Probate Checklist

If you've been appointed as an executor or administrator, you're probably worried about the responsibility, overwhelmed by the information, and quietly anxious about being held personally liable if something goes wrong.

Our free Probate Checklist sets out the key steps to protecting yourself and the insurance policies to consider, including property and legal indemnity insurance, with links to more detailed information when you are ready for it.

Download it, keep it close, share it with the other personal representatives and the beneficiaries. If you need help with insurance or risk management, get in touch.

Why Our Probate Checklist Saves You Time and Stress

The insurance and risk management steps within the probate process are often overlooked or not fully considered.

Many personal representatives don't fully understand the risks they're taking on, the insurance available and what their uninsurable risks are, such as making mistakes or missing things.

This checklist helps you navigate the process from a risk management perspective. It pulls a broad range of resources into one place and covers the searches you should be doing, the insurance to consider, and when to call on specialist services such as genealogy, property valuation and contentious probate providers.

The checklist is compact, with links to more detailed information when you're ready, not a wall of information all at once.

What the Checklist Covers

The checklist is organised into three practical sections.

Risk Management

Asset searches to identify all the estate’s assets.
Credit and liability searches to identify creditors.
Will searches to check whether another Will exists.
Understanding when to involve a solicitor and what their professional indemnity insurance covers.

Property Risk Management

Avoiding underinsurance — insuring at rebuild cost, not market value.
Securing the property, managing utilities, and maintaining its condition.
Inspections, mail handling, and gardens — the practical compliance work insurers expect.
Maximising property value at sale.

Insurance

Your risks when arranging unoccupied property insurance
Legal Indemnity Insurance: Early Distribution, Section 27, Missing Will, and Missing Beneficiary Insurance.
How and when to consider each policy.

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