Mother's Secrecy Over Will

Midas_Inreverse

Hi - I'm new to this but couldn't find the answers to most of my questions. I have picked out the questions in bold font to help them stand out from the rest of the text, which provides background information.

1. My mother re-married after my father's death in 1973. My father left her everything. When she dies, can she still use his allowance despite having re-married?

2. She is not leaving her second husband anything in her will (they've been married 25 years!) but he will inherit a flat in Spain that they jointly own. She doesn't want to mention the flat in Spain in her will or declare it as an asset to the UK authorities. What should the executors do in this case? Presumably they are not allowed to lie about her assets even if they are abroad?

3. We think she wants to appoint her accountant as her executor (she won't tell us who her executor is). Won't an accountant (or solicitor) charge some silly amount and can the beneficiaries (my siblings and I) sack the executor and take over as executors, only using them as and when we need to? Can the solicitor/accountant charge us exorbitant fees for releasing the information we might need in order to act as executors and get probate by way of "revenge"?

4. Is there any information that she could get copies of for us in advance of her death to avoid such fees, and what documents would we need?

Hope some of you can help. I am very worried about the mess we shall inherit because of my mother's obsession with secrecy.

Robert_Sterling_3

A partial answer.
Truth rules OK
Yes solicitors will cost an arm and a leg.

olly300

A person's will is their own affair.

And if you have lots of asserts or have a particular reason to disinherit anyone then I would keep it secret.

Don't be surprised if she has left all her money to charity and none to you.

However you should point out to your mother that if she doesn't want a member of her family to be an executor then she should choose a close family friend who is younger, as the executor's costs come out of the estate meaning the beneficiaries of the will, will get less if the executor is acting only in a professional capacity.

The executor doesn't need to know what is in the will until the person dies however it's a good idea for your mother to have a letter attached to the will telling them where all her paperwork is.

You can't "sack" the executors of a will without going to court. While you can contest their charges it but it can cost you a lot of money and involve going to court.

And no your dad's portion will not count has he has been dead to long.

dzug1

olly300 wrote: »

And no your dad's portion will not count has he has been dead to long.

The length of time has nothing to do with it.

The remarriage does not nullify the allowance either.

So yes, his unused allowance can be used

http://www.saga.co.uk/money/retirement/inheritance-tax-the-small-print.asp

confirms this. 'Widows can carry forward allowances from more than one marriage but the total carried forward cannot exceed 100%'.

You cannot sack the executor named in the will without his agreement or a court order. You may find that the solicitor/accountant will allow you to do some of the routine clerical work and so reduce his bill. But he doesn't have to.

Bottom line is that if she wants to keep it secret there's nothing much you can do.

The house in Spain BTW will have to be declared to both the Spanish and UK authorities. If you lie you will at best be found out and at worst be unable to lay claim to the property at all.

seven-day-weekend

She should make a Spanish will (in Spain) for the Spanish house otherwise your stepfather may not be able to inherit it for years.

whitewing

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

She should make a Spanish will (in Spain) for the Spanish house otherwise your stepfather may not be able to inherit it for years.

She will also need to get proper professional advice to ensure that any subsequent will made anywhere does not nullify her existing will.

Midas_Inreverse

olly300 wrote: »

A person's will is their own affair.

"Don't be surprised if she has left all her money to charity and none to you".

Dear olly300

I don't know why you have included the above remark in your reply - I found it very upsetting. Maybe that was not your intention, but you need to think more carefully about the effect of your words. I'm glad I don't work for you!!!

My mother has always been secretive (even about trivial things), but she has already revealed that she is leaving all the money to us. If I believed otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered to ask the questions to this Forum.

Midas Inreverse

KG

Midas_Inreverse wrote: »

olly300 wrote: »

A person's will is their own affair.

"Don't be surprised if she has left all her money to charity and none to you".

Dear olly300

I don't know why you have included the above remark in your reply - I found it very upsetting. Maybe that was not your intention, but you need to think more carefully about the effect of your words. I'm glad I don't work for you!!!

My mother has always been secretive (even about trivial things), but she has already revealed that she is leaving all the money to us. If I believed otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered to ask the questions to this Forum.

Midas Inreverse

Midas - In know it's hard but don't take Olly300's remarks personally. He doesn't know you or your mum and is just stating a fact. Olly300 is just saying if you don't know what's in the will you're best not to assume.