Banks as executors

dancingfairy

I believe generally a lot of the donkey work in dealing with estate can be done by the normal man on the street. A lot of it involves working out where all the accounts were, writing to them with the death certificate, asking for a statement of accounts, closing the accounts and tidying them up.
IF the executors need specific advice then they can then go and seek advice if there are certain parts they need help with.
I guess it depends on your executors, as long as you appoint people that are happy writing to people/dealing with paperwork then it should be fine. Obviously if you feel your family/friends would not be up to this/would not want to deal with this then you can appoint local solicitors.
df

Minnie_Mad

If nothing in your will is changing except you want to appoint new executors, you could do it yourself by retyping your existing will, and only changing the executors. Then you sign in the presence of two witnesses as you did before, and make sure they are not beneficiaries. Ask your neighbours or similar. Then you are sorted without any expense.

Mojisola

Minnie_Mad wrote: »

If nothing in your will is changing except you want to appoint new executors, you could do it yourself by retyping your existing will, and only changing the executors. Then you sign in the presence of two witnesses as you did before, and make sure they are not beneficiaries. Ask your neighbours or similar. Then you are sorted without any expense.

Or the spouses or civil partners of beneficiaries.

FreeBear

If there is any contentious litigation, there is scope to challenge the validity of the will (google "Larke v Nugus statements"). Having a solicitor draft and witness the will should ensure correct procedure is followed and the statement can be provided should the worst happen.

Recent high court rulings and changes to Inheritance Tax legislation also make it advisable to seek qualified advice.

dancingfairy

If money is an issue you can get it done during will aid month?
I think having a proper will is actually worth paying for, for peace of mind if nothing else. A good solicitor should be able to make sure you have everything covered and anybody who has been left out has been taken into account and reasons given for your wishes. They can also point out pitfalls you may not have thought of and possibly ways to help minimise tax etc.
df

dashriprock

Sounds similar to what happened to me about 15 years ago... I had one of those bank accounts where you paid a monthly fee for free car recovery, holiday vouchers, free wills, etc. I took out my free will with the bank, only to much later discover the bank was the executor charging nearly 9% of my estate! l didn't even fully understand what an executor was back then... I understood it was all part of my package and there was no charge. Anyway, as soon as I realised this I had a new will drawn up by a local law firm, who were charging 6%.

Recently I went on google and typed in Money Saving Expert Wills. On its guide page titled "Cheap and free wills" MSE listed a law firm in Cambridge (not allowed to name companies or firms) but its wills department is called Expert Wills. They are open at the weekends which suited us as we're still both working (we have to keep working because we lost a fortune from our pension, but that's another story), and are offering half price wills over the phone, so we snapped up their offer. They are also doing probate for just 3% for MSE consumers, which means 3% for administering my estate as executors.

They advised me to have family members as executors, and they would be my reserve executor which I insisted on... as my estate is a little complicated. After showing them my previous will it became apparent that the previous law firm had been way off the mark as regards to the tax efficiency in my will.
So my advice is to get a new will from a firm who specialises in wills and probate.

FreeBear

dashriprock wrote: »

On its guide page titled "Cheap and free wills" MSE listed a law firm in Cambridge ...
They are also doing probate for just 3% for MSE consumers, which means 3% for administering my estate as executors.

You do seem to like to tout the services of this outfit - Personally, I think 3% is still on the steep side. A local firm of solicitors quoted 1.5%-2% for handling probate. On a £250,000 estate, this is still £3750 to £5,000... Then they probably want a second bite at the cherry to handle conveyancing on the property (another £4,000).

jrtfan

FreeBear wrote: »

You do seem to like to tout the services of this outfit - Personally, I think 3% is still on the steep side. A local firm of solicitors quoted 1.5%-2% for handling probate. On a £250,000 estate, this is still £3750 to £5,000... Then they probably want a second bite at the cherry to handle conveyancing on the property (another £4,000).

This is sound advice, IMHO! My mum's Estate was valued at £120k all told; I was the sole beneficiary (also next of kin and sole living relative, other than my young son) but she had appointed Solicitors as her Executors when she'd had the Will drawn up because I'd been under 18 myself at the time, and she never got around to changing it. Their bill came to £4K and this didn't include conveyancing on the sale of her house, because I opted to have the deeds put into my name and handle the sale of it myself. My own appointed Solicitor charged £650 to handle the Conveyancing and then there were Estate Agent fees, of course, but I reckon I still saved the Estate another £500 at least by doing it this way.

My advice, for what it's worth, is to have a new Will drawn up and appoint a couple of friends or relatives as Executors (as has been said before, they can always consult a Solicitor themselves when the time comes, if they need help or advice with Probate). Then - I've been advised - retrieve your original Will from the Bank and destroy it by burning so that no scraps remain - I've been told that any pieces which still remain could call into question the validity of the latest Will, but I'm open to correction on this if others here know better and for certain.

G6JNS

FreeBear wrote: »

You do seem to like to tout the services of this outfit - Personally, I think 3% is still on the steep side. A local firm of solicitors quoted 1.5%-2% for handling probate. On a £250,000 estate, this is still £3750 to £5,000... Then they probably want a second bite at the cherry to handle conveyancing on the property (another £4,000).

Never agree to a percentage fee unless you have no option! Insist on fees based slely on work done.