Being the Executor of a Will

wallbash

Farway and localhero are both right :beer:

I disagree with this, if I were asked to be an exuctor then I would want to know, in advance, just what I was being asked to do,

You may also ask if there is anything you need to know.

So its down to communication

Errata

Farway wrote: »

I disagree with this, if I were asked to be an exuctor then I would want to know, in advance, just what I was being asked to do, maybe send £10 to 200 charities for instance, lay on a party for local old folks, burial at sea?

All well and good, but a willwriter can make a new will which again names you as executor, and change their wishes for bequests to charities, funeral arrangements etc and they don't have to tell you they've done so.

It seems to me that making a will is the business of the willwriter only, and nobody else. If an executor can't accept that they won't know the contents of a will until they need to act, it would be courteous to refuse to act.

localhero

Farway wrote:

I disagree with this, if I were asked to be an exuctor then I would want to know, in advance, just what I was being asked to do, maybe send £10 to 200 charities for instance, lay on a party for local old folks, burial at sea?

It's fair enough to ask questions, but not to demand to see the Will.

I had a client once who wanted to give his entire estate to his niece (the only relative who bothered to visit him whilst he was dying of cancer), but he obviously didn't want her to know as she really didn't want his money, and he knew that she would have been uncomfortable with knowing what he had done.

She didn't fancy the role, because she had experienced problems in the past with a Will, but he simply told her that he trusted her, and that she could hand the job to a solicitor (or anybody else) if she wanted to. In the end she asked me to do it - but as wallbash correctly states communication is key.

Marcheline

Thank you all ever so much for your helpful comments. I am pleased to hear that I do not have to see the Will before agreeing to become the Executor (I don't think it is any of my business really and I think that it could well complicate a friendship whether one is to be left money or not). I feel it is quite an honour to be trusted in such a way with the wishes of a friend (although it is a big responsibility and as some of you rightly point out, I won't know what I might be letting myself in for!)

Well thank you all again and if anyone can think of anything else, I would be happy to hear it.

SailorSam

When i was executor for my mum, the hardest part of it i found was searching for old insurance policies and savings.
Just as important as making a will, i would urge everyone to draw up a list of all your assets. Can save many hours of work for your executor, and guarantees everything is done properly.

artha

what happens in law as an executor when you know that the deceased had lent money to someone, you can see that regular payments are being made into the deceaseds account by that person (but there is no record or written agreement to the loan) and the borrower decides the loan has been written off?

fredsnail

Are you able to track how much was originally loaned and how much has been paid back? How can the borrower decide to "write off" the loan - you might need to trace the last payment into the bank account and see how close to the lenders passing it occurred - was the lender in any condition to "write" off the loan or even make contact with the borrower - and were there any independant witnesses to the loan being written off?

dzug1

artha wrote: »

what happens in law as an executor when you know that the deceased had lent money to someone, you can see that regular payments are being made into the deceaseds account by that person (but there is no record or written agreement to the loan) and the borrower decides the loan has been written off?

Technically the balance of the loan is a debt on the estate and needs to be included as such in the probate accounts.

The fact that the borrower decides not to claim the debt is a bonus to the beneficiaries.

In reality for a private loan it's easier to disregard it altogether - no-one is going to check up on you in that degree of detail.

It may however be safer to get it in writing - in case the lender changes his mind and asks for it later. A simple note that he regards the loan as repaid is enough.

Errata

My reading is that the deceased LENT someone some money and there is no documentation relating to the loan other than regular payments into the deceased's bank account. Executors have a duty to recover monies owed to the deceased, however lack of any evidence about the loan could make this difficult unless the debtor agrees.

the deceased had lent money to someone,

in case the lender changes his mind and asks for it later. A simple note that he regards the loan as repaid is enough

dzug1

oops - wrong way round sorry:o