HSBC and wills

dargoon

apologies if I am in the wrong section. many years ago my wife and I had our wills done by our local HSBC branch. I failed to realise at the time but I understand they also became the executors. I am now aware of their prospective charges so my question is : have any of you been in the same position with HSBC and changed executors (in my case I would name my two sons) and if so did HSBC put any obstacles in your way or was it trouble free? Would be grateful for any help or insights into this.

[Deleted User]

My husband had his will with HSBC for many years. When we got married last year the Will became invalid so we looked into making new wills. We were going to stay with HSBC as he is a Premier Account holder but when we went for a meeting with them they explained they insisted on being named as executors. This had been fine for my husband as he had no children but we decided to make my 3 (adult) children the executors of our new wills after discussing this with them (and working out how much HSBC would take from the estate for their role as executor!).
We found a local solicitor who drew up our wills for less than £200 (mine includes a trust so is a little more complex). Once you've made a new will, the old one automatically becomes invalid so there's nothing HSBC could do about it even if they wanted to. They didn't try to influence our decision at all. In fact, the manager we spoke to seemed to be a bit embarrassed about the conditions and costs involved

dzug1

victoria61 wrote: »

Once you've made a new will, the old one automatically becomes invalid

Actually no - only if the new one expressly cancels the old. Which any properly drawn up one should of course

antrobus

victoria61 wrote: »

... Once you've made a new will, the old one automatically becomes invalid ..

dzug1 wrote: »

Actually no - only if the new one expressly cancels the old. Which any properly drawn up one should of course

Actually yes, as a general rule. Most wills will indeed contain a general revocation clause - 'I hereby revoke all previous wills and testamentary dispositions' - or some such similar legalese, but even in the absence of such a clause, making a new will that is inconsistent with an old will, will revoke the old will by implication.

Given the choice between two wills, a court will almost always pick the latest.

blossomhill_2

If your wishes are substantially the same, coudln't you just do a codicil amending the executors?

John_Pierpoint

Keep it simple, just write another will.
It would be useful to check for the latest format on line as the laws are constantly being changed by court cases and tax changes.
If the will is more than say 5 years old it probably needs to be reviewed anyway.

You could just use the existing wording but substitute the new trustees in place of the bank.

This phrase 'I hereby revoke all previous wills..........' is important, I would be almost certain that the bank written will includes it, as courts can add together both documents to create the effective settlement of the estate.

Working out the sequence of events should some executor or beneficiary die first (or together in a car crash) is also an important clause.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1164505

Is there a possibility of InHeritance Tax (IHT)

SevenOfNine

I'm with Blossomhill - if your Will is as you want it apart from the current Executors, just have a codicil added. We did this many years ago when first receiving 'warnings' about naming banks/building soc/solicitors.

We originally had the solicitors who drew up our wills as executors, we just went to a different solicitor and asked for a codicil removing them and replacing with 2 family members instead.

Simple.

Errata

Why go to the expense of seeing another solicitor? If the only thing that needs to be changed is the executor(s), type the will out again yourself with the new name(s), because that's all you'll be paying a solicitor to do.

Savvy_Sue

Errata wrote: »

Why go to the expense of seeing another solicitor? If the only thing that needs to be changed is the executor(s), type the will out again yourself with the new name(s), because that's all you'll be paying a solicitor to do.

To be fair, one hopes that a solicitor would do a check to ensure a) that the wills did indeed reflect the current situation and wishes of those making them; b) that the implications of any changes in legislation since the original wills were made were understood and c) that the wills were properly signed and witnessed.

Given that the OP says they made their wills "many years ago" I'd say that it's a fair bet that b) at least is relevant!

Errata

Fair points Sue. I was giving my opinion only on paying a solicitor to change the name(s) of executors. As this is a moneysaving site

Savvy_Sue

Errata wrote: »

Fair points Sue. I was giving my opinion only on paying a solicitor to change the name(s) of executors. As this is a moneysaving site

Oh, I agree that if the OP had walked out of HSBC after signing and THEN gone "oh drat, I didn't mean them to be executors, that could cost our heirs a fortune" after a week or so, THEN changing the will as you suggested COULD be an option.

However, it's still not a completely straighforward action: as I understand it the executors can be beneficiaries but they may NOT be witnesses. Also the witnesses have to actually witness the signatures, you can't just pop round to your neighbour after you've signed it and say "oh could you just sign this for me please".

You have to be aware of these things if you don't want to leave a whole heap of trouble and expense in your will.