Advice required re executing a Will

idrankthecoolaid

I have a few questions but will try and keep this brief ....


One of my parents passed away...



After some delay in obtaining probate (2 or 3 caveats entered by my sibling and then eventually withdrawn without me ever being told what the problem was), the Executors (one of which is myself) are now dealing with the deceaseds small estate.



A bit of background.....My sibling and their family were estranged from the parent who has passed, and have no interaction with my family, or our remaining parent (our parents were divorced) whatsoever. There is therefore no desire to try and retain "family ties", because there are none.


My sibling tried to access to the deceased parents' bank account prior to them passing, yet I had an EPA. They also tried to obtain house deeds etc and alot of unpleasant things happened to our parent before they passed. The police were involved on occasion but were unable to help much due to the problems being of a civil rather than criminal nature. Subsequently, my sibling went to prison on an unrelated matter and I understand that they are now out on license (or whatever the term is)



Points be bear in mind are as follows:-

1. The estate is very small and below the threshold for IHT. It consists of a small leasehold property (< £130,000) and a small amount of money (< £7000 after debts have been paid) in the bank.
2. Because of the contentious nature of my sibling and their family, event though the estate is small, the executors decided to advertise in the Gazette to be on the safe side!.
3. Almost all debts owed by the estate have now been paid (just the electricity to go I think)
4. There is sufficient money left to pay the beneficiaries

My questions are:-

1. My deceased parents' Will was drawn up by a solicitor with specific attention to the fact that my parent did not want my sibling to inherit anything and that their family would inherit token small amounts of money. The Will was made with the expectation that my sibling would be "difficult" to deal with, as is their nature.
2. My sibling has been let off a debt in the Will, but not been left any money (or anything else). Is my sibling considered in law as being a beneficiary? (in case you are wondering, the debt is well documented by my late parent)
3. If the answer to the above question is "no, my sibling is not deemed in law to be a beneficiary", do they have the right to demand to see the accounts?
4. The main part of the estate is left to one beneficiary who is one of the executors
5. The other beneficiaries are all left very small amounts of money (i.e £25 / £50 each). Since they are such small amounts, are these people classed as main beneficiaries. Do they need to be shown a copy of the Will (bearing in mind it is available online anyway) and accounts?

I am asking these questions because I would like to have a little to do as possible with the minor beneficiaries and my sibling. Some of them have publicly suggested that if I was set on fire they wouldn't p*ss on me to put me out (or words to that effect), I have had to endure thinly veiled suggestions made on a public platform that I somehow had a hand in my deceased parents' death (which has stirred strangers who don't even know me to join in an online hate campaign), and the list of unpleasantness goes on and on.


Ideally, I would like to be able to send the minor beneficiaries a letter and their respective cheques (and in the case of my sibling, simply send them nothing, unless I have to tell them that they have been let off the debt).


I have sought advice on a similar site to this, and was told that these people do not have to see the full accounts and Will, since the monetary value of their inheritance is so small, or in the case of my sibling, non existent. However, I would like a second opinion, since I have read elsewhere in this site that the accounts have to be made available (but that case seemed to be about someone inheriting a much larger amount).


My other question is with direct regard to the accounts. If only the main beneficiary and the executors have to see them, and therefore the advice I received on a similar site to this was correct, do we need to do anything with the accounts once they are finalised?


Lastly, with regard to the property, which will shortly be going on the market, do the executors have to transfer the title deeds to the main beneficiary at the same time as issuing the cheques to the minor beneficiaries or can it stay in the name of the deceased until sold? (I am just a bit confused as to what would happen if the house went on the market with the seller being "the executors on behalf to the estate" of the deceased and then if it took a while to sell and the owner changed to the beneficiary...would the contracts have to be re-written?


Sorry to sound so muddled!

Keep_pedalling

Your sibling is a beneficiary, but only residency beneficiaries are entitled to see the estate accounts.

There is no point in transferring the property if it is being sold.

Margot123

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Your sibling is a beneficiary, but only residency beneficiaries are entitled to see the estate accounts.

There is no point in transferring the property if it is being sold.

I think you meant to say 'residual'.

Yorkshireman99

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Your sibling is a beneficiary, but only residency beneficiaries are entitled to see the estate accounts.

There is no point in transferring the property if it is being sold.

Once probate is obtained then the will is a public document and they can buy a copy if they want one. It sounds like a situation where you need to do the minimum and let thm get on with it. AS KP says only the residuary beneficiay is entitled to see the estate accounts.

Flugelhorn

I think the house can stay in the name of "the executors of..." The one I am selling has definitely not had the owner's name changed

Savvy_Sue

with the agreement of the other executor / main beneficiary, can you instruct a solicitor to send out the cheques with a covering letter? Distance yourself, as it were ...

Yorkshireman99

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

with the agreement of the other executor / main beneficiary, can you instruct a solicitor to send out the cheques with a covering letter? Distance yourself, as it were ...

There really is no need to go to this expense. Just send the cheques with a brief covering letter.

Savvy_Sue

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

There really is no Ned to go to this expense. Just send the cheques with a brief covering letter.

Yup, I know it's not necessary, but it may allow the OP to distance themselves from the beneficiaries. Apart from anything else, the OP's address won't appear on the letters.

But it's just a thought, if it's not a good one you can ignore it.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Just out if interest, did you enter your sibling's loan as an asset of the estate?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Seems unlikely but remember you may need to pay CGT if you make a gain on the house sale of over £11,700.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Also that if the lease term remaining is shortish you can serve a lease extension notice within a certain time frame.[/FONT]

dandy

Could you investigate buying the freehold with estate funds? I believe executors have the right to do this - it may increase your market, and depending on the freehold price might be worth the investment. I'm a beneficiary to an estate where this was done, the freehold was about £5000 so it was a no brainer

SevenOfNine

We've sold 2 properties following deaths. They both remained in the name of the deceased owners until the point of sale, then transferred directly to the purchasers.

Just a small opinion on your comment regarding "sending sibling nothing unless I have to tell them they've been let off the debt". I think it's best to be as co-operative as possible. I get that you want little to no contact, but the quickest way to that end may be to send them a copy of the will which states the debt has been written off.

Yes, they can buy a copy on-line & though your justifiable instinct is to not want to touch any of them with a bargepole, but perhaps it would be best not to go out of your way to add fuel to the fire.

Financial paperwork - We've kept everything, 3 bereavements, 6 years, 2 1/2 years, & this year. Kept neatly in order, all very precise & very detailed. Boxed & in the loft with no plans to dispose of any of it for many years.

YM99 is there an actual timeline for storing it all?