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Child Inheritance
ian_p_4
Posts: 8 Forumite
Hi,
Wondering if I could get a bit of advice from people, which are in the know, or have gone through what I am going through.
My Family has had a very hard few years, we lost my sister to cancer, she was very young, and left behind a very young daughter.
Then a year on my dad was diagnosed with it and from finding out to the end was 2 weeks, 9 months on my mum was also diagnosed with it also, and she recently passed away.
No will was left that has been found, tried all the usual places, local solicitors, will register, etc. so I filed for probate with my Brother (had two of us for probate) as my sister had a baby daughter (4 years old).
Probate is not as scary as people make it out to be, I am very pleased to have been able to complete the forms, and have a 30 page document that I have produced containing all receipts, letters to people etc which I will pass on to the inheritors with their inheritance so they can see the complete workings, I feel as though I may have gone over the top a little, we recently had a cheque from my mums nan and this was attached to a 3 line letter, saying following the death of my nan here is a small amount. But I am happy that its black and white for everyone involved to see.
Honestly I would say to people if you can try it, its just a few letters. The hardest part I have found is getting the utility companies to talk to me ! as I was not the account holder. Some had dedicated teams and these were great for such issues .
I by no means have any legal background, but if you take your time and fill out the forms it was a very easy process, with a lot of waiting from them to do their bits.
The property is now sold, from start to finish probate and the sale has taken around 5 months. I am very pleased with myself, and the fact that I have been able to save us all the expense of solicitors getting us to this stage. Dare I say that I also feel that I have done a better job, as I have been able to claim back holiday costs, and have not just paid out when I have been asked, council tax wanted £90, I guess a solicitors could have paid this, but I noticed single occupancy was not on there so few letters and emails, and this is reduced to £2.08 !.
There is 3 people due to inherit, me my brother and my sisters daughter (4 years old), following the rules of intensity as my sister is not here.
As she is a child then her inheritance is to go into a trust fund. He father already has a trust fund set up following the death of her mother(my sister). As I understand it, its the executors (me and my brother) who are responsible for her share until she turns 18.
With all that has happened I do feel that I want a closure to this all. So was going to complete this by giving the inheritance addressed to her already created trust fund provided that her father proves to me that this will be locked away and no one can get access until she was to turn 18.
I was going to get a copy of the current trust details and in my folder, 30 page document add a scan and get all 3 to sign to say that the inheritance has been passed to the child’s trust account which will remove any responsibilities from the executors, I was going to see if I could get this run past a solicitor and they witness it so that there is no come back. I do not for a minute think that there will be, but its not something that I want hanging over me for 14 years
Would this be correct ? I have managed to get to this stage on my own, but I am seeing conflicting notes when reading up about how to deal with a childs inheritance, I have read back over this board and found different ways people have done it.
Part of me feels I should take care of it, and that I owe it to my parents, but I do want a total closure from all that has happened. I do also feel that maybe 18 is too young, with her starting uni etc and having access to a fair bit of money. I would far rather and I know my parents would want it to be used to go towards a house / car then be wasted, and maybe held until she was 21 if that’s possible.
Please don’t get me wrong, Nothing has happened between any of us, and if anything this has got us all closer, I just do not want to have to be responsible for this for the next 14 years, so after the best way to proceed.
I would be grateful for any ones experience with this matter to be able to give me few pointers.
Thanks in advance.
Wondering if I could get a bit of advice from people, which are in the know, or have gone through what I am going through.
My Family has had a very hard few years, we lost my sister to cancer, she was very young, and left behind a very young daughter.
Then a year on my dad was diagnosed with it and from finding out to the end was 2 weeks, 9 months on my mum was also diagnosed with it also, and she recently passed away.
No will was left that has been found, tried all the usual places, local solicitors, will register, etc. so I filed for probate with my Brother (had two of us for probate) as my sister had a baby daughter (4 years old).
Probate is not as scary as people make it out to be, I am very pleased to have been able to complete the forms, and have a 30 page document that I have produced containing all receipts, letters to people etc which I will pass on to the inheritors with their inheritance so they can see the complete workings, I feel as though I may have gone over the top a little, we recently had a cheque from my mums nan and this was attached to a 3 line letter, saying following the death of my nan here is a small amount. But I am happy that its black and white for everyone involved to see.
Honestly I would say to people if you can try it, its just a few letters. The hardest part I have found is getting the utility companies to talk to me ! as I was not the account holder. Some had dedicated teams and these were great for such issues .
I by no means have any legal background, but if you take your time and fill out the forms it was a very easy process, with a lot of waiting from them to do their bits.
