Unclaimed Estates and Probate Company Query

jazzythumper

Thanks for the replies, above I get my father to reply asking them for more information on how the other beneficiary is connected through the intestacy rules, it seems slightly odd that it wouldn't go to only blood relatives.

YesWillMan

floss2 wrote: »

Perhaps the Blue Bank were only appointed as executors, but had no involvement in the writing of the will.

I was always under the impression that the general "cost" of receiving an unknown inheritance via a probate company was around 10-15%, as they usually try to only expend time & money on large estates which are worth their while.

Possible that they did not make the Will but having worked for a "Probate Bank" company I can tell you that such Wills were few and far between.

However since a lot of the Banks now use a separate company to produce the will from forms completed by the customers you can not be too sure what you end up with.

The 10-15% cases are those usually when there is no Will and the whole estate goes via Intestacy. The Bank wills are usually those that have a Fee charging clause which allows the Bank to charge their Standard Fees which can be 5% or more in some cases. The costs of finding beneficiaries would be a deduction from the estate and would not be a percentage. They should detail the Fees and all the outgoings in accounts which reflect the final balances due to the beneficiaries.

GobbledyGook

The indemnity insurance may be against future claims on the estate.

We did that when my Great-Grandmother died. My grandmother had a sister who emigrated to Australia in the 1950's or 40's (I think - donkeys years ago) and who hadn't been heard from since 1956. When Gr-Gran died the Salvation Army tried to trace her and notices were put in newspapers and the likes in the UK and Australia. When no trace of her was found the whole estate (not very much) was paid out to my Nana and this insurance was taken out so that if the sister ever appeared again she could claim her 'share'.

John_Pierpoint

The organisation obtaining probate and acting as executor is in "a position of trust" relative to the beneficiary. This means that their actions should be to maximise the benefit to the beneficiaries.
For this they can charge reasonable fees and expenses, usually a percentage or a rate per hour.

The beneficiary is entitled to the pay out and a set of accouhnts and probably some interest while waiting.

The only thing your dad must expect to sign for is the cheque and accounts he receives.

Having a will written by a solicitor does not automatically mean it covers all the ifs and buts, and the solicitor can defend his position as saying "he took instruction from his client".

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