Dull and technical probate question

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I'm doing the probate for my mother's estate, which is relatively straightforward and will be divided equally between me and my brother. I am the only administrator (there is no will).

In which case, do we need to advertise for potential creditors in the London Gazette and local newspapers? My understanding that this is only done to protect the executor/administrator, and that any creditors could come out of the woodwork later and chase the beneficiaries at any time. So we gain nothing by doing it. Or is there another reason why it should be done?

You are correct it is to protect the excutor/administrators only

Thank you.

I wouldn't bother, provided you trust your brother to come up with half the money in the (highly unlikely) event of there being a claim on the estate.

The point is that if you put the notices in then there is a time limit for creditors to come forward. I think it's about 8 weeks. Once the time limit expires then they are out of time to make a claim against anyone. In my experience one of the most persistent and aggressive claimants is the DWP. If the deceased was claiming any kind of benefits then they pretty much almost make a claim against the estate as a matter of course to ensure they haven't overpaid.

The last estate I dealt with where the DWP made a successful claim it was for £6k over overpaid attendance allowance where the deceased had gone into a care home and they'd carried on paying him and the local authority at the same time. The whole estate was only worth £20k in the first place.

Oh and in that particular it took them 14 months to work out how much was owed so we couldn't distribute anything until it was settled. I'd do the notices.

Thanks for that. But would the 8 weeks period still protect me as a beneficiary?

My understanding is that any creditors can still chase the beneficiaries at any point in time as long as the money hasn't been spent. So the adverts can only protect the executor. Or would they not be able to make any claim against me as a beneficiary as well?

The notices don't protect the beneficiaries.

And can I ask - isn't it hard to get probate if there is no will ?

No, notices are not compulsory. You can't get probate without a will but you can get letters of administration which work the same way. It can be more difficult because only certain people can apply depending on how they were related to the deceased.