Executor account

badmemory

I didn't say in my earlier post that I discussed an executor's account with all 3 of my mother's banks with which I had previously had a POA - all 3 bereavement teams said an executor's account was unnecessary. I'm sure the situation would be different if you have ongoing household bills to pay, but if it just incoming payments then why complicate things. Just keep on top of what needs doing.


Online banking makes all this so much easier & