Didn't know I was named executor in Dad's will

Grannyannie9

Sorry if this is going to sound a bit mixed up. My 85 yr old Dad passed away last month & his funeral was arranged by his wife with little consultation with our family. He married 8 years ago & although my sisters & I didn't like her, he was happy so we accepted her. 2 years ago, they sold their 3 bedroom bungalow & were housed by the council in a small flat. They said they wanted to have capital to spend while they could still enjoy it. Again we had no problem with this & could see the sense in it, better to have a decent quality of life now. His health deteriorated rapidly this year & his wife has looked after him well for the past 3 months. Now comes the problem, my sister received a call from her yesterday to say that she & I are named executors in my Dads will & she needs our signatures to claim a small insurance policy that she had on his life. We didn't even know that he'd made a will. She has not called me but asked my sister to pass on the information. My question is, should we not have been told there was a will before the funeral was arranged & are we entitled to see a copy of the will now? She says there is no money in the estate, it's all been spent & she is going to be nearly £3000 short to pay for the funeral. Are we as executors liable to pay this as neither of us has any savings & are both on pensions. I should add that they live in Scotland although I live in Wales. Any comments would be gratefully appreciated.

duchy

If you are the executors of course you need access to the will. You have a legal responsibility to ensure the will is dealt with correctly and legally - and would be legally liable if it isn't.

Grannyannie9

Should Dad's solicitors have contacted us or was that the responsibility of his wife? I really don't think she would have told us about it if she hadn't needed these signatures.

Mojisola

Grannyannie9 wrote: »

2 years ago, they sold their 3 bedroom bungalow & were housed by the council in a small flat. They said they wanted to have capital to spend while they could still enjoy it.

Now comes the problem, my sister received a call from her yesterday to say that she & I are named executors in my Dads will & she needs our signatures to claim a small insurance policy that she had on his life. We didn't even know that he'd made a will.

My question is, should we not have been told there was a will before the funeral was arranged & are we entitled to see a copy of the will now?

She says there is no money in the estate, it's all been spent & she is going to be nearly £3000 short to pay for the funeral.

Are we as executors liable to pay this as neither of us has any savings & are both on pensions. I should add that they live in Scotland although I live in Wales.

As executors you won't be personally responsible for the funeral costs. Normally, funeral expenses come out of the deceased's estate but, as his wife arranged it all, she will be responsible for the costs.

You and your sister have legal obligations as executors so make sure you know what you're doing.

Have they really spent all the money they got for the bungalow in two years? The executors will need the signed will and access to all his financial papers.

When you look up information, make sure it applies to Scottish inheritance law as it varies from English and Welsh law.

NAR

OP you and your sister should sign nothing until you are absolutely sure about what the will states (which you both have to execute to the letter) and what his finances were at time of death. It may well be that the proceeds of the house went into a joint account with his wife, which is why she is saying there is no money in his estate.

Grannyannie9

I don't understand why we need to sign an insurance claim form which she took out. Surely that has nothing to do with his will. Also, we're trying not to upset the boat too much as she has agreed (so far) to allowing his ashes to be scattered at the same place as my late Mum's. She has not mentioned the name of the solicitor who holds the will either.

securityguy

Mojisola wrote: »

You and your sister have legal obligations as executors so make sure you know what you're doing.

As they didn't even know they were executors, they can't be accused of intermeddling, and another option would be to walk away and refuse to be executors. If the OP's father's assets were joint with his step-mother the estate is probably worth nothing, although one can't help thinking that her children from her first marriage (if there are any) may consider themselves quite fortunate.

Errata

As executors you have a legal right to the original will. A copy has no legal standing and it can't be used by the executors to settle an estate.
As his wife contracted the funeral directors to arrange the funeral she's responsible for paying their bill; this is usually done by the executors of the estate reimbursing out of the estate but this can't happen until the executors have the original will as only that document is the legal evidence they are the executors.
How to proceed? Ask for the orignal will and also a copy of the life insurance policy and see where you go from there.

Grannyannie9

I didn't know that we could refuse, that sounds like a good option to me. Do we just tell her or ask for the solicitors contact details? She has a family of eight from her first husband. We have been in contact with the insurance company who say that because there is a will & executors, we become his next of kin rather than his wife. I'm not sure that sounds right. As she has already closed his bank account & also arranged the funeral alone, I don't think we will pursue that.

securityguy

Grannyannie9 wrote: »

I didn't know that we could refuse, that sounds like a good option to me. Do we just tell her or ask for the solicitors contact details?

I think you need to tell the probate office. It might be worth paying a solicitor (your solicitor) for half an hour to get the exact process right.

She has a family of eight from her first husband.

In the absence of a will that leaves anything of substance to you, they're going to get the lot. Not a lot you can do about that, and of course as she's still alive, it's a matter of conjecture what "the lot" might consist of.

We have been in contact with the insurance company who say that because there is a will & executors, we become his next of kin rather than his wife. I'm not sure that sounds right.

That does seem odd. But it's not your problem.

As she has already closed his bank account & also arranged the funeral alone, I don't think we will pursue that.

Yep, I'd be inclined to walk away. Not because you didn't love your father, but just because the situation is likely to get more, not less, complex and there's not benefit to you in getting involved.

Mojisola

securityguy wrote: »

As they didn't even know they were executors, they can't be accused of intermeddling,

I meant from here on in - if they decide to take on the responsibility.

I would want to see the will before I decided. If my Dad left particular wishes, I would want to do what he wanted.