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What to do when you’re the executor, but there are missing beneficiaries

Being an executor is a weighty responsibility.

You’re tasked with distributing someone’s estate according to their Will and the law.

Hopefully, you have a qualified and experienced solicitor to help you through the process, but if you don’t, we strongly advise it.

Distributing an estate usually goes smoothly but complications can arise where beneficiaries of the Will cannot be contacted or found.

In these cases, there are a few things you can do.

Strategies for locating missing beneficiaries

As an executor, you have a responsibility to ensure that you have made reasonable efforts to locate any beneficiaries before your role is completed.

This could include instructing a genealogy firm where an individual has died without a Will and no immediate relatives are clear.

Alternatively, where a beneficiary is named but unknown, taking out adverts in the newspaper, posting on social media and talking to locals about the deceased can help.

Finally, a tracing agent might be able to help in these circumstances.

Protecting yourself as an executor

The onus is squarely on you to track down any missing beneficiaries, as the executor.

Distributing the estate without diligently searching for every beneficiary and securing appropriate safeguards can land you in hot water.

Should a missing beneficiary later surface and stake a claim, you might find yourself personally footing the bill for their share which could turn out to be an expensive error!

If you’re unable to find a beneficiary, you can still go ahead with administering the estate.

However, it’s crucial to first put measures in place to protect yourself. In addition to seeking legal counsel, consider these protective strategies:

Acquiring missing beneficiary insurance: By taking out insurance from a specialist provider, the estate can be allocated, and should the beneficiary appear later, the insurance will cover what they are owed. The estate would bear the insurance premium costs.
Securing an indemnity from other beneficiaries: This approach involves distributing the estate while having the other beneficiaries agree to cover the missing person’s share if they turn up. Be cautious though, as this option carries risk; you, as the executor, might still be personally liable to repay the amount if the others are unable or refuse to pay.
Requesting a Benjamin Order from the court: This legal step involves asking the court to decide on the estate’s distribution. It’s a formal process, suitable in certain circumstances, where the court’s intervention provides a clear path forward.
Maintaining a reserve fund: For smaller estates, setting aside a fund to pay the missing beneficiary’s share is feasible, should they surface within the 12-year limitation period. However, this means your responsibilities could extend for several years.

Each of these options needs careful consideration, balancing the estate’s size and your risk exposure as the executor.

You should, as with any estate management issue, discuss your role as executor with a qualified and experienced solicitor who can point you in the right direction at any stage of the process.

If you have been named as executor and you need advice, please get in touch with one of our experts.

Rachel Blackburn

Head of Wills, Probate and Older Client Services

I joined Mander Hadley’s Wills, Probate and Older Client Services Team in 2018.I specialise in the preparation of Wills, Probate and estate administration, trusts and trust administration and Lasting Powers of Attorney. I also have experience of care fee planning and appeals of Continuing Health Care decisions.

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