Will, probate and difference of opinion :(

nom_de_plume

One more vote for legal advice. I dealt with an estate where various beneficiaries had their inheritance reduced due to insufficient funds and the comfort of a solicitors letter confirming distribution was well worth the £100 or thereabouts it cost me.

getmore4less

The house insurance should have been informed ASAP, many will convert the current policy to a suitable one, and renew if needed.

one issue with unocupied properties at this time of year is there are usualy restrictions like the heating MUST be on or the water turned off and drained or regular visits required.

also they may remove all accidental cover.

The power to deal with the estate comes from being a named executor so you can start the proccess without a grant.

Enquiries(which is asking the people that hold assets what they were worth at DOD with any accrued interest), making an inventory(the list of everything they owned*) are high on the list and making plans for the property and contents,

If planning to keep then I think it can be a good idea to close all the accounts and open new ones yourself this means the estate debts/credit for the accounts are known much sooner.

if not keeping then sometimes that step is not worth it and can be left to the the closure of the property transaction.

Who has access to the property, can you trust them, are you local enough to manage the property issues personaly.


* inventory will need the list of things named in the will and details of accounts, for things like contents this will depend on the value, if low a single entry is often good enough more so if the whole estate is under the IHT nil rate band so no IHT to pay.

littlehobbit

Thank you again for the amazing advice everyone, each time I feel clearer about what I am doing.

To answer your questions getmore4less.

The other executor has a key, I have asked for a copy, still waiting. They do live closer, however I will try to visit most weekends, even though its a fair distance (I anticipate this will be necessary to sort out paperwork at the property which is apparently quite a mess and lots missing, do inventory, drain system, get valuation from EA etc etc anyway)

The other executor says they have been in contact with the insurance company and the house is still covered, although they have not produced documents to support this.

They also say that none of the items left to them are worth £500 individually so do not need to be valued. Currently I have no way of seeing these items (if they are actually still at the house) to be able to try and get an idea of their worth.

In any case, even if there were lots of single items worth over £500, plus value of house and other assets, I believe it is well under threshold, but still understand it has to be calculated as accurately as possible.

Think this thread has taught me to 'grow a pair' in a way. I have tried to be sensitive and not laid down the law as we are family, dealing with a relatives death. However I can see now that maybe I am being 'played'

Priority list of jobs for tomorrow:
1) Call Insurance
2) Call local solicitor for a short appointment
3) Talk to other executor and try and work together, including visiting a solicitor together

Yorkshireman99

Consider getting the locks changed and do not give her a key.

getmore4less

I think you need to plan a visit(long weekend if possible) and start the process of collecting the info and being there face to face will give a much better feel for what is going on.
I would stay in the house if you can and get 3 EA round while there.
(also do a bit of on-line research to get an idea of what they sell for)

if you don't know peoples finances it can take a while to get the picture, going through records and bank acounts looking for any transactions that point to other accounts and assets that there is no paper work for.

if a previous partner has died it can often be helpfull to go back to that estate to look for clues, eg if that inventory lists a life insurance there may be another one.

When well under the nil rate band there is less need for super accurate(eg pro valuations).

Depending on the plans eg dispose of contents by auction then a auction house will often do a rough inventory/value of the contents which may be good enough and avoid overlooking something special that you might miss.

Yorkshireman99

Do you mean super?

moneyistooshorttomention

littlehobbit wrote: »

I am being told by the other executor that anything not specified in the will (money in the bank, life insurance, premium bonds etc) should be split equally between us two. The difference of opinion is that I think these things are included in the will under the 'residual estate' , however the other executor believes that 'residual estate' just means the house

Sounds to me like they are lying. The only question is whether they are doing it deliberately or through ignorance. I think it would be well worth brief consultation with solicitor and getting them to give you a letter stating exactly what is meant by "residual estate" (which I would have said meant absolutely everything except specific bequests).

A letter like that sent to the other executor would cost around £100/£200 - but well worth it to fire a warning shot across their bows that you don't believe them and here's the proof and they should now shut up "trying it on".

wwl

At this stage I wouldn't go as far as a letter, as that may create resentment that you took such a formal route if it;s genuinely a case of ignorance. If you can get them to a solicitor to explain fact-to-face, I think that would probably be a better initial approach. You still have the option of more formal action later if needed.

getmore4less

Obviously we don't have the family dynamic and connections to draw from, you do.

Seems there are a few making their views known that have no direct interest in the estate.

I agree that discussion is the way forward unless there are reasons to get more formal eg: the other executor is being over influenced by others to try to claim more.

jackyann

Something that has not been mentioned is who drew up the will. It may be DIY and poorly worded. OP seems very clear (and his co-executor's refusal to read a book about their obligations does not speak well of them) but we all seem to think that perusal by a solicitor would be a good beginning.

OP - you are absolutely correct to keep detailed and careful records.


This has reminded me of our family's experience of someone being left a painting. Our relative was convinced that it was very valuable and had adjusted bequests to take account of this. It was nonsense - why hadn't she got it valued if she was so sure?! We felt obliged to get a valuation, and it is of course, worthless (unless it has magical powers none of can tap into!)
The other great neices & nephews all donated a portion of their bequests to the hapless recipient of the painting and as sums were not that large, and she was a merry great-aunt, we all had a joke about it!