Estate accounts

WYSPECIAL

Hi,

how much detail needs to be sent to residual beneficiaries?

Most are relatives of mine so won't really be interested but a couple are relatives of the deceased and unknown to me.

Is a simple spreadsheet showing income and outgoings sufficient?

JosephK

Simple income & expenditure spreadsheet, stating what the items are for, eg. funeral expenses, pension under/overpayments, probate fees, etc., etc. is OK

Retain all the supporting paperwork just in case there is a query

Yorkshireman99

JosephK wrote: »

Simple income & expenditure spreadsheet, stating what the items are for, eg. funeral expenses, pension under/overpayments, probate fees, etc., etc. is OK

Retain all the supporting paperwork just in case there is a query

You need to retain all the paperwork for six years minimum.Add a polite covering letter giving contact details for yourself in case of any query.

WYSPECIAL

JosephK wrote: »

Simple income & expenditure spreadsheet, stating what the items are for, eg. funeral expenses, pension under/overpayments, probate fees, etc., etc. is OK

Retain all the supporting paperwork just in case there is a query

Thanks. That's basically what I have done.

If someone wants more details is it reasonable to ask them to pay for the cost of copies/postage up front as obviously I will no longer have access to Estate funds to meet the costs?

Yorkshireman99

WYSPECIAL wrote: »

Thanks. That's basically what I have done.

If someone wants more details is it reasonable to ask them to pay for the cost of copies/postage up front as obviously I will no longer have access to Estate funds to meet the costs?

A bit marginal. They might argue you should have given them the opportunity to see the accounts before finalizing them. How much do you think the costs are likely to be?

WYSPECIAL

Couple of quid for a few photocopies and a stamp.

getmore4less

WYSPECIAL wrote: »

Thanks. That's basically what I have done.

If someone wants more details is it reasonable to ask them to pay for the cost of copies/postage up front as obviously I will no longer have access to Estate funds to meet the costs?

Just tell hem where they are available for viewing.

No legal requirement to send a copy.

Simple alternative scan everything for backup and send that way.

Yorkshireman99

getmore4less wrote: »

Just tell hem where they are available for viewing.

No legal requirement to send a copy.

Simple alternative scan everything for backup and send that way.

Any beneficiary is entitled to be treated in a reasonable manner. executorship has a moral dimension as well as a legal one. Not being willing to spend a couple of quid in the circumstances is rather mean spirited.

getmore4less

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Any beneficiary is entitled to be treated in a reasonable manner. executorship has a moral dimension as well as a legal one. Not being willing to spend a couple of quid in the circumstances is rather mean spirited.

Tell that to professional executors.

Lay executors are already giving their time expecting them to cough up their own cash is an outrageous suggestion.

WYSPECIAL

getmore4less wrote: »

Tell that to professional executors.

Lay executors are already giving their time expecting them to cough up their own cash is an outrageous suggestion.

To be honest that's exactly the point. I have done a lot of work for no financial reward but am not out of pocket which is fine as that is what I agreed to do. I did it for the person who died and was honoured to be asked.

If any of the beneficiaries now want to scrutinise the finer details it would mean me producing photocopies and posting them at my own expense. I can also see Yorkshireman's point though that it would be mean.

It hasn't happened yet so probably wont.

Yorkshireman99

getmore4less wrote: »

Tell that to professional executors.

Lay executors are already giving their time expecting them to cough up their own cash is an outrageous suggestion.

Professional executor's are a separate issue. Nobody has to be a lay executor if they don't want to be one. As the OP says it is an honour to do the job. A decent lay executor can be a great comfort to the bereaved and nobody should take the job on if they are not prepared to go the extra mile. Personally I have found the times I have done it to be very rewarding even though it was hard work. It is not without potential problems if you get a stroppy beneficiary but you just have to deal with it firmly but fairly. Personally I would not want a mean spirited executor, and a sensible testator will leave their lay executor a small bequest if they are not already a beneficiary.