Scots Law executor problem

[ianess]

After a will has been settled can an executor reclaim monies paid out because another party comes forward with a claim on the estate? This has happened a year after the death and 6 months after the will was settled.

[dzug2]

Should the executor have been aware of the possibility of such a claim?

[factor-fiction]

I think the executor is liable if he/she has been negligent but we would need more info on the circumstances. And this is a messy area so 'gut feelings' are often wrong. Hopefully Barmaid will see this as she is the expert

[buildersmate]

This is why executors are advised, in order to protect themselves, to advertise for debtors in the London Gazette plus one local newspaper (local to the deceased).
But I don't know under what circumstances an executor can then be liable.
One for Barmaid, I reckon.

[dzug2]

There is no official procedure in Scots law to advertise and an executor is not personally liable unless he has been negligent - eg in failing to trace or at least to attempt to trace a relative with a claim - and is entitled to distribute the estate after 6 months.

[tonywiltshire]

As d2 says an Executor should make reasonable steps to locate a beneficiary it is then possible to obtain a court order giving you permission to distribute the estate on agreed terms to protect yourself from any future problems. There are a number of variations between the law in England/Wales and Scotland where a spouse, civil partner, children and dependants of the deceased have more rights to claim against the estate than in the rest of the UK. If the executor has taken reasonable steps to locate all beneficiaries’ there should be no difficulties.