Panorama - Will Writers

Goldenyears

I wondered what happens where there are say two co-executors to your will - one is a will writer or solicitor and the other is your trusted relative/friend still living and in possession of their faculties.

One co-executor must apply for probate and get the other to sign to say they reserve/give up power, but what happens if they refuse to sign ? How is the stalemate broken.

dzug1

Goldenyears wrote: »

I wondered what happens where there are say two co-executors to your will - one is a will writer or solicitor and the other is your trusted relative/friend still living and in possession of their faculties.

One co-executor must apply for probate and get the other to sign to say they reserve/give up power, but what happens if they refuse to sign ? How is the stalemate broken.

It's perfectly possible for two executors to apply for probate so there's no 'must' about it

But in this instance you might have to 'buy out' the professional executor

getmore4less

I think the important thing is to appoint someone that wants the job, or is prepared to negotiate a deal for someone else to do it like a solicitor.


Pretend you died yesterday and do your own estate on paper.

This way you will find out how much work it is, if you die before you have done it.

Start with PA1 and IHT205 and see how you get on.


Make sure the information you needed to do that job above is readily avaialble and kept upto date for your exacutor.

Savvy_Sue

Goldenyears wrote: »

I wondered what happens where there are say two co-executors to your will - one is a will writer or solicitor and the other is your trusted relative/friend still living and in possession of their faculties.

One co-executor must apply for probate and get the other to sign to say they reserve/give up power, but what happens if they refuse to sign ? How is the stalemate broken.

dzug1 wrote: »

It's perfectly possible for two executors to apply for probate so there's no 'must' about it

But in this instance you might have to 'buy out' the professional executor

or either executor might take the lead, and then present the completed forms to the other for signature.

Usually I suppose it would be the professional taking the lead, but the non-professional would probably have to do some of the basic 'discovery' of what's in the estate anyway!

Although the key is trust: I'm co-executor of my dad's will with my brother and we're sharing quite nicely at the moment. He does a bit, I do a bit, we do a bit together ...

Old_Git

I know here solicitors quote £50 to write a will ,then dont charge but expect to make much more when they handle the probate even when they are not executor .
I know one solicitor who billed £3000 to sort a will when a husband left £28,000 and a house to his wife .he charged £77 per hour in 2003 .

Goldenyears

dzug1 wrote: »

It's perfectly possible for two executors to apply for probate so there's no 'must' about it

But in this instance you might have to 'buy out' the professional executor

Thanks. My own will has been drafted by a solicitor with my brother-in-law as co-executor, hence my interest. I suppose buying out includes getting hold of the original will and not the copy. Perhaps I should just duplicate it now, delete the solicitor and get it witnessed as a new original !

When I first posted I had not checked back on the PA1 form I completed as executor for my mother's estate after she died early this year. I realise now it clearly allows multiple applicants but every one has to appear at interview. Despite my parents' mirror wills being 25 year old proformas drawn up by themselves without professional help there were no problems with grant of probate.

Savvy_Sue

Goldenyears wrote: »

Thanks. My own will has been drafted by a solicitor with my brother-in-law as co-executor, hence my interest. I suppose buying out includes getting hold of the original will and not the copy. Perhaps I should just duplicate it now, delete the solicitor and get it witnessed as a new original !

If you have a copy, and nothing has changed, then yes, you can just retype it, change your executors, and get it correctly witnessed, BUT getting it correctly witnessed isn't always as easy as people think.

Plus things have often changed: the law on inheritance tax, for example. My parents' wills were drafted in such a way as to minimise liability, but if they were being written now they would be written quite differently. Your beneficiaries might have had children: do you want them to benefit if a beneficiary pre-deceases you, or not? Are there more people you would want to benefit now than there were then, or fewer?

To be honest, if there weren't many changes to be made, I'd suggest getting a copy, writing what you want changed on it (including the executors), and asking the solicitor to re-draw it properly. That should not be expensive, but you could save your executors a good deal of grief!

BTW, having two executors can be useful because if one pre-deceases you, you've still got one left. Although if there's an obvious person in the family to take over getting the grant in that situation it may not be so important.

moonrakerz

Interesting...........

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/7941579/No-will-Youll-have-to-sue-your-children.html

dzug1

moonrakerz wrote: »

Interesting...........

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/7941579/No-will-Youll-have-to-sue-your-children.html

Hmm - but it doesn't say how or why sueing your children would resolve the situation

Savvy_Sue

dzug1 wrote: »

Hmm - but it doesn't say how or why sueing your children would resolve the situation

It would resolve it by moving assets back from the trust ring-fenced for the children into the surviving spouse's control.

But the situation outlined in the article would probably not have arisen if they'd had even half-sensible life insurance, at least enough to pay off the mortgage!