Unread will - is there a time limit?

Millie_Millsters

andy.m wrote: »

the will has not been done and dusted because the surviving partner has not opened it, read the thread.

I did read the thread and I thought the executor had read the will. I obviously misunderstood when the OP said...

"The solicitor rang me yesterday to confirm that they did hold wills for FIL and MIL. Everything was just to each other and only complication could be house if not in joint names. Nothing for DH to do as executors are actually the solicitors (this sounds costly!!!)"

Mojisola

If the solicitors are the executors, why haven't they sorted the estate out?

Whether the surviving partner has read the will is irrelevant.

RAS

If the bank account was joint, the savings acconts were joint and the house was held as a joint tenancy, everything passes to the sole survivor except his personal possessions (clothes and anything else not owned jointly with MIL).

So there is virtually no estate to execute. Just a way of the firm getting fees for writing an unnecessary will.

jmt

Richard_Webster wrote: »

So it is unlikely that anything will need to be done - this is very common with the first to die of a married couple where the house is held jointly.

By the way they only read wills in Agatha Christie Novels - I've never done it!

Words in bold sound an alarm - I would never advise a couple to appoint solicitors as executors (it is blatant work creation and quite immoral) unless there were some very good reasons. The best people are generally the immediate family unless the testator genuinely believes that they wouldn't be able to deal with it all or brothers and sisters would argue. They can instruct solicitors to do the legal work, and yes, that will cost - but they should have the choice, and take any important decisions with the solicitor's advice, rather than leaving it all to him where he is bound to be more cautious. Also they are paying for the solicitor to go to the house and go through all the private stuff etc - do they really want that?

This is quite worrying, are you saying that when she passes we would not be able to go to her house just in case we looked at papers?

Mojisola wrote: »

If the solicitors are the executors, why haven't they sorted the estate out? Whether the surviving partner has read the will is irrelevant.

Until yesterday they had no knowledge that FIL had died as MIL said she did not want to do anything when we mentioned it last year......nearly a year after he died.

RAS wrote: »

If the bank account was joint, the savings accoonts were joint and the house was held as a joint tenancy, everything passes to the sole survivor except his personal possessions (clothes and anything else not owned jointly with MIL).

So there is virtually no estate to execute. Just a way of the firm getting fees for writing an unnecessary will.

MIL gave all clothes to charity and is slowly clearing fishing items and the like, nothing to do with us.

I am sure you are right about getting fees, but both my DH and I believe that they were easily lead into many things and wasted money........you should have seen how many insurance type policies they had for things that they didn't need. My MIL was coerced into buying 2 mobility scooters.....one has never been used and the other she has used twice to my knowledge.