Notices?

You may have heard the term ‘Statutory Notices’ when referred to in a Probate context. Statutory Notices are advertisements placed in a legal journal called the London Gazette and a local paper to advertise to unknown creditors that an individual has passed away. The notices run for a period of two months and should any creditors come forward after the estate has been distributed, the Executors cannot be held personally liable for any sums due to a third party provided these notices have been placed and you haven’t been notified of any claims or debts during that time from an unknown party.

A creditor could of course still come forward for repayment to the Beneficiaries of the estate after the notices have expired if their claim is valid, but submission of such notices protects the Executors from personal liability.

It is not compulsory to put in place such notices but we highly recommend that an Executor does so to reduce the potential for a claim for a break of duty in the future.

Please contact our team on 0800 015 0340 to find out more about Statutory Notices if you are worried about protecting your position as an Executor, and we can advise on the advantages and disadvantages of submitting the same.