Estate administration in Scotland

Our content on Scottish Private Client law for Scottish practitioners aims to provide an essential resource for Scottish practitioners, as well as practitioners in England and Wales with clients who need advice on cross-border issues.

The ability to administer a deceased individual’s estate in Scotland depends on obtaining confirmation, which is a document issued by a Sheriff Court confirming the appointment of executors, whether that appointment was made by the deceased or by the court.

Applications for confirmation must be brought in the Sheriffdom in which the deceased was domiciled when they died. Where the deceased died domiciled outside Scotland, or without any fixed or known domicile except that ...