The property is now sold, from start to finish probate and the sale has taken around 5 months. I am very pleased with myself, and the fact that I have been able to save us all the expense of solicitors getting us to this stage. Dare I say that I also feel that I have done a better job, as I have been able to claim back holiday costs, and have not just paid out when I have been asked, council tax wanted £90, I guess a solicitors could have paid this, but I noticed single occupancy was not on there so few letters and emails, and this is reduced to £2.08 !.
There is 3 people due to inherit, me my brother and my sisters daughter (4 years old), following the rules of intensity as my sister is not here.
As she is a child then her inheritance is to go into a trust fund. He father already has a trust fund set up following the death of her mother(my sister). As I understand it, its the executors (me and my brother) who are responsible for her share until she turns 18.
With all that has happened I do feel that I want a closure to this all. So was going to complete this by giving the inheritance addressed to her already created trust fund provided that her father proves to me that this will be locked away and no one can get access until she was to turn 18.
I was going to get a copy of the current trust details and in my folder, 30 page document add a scan and get all 3 to sign to say that the inheritance has been passed to the child’s trust account which will remove any responsibilities from the executors, I was going to see if I could get this run past a solicitor and they witness it so that there is no come back. I do not for a minute think that there will be, but its not something that I want hanging over me for 14 years
Would this be correct ? I have managed to get to this stage on my own, but I am seeing conflicting notes when reading up about how to deal with a childs inheritance, I have read back over this board and found different ways people have done it.
Part of me feels I should take care of it, and that I owe it to my parents, but I do want a total closure from all that has happened. I do also feel that maybe 18 is too young, with her starting uni etc and having access to a fair bit of money. I would far rather and I know my parents would want it to be used to go towards a house / car then be wasted, and maybe held until she was 21 if that’s possible.
Please don’t get me wrong, Nothing has happened between any of us, and if anything this has got us all closer, I just do not want to have to be responsible for this for the next 14 years, so after the best way to proceed.
I would be grateful for any ones experience with this matter to be able to give me few pointers.
Thanks in advance.
0
Comments
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AIUI You can't change the age from 18.
You will have to check carefully what you can do as trustees,
The examples I have seen(would have to look for them don't have links) hand over to the parent/guardian, not sure if you can use the existing trust.
Who is the second trustee of that trust?0 -
Thanks for the reply, I am not sure who is the second trustee, i am awaiting the details showing this.
To be honest not bothered by the age, I picked that up while reading over a few pages from google searches on the matter, and I did think it was a valid point that at 18 they could potentially, still be young and end up blowing it at uni, I know the parents would have rather is be user for a purpose.
I am happy and would rather hand over to parent/guardian, but I know the responsibility is still down on the executors which is what I want to make sure that I have clear this responsibility if i give the cheque over to the parent/ trust account0 -
Hi,
Wondering if I could get a bit of advice from people, which are in the know, or have gone through what I am going through.
My Family has had a very hard few years, we lost my sister to cancer, she was very young, and left behind a very young daughter.
Then a year on my dad was diagnosed with it and from finding out to the end was 2 weeks, 9 months on my mum was also diagnosed with it also, and she recently passed away.
No will was left that has been found, tried all the usual places, local solicitors, will register, etc. so I filed for probate with my Brother (had two of us for probate) as my sister had a baby daughter (4 years old).
Probate is not as scary as people make it out to be, I am very pleased to have been able to complete the forms, and have a 30 page document that I have produced containing all receipts, letters to people etc which I will pass on to the inheritors with their inheritance so they can see the complete workings, I feel as though I may have gone over the top a little, we recently had a cheque from my mums nan and this was attached to a 3 line letter, saying following the death of my nan here is a small amount. But I am happy that its black and white for everyone involved to see.
Honestly I would say to people if you can try it, its just a few letters. The hardest part I have found is getting the utility companies to talk to me ! as I was not the account holder. Some had dedicated teams and these were great for such issues .
I by no means have any legal background, but if you take your time and fill out the forms it was a very easy process, with a lot of waiting from them to do their bits.
The property is now sold, from start to finish probate and the sale has taken around 5 months. I am very pleased with myself, and the fact that I have been able to save us all the expense of solicitors getting us to this stage. Dare I say that I also feel that I have done a better job, as I have been able to claim back holiday costs, and have not just paid out when I have been asked, council tax wanted £90, I guess a solicitors could have paid this, but I noticed single occupancy was not on there so few letters and emails, and this is reduced to £2.08 !.
There is 3 people due to inherit, me my brother and my sisters daughter (4 years old), following the rules of intensity as my sister is not here.
As she is a child then her inheritance is to go into a trust fund. He father already has a trust fund set up following the death of her mother(my sister). As I understand it, its the executors (me and my brother) who are responsible for her share until she turns 18.
With all that has happened I do feel that I want a closure to this all. So was going to complete this by giving the inheritance addressed to her already created trust fund provided that her father proves to me that this will be locked away and no one can get access until she was to turn 18.
I was going to get a copy of the current trust details and in my folder, 30 page document add a scan and get all 3 to sign to say that the inheritance has been passed to the child’s trust account which will remove any responsibilities from the executors, I was going to see if I could get this run past a solicitor and they witness it so that there is no come back. I do not for a minute think that there will be, but its not something that I want hanging over me for 14 years
Would this be correct ? I have managed to get to this stage on my own, but I am seeing conflicting notes when reading up about how to deal with a childs inheritance, I have read back over this board and found different ways people have done it.
Part of me feels I should take care of it, and that I owe it to my parents, but I do want a total closure from all that has happened. I do also feel that maybe 18 is too young, with her starting uni etc and having access to a fair bit of money. I would far rather and I know my parents would want it to be used to go towards a house / car then be wasted, and maybe held until she was 21 if that’s possible.
Please don’t get me wrong, Nothing has happened between any of us, and if anything this has got us all closer, I just do not want to have to be responsible for this for the next 14 years, so after the best way to proceed.
I would be grateful for any ones experience with this matter to be able to give me few pointers.
Thanks in advance.
You can make her father the trustee and I would recommend that. We had a similar situation although I was also a beneficiary of the will, but was not an executor and tbh it really irked me that someone would infer that they were more trustworthy than I was at safeguarding my children's inheritance! If you are a parent you will know that most parents will move mountains for their kids and I maximise every penny of my children's funds in a safe manner.0 -
The de facto trustees are you and your brother as co-administrators of the estate
I'd say handing over to the parents was a bit iffy - parents are known to misuse trust funds, sometimes dishonestly, sometimes in innocence.
You can't really do anything about the age 18 -it's the law. You can try (keeping the trust secret perhaps?) but the inheritee would be entitled to demand the money at 18. She has the absolute right to 'squander' it whatever the feelings of others0 -
If you want rid of the responsibility you would need to find someone prepared to take over the trust on your behalf. I would personally never reccommend a parent as a trustee because they can spend the money and claim it is in the interest of the child to do so. The choice however is yours and if you do pass the trust over make sure it is done legally to absolve you of any further risk of complaint etc
Rob0 -
It would be an unusual parent to misappropriate the funds. If you are concerned then why don't you appoint parent as 1 executor and put another 1 in, both to sign?0
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I'm sorry for your many losses, congratulations on probate, and whilst entirely appreciating you want to put this all to bed, someone has to watch over your brother-in-law to ensure your niece is not deliberately or accidentally robbed of her inheritance.
What is the roof were to blow off without insurance? The pressure on that inheritance - to keep a roof over her head - would be significant & whilst it might ostensibly seem reasonable, it will erode your niece’s future.
What if he were to remarry? Raise a second family?
You've done wonders, and want a rest - so between you & your brother, choose a neutral third party to act as trustee. Document how you came to the choice, as both your brother-in-law and your niece need to be able to see why...0 -
If the roof blows off the child's house then what is the point in her being cash rich, but effectively homeless?
If the brother-in-law is a good man with his child's interests at heart then why not trust him? If you know him well and trust him to put niece first then trust your instincts.
What did your sister do with regards to a will? Did she trust her husband to do the best for their child or did she feel the need to put safeguards in place? That would be the key for me.0 -
GobbledyGook wrote: »If the brother-in-law is a good man with his child's interests at heart then why not trust him? If you know him well and trust him to put niece first then trust your instincts.
What did your sister do with regards to a will? Did she trust her husband to do the best for their child or did she feel the need to put safeguards in place? That would be the key for me.
As administrators of the grandmother's estate, Ian and his brother have a legal responsibility to protect the minor's inheritance.
If the money wasn't handled properly, they would personally liable.0 -
As administrators of the grandmother's estate, Ian and his brother have a legal responsibility to protect the minor's inheritance.
If the money wasn't handled properly, they would personally liable.
I am sure I have read that you can hand this over to a parent and the responsibility goes with it.
(I have tried a search, but need to try again, I must start collecting bookmarks for this stuff)
to cover the other points made....
Involving 3rd parties will almost allways require that to be someone legal that can charge for administation of the trust.0
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