Estate of the deceased

An estate includes all the values, assets, possessions and debts that a person leaves behind at death.

When a person dies, the probate court ensures that the estate is correctly settled and distributed to any survivors and relatives. This process is legally referred to as probate.

How an estate is distributed typically depends on whether the deceased left a will, has children, a spouse, etc.

An estate is often referred to simply as an estate or the estate, and many legal documents will therefore state "The estate of ..." rather than "The estate of ...".

In the following, we focus on estates, especially with information relevant to you if you are a creditor in an estate.

Proclamation in an estate

If you are a business that is owed money by a deceased person, and thus have a claim against an estate, you will be notified of the deceased's death if you subscribe to, credit monitor or otherwise monitor your debtors.

If you don't, a proclamation will often be issued - a public notice informing of the deceased's death and seeking individuals or companies with financial claims against the deceased.

The proclamation is published in Official Gazette.

After the publication of the proclamation, potential creditors have a deadline of 8 weeks to submit their claims to the probate court. This can easily be done via an online self-service solution.

If a creditor does not submit their claim within the 8-week deadline, the possibility to assert the claim is generally lost. In other words, it will not be possible to pursue the claim after the deadline.

If you have a debt collection case against a person who dies during the collection process, your debt collection agency or lawyer will be notified. The collection agency or lawyer will often be able to assist you in the process.

Who handles an estate?

The probate court in the jurisdiction where the deceased was resident at the time of death is responsible for settling and distributing the estate among any heirs and creditors.