Important First Steps

If you think that you might have to deal with administering an estate then there are some important first steps to follow.

Having just lost someone close to you it is all too easy for anyone to make decisions which with hindsight could have been better. Therefore, no matter how experienced the Executor or how simple the estate it is always a good idea to obtain some initial advice before rushing ahead.
A key action is to find the Will, assuming there is one - if more than one Will has been made then it must be the most recent one. A copy of the Will is useful, but in the long term it is the actual original document that will be needed.
The other priority action is to secure the assets in the estate (especially houses, cars, valuable antiques, bank cards, cheque books, etc). Paperwork identifying assets and liabilities will be needed later, so start collecting these together as you go. It is a good idea to notify the assets holders involved (e.g. banks, building societies, insurance companies, credit card companies) so that they can freeze the assets and keep them protected.
It is important NOT to hand out legacies too quickly. If you do you might be caught out by any problems with the Will, with unexpected debts, or with reporting the correct estate value to the tax authorities.
If anyone had been handling the deceased’s affairs with a Power of Attorney (an EPA or LPA) then that authority stops at the point of death and the law is very clear that it must not be used any further.