Can an estate trustee distribute the estate while a dependant support claim is still pending?

An estate trustee can technically distribute assets, but doing so while a dependant support claim is pending, or reasonably foreseeable, carries real risk for the trustee personally. Part V of the SLRA gives a dependant six months from the grant of probate to bring a claim, and the court retains discretion under s.61(2) to allow a later claim against any part of the estate still undistributed at that point. If a trustee distributes assets before that window closes, or with knowledge that a claim exists or is likely, they risk having acted improperly and being personally exposed if a court later finds a dependant should have been paid from those funds.

Because of this, a cautious estate trustee generally waits until the six-month period has passed, or resolves a known or anticipated claim first, before distributing significant assets. This is one of the more important practical reasons trustees move carefully rather than rushing to close out an estate. An estate trustee facing a known or possible dependant support claim should get legal advice about timing before distributing, since the personal exposure runs to the trustee individually, not just to the estate.