Will Changes

ricky101

Hi,

My current simple Single Will shares the estate between two people who are also the only executors

It specifies that "... Upon Trust for themselves in equals shares or for the survivor of them absolutely. "

I want to change just that line to a percentage split between them.

Can this be done by an amendment to the existing will or do I need to pay the typical £150 for a new will to be drawn up ?

If an amendment, what price should I expect to be paying a solicitor ?

Thanks

Yorkshireman99

ricky101 wrote: »

Hi,

My current simple Single Will shares the estate between two people who are also the only executors

It specifies that "... Upon Trust for themselves in equals shares or for the survivor of them absolutely. "

I want to change just that line to a percentage split between them.

Can this be done by an amendment to the existing will or do I need to pay the typical £150 for a new will to be drawn up ?

If an amendment, what price should I expect to be paying a solicitor ?

Thanks

These days solicitors prefer to produce a new will as it is simply done. In the past a codicil would have been done but as they are easily lost the new will is a better route. The cost difference will not be much.

ricky101

Hi,

Thanks for that info, though it does make me wonder if I have got to have a totally new will if I should remove one of them as Executor.

Its that though mobile and totally with it mentally, his sight has recently and permanently been affected and cannot read normal text such as in legal documents , books , newsprint etc.

Think that might mean he cannot effectively be a joint executor ?

thanks

Yorkshireman99

He can always resign as executor but it is probably better to appoint a new one.

ricky101

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

He can always resign as executor.

Thanks, but he's a Yorkshire man too ....

eddyinfreehold

Whether a person has impaired sight or not does not mean he/she is unsuitable or should be prevented from acting as an executor. Plenty of help is available to make this possible. The RNIB can advise. There are plenty of people with all their senses who should never be executors, and plenty of people with impaired vision who would make excellent executors.

Yorkshireman99

eddyinfreehold wrote: »

Whether a person has impaired sight or not does not mean he/she is unsuitable or should be prevented from acting as an executor. Plenty of help is available to make this possible. The RNIB can advise. There are plenty of people with all their senses who should never be executors, and plenty of people with impaired vision who would make excellent executors.

How exactly are they going to scrutinise the documents? Whilst I accept that it may be possible with a lot of help it seems a case of of simple practicality as I see it for the sake of political correctness. It will add a burden to the other executor.

Malthusian

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

How exactly are they going to scrutinise the documents?

The OP says he can't read normal text which suggests he could read large print or with the aid of a magnifier. Or if the documents were digitised a host of other aids are available.

That said, if you have two potential executors, both of which are equally good except for the fact that one is blind, most people would quite happily step aside for the non-visually-impaired executor.

I also infer from the OP's post that the executor's visual difficulties might be age-related (if he was 30 and had been in an accident the OP wouldn't have felt the need to describe him as "mobile and totally with it mentally"), in which case appointing a younger executor might make sense. The executor might be perfectly capable of doing the job now but that is less likely to still be the case in 10-20 years' time.

getmore4less

You have the possibility that the executor and beneficiary dies leaving the second sight impaired beneficiary having to apply for letters of administration.

What happens if they have both died.


If you use the same solicitor that did the will they should do a decent rate for a simple change.

A new solicitor should do a review and charge appropriately.

eddyinfreehold

I have to say I am rather stunned by some of the responses here. To put the ability to actually physically read a will yourself as a prerequisite for being an executor above the importance of their position or the reason for their being chosen is quite frankly wrong. To suggest that it is being 'politically correct' to maintain that position is quite frankly risible. Yorkshireman, your argument suggests that to be blind, or have no legs, or to be deaf means that you are regarded as intellectually incapable of the same reasoning required to administer an estate that many able bodied but, shall we say, less educationally blessed people are.

Stuff the political correctness, I am not bothered about that. I am qualified to comment solely because my wife and I (both fortunately able in most ways) have three children. Two of them are diagnosed with cerebral palsy and are now adults and both have eyesight issues and mobility issues. One of the two does not unfortunately have the mental faculty to look after her own affairs and requires a lot of supervised care. Her twin however has all his mental faculties (and with a string of excellent A levels is now at a highly regarded University) and with his (non-disabled) older sister is named on our wills as a joint executor of my wife's and my wills. They will both administer a trust for their sister when the time comes, in spite of one of the executors having sight problems. Nobody has seen any issue with this, not even the solicitors we have spoken with.

Life is very easy and plain to pontificate about if you are lucky enough not to have encountered the complications of family, disability and the law. My comments are not personal to other posters but I feel very very strongly about everyone having a 'fair go' in life.

Yorkshireman99

eddyinfreehold wrote: »

I have to say I am rather stunned by some of the responses here. To put the ability to actually physically read a will yourself as a prerequisite for being an executor above the importance of their position or the reason for their being chosen is quite frankly wrong. To suggest that it is being 'politically correct' to maintain that position is quite frankly risible. Yorkshireman, your argument suggests that to be blind, or have no legs, or to be deaf means that you are regarded as intellectually incapable of the same reasoning required to administer an estate that many able bodied but, shall we say, less educationally blessed people are.

Stuff the political correctness, I am not bothered about that. I am qualified to comment solely because my wife and I (both fortunately able in most ways) have three children. Two of them are diagnosed with cerebral palsy and are now adults and both have eyesight issues and mobility issues. One of the two does not unfortunately have the mental faculty to look after her own affairs and requires a lot of supervised care. Her twin however has all his mental faculties (and with a string of excellent A levels is now at a highly regarded University) and with his (non-disabled) older sister is named on our wills as a joint executor of my wife's and my wills. They will both administer a trust for their sister when the time comes, in spite of one of the executors having sight problems. Nobody has seen any issue with this, not even the solicitors we have spoken with.

Life is very easy and plain to pontificate about if you are lucky enough not to have encountered the complications of family, disability and the law. My comments are not personal to other posters but I feel very very strongly about everyone having a 'fair go' in life.

You are making all sorts of totally unjustified assumptions about my attitude to disability. In fact I am myself disabled and have been for more than thirty years.. The point I was making is that the reality is that disabilities do restrict what an individual can reasonably be expected to do. The assumption that anybody can do anything regardlesas of disability is simply untrue. I well know my limitations and accept that there are some things I simply cannot do even though I would like to. Being an executor that requires scrutinising documents is obviously not at all easy for somebody who is blind. Given that it a voluntary task to be an executor then it is probably better that someome with good eysight is chosen. In any case before appointing and executor the candidate should be asked if they will do, and can do, the job properly. Being an executor is not an easy job, nor is it one to be taken on lightly. IMHO it is likely to be a significant extra strain on a blind person. If they are willing to do it and it will not cause significant delays or difficulties then OK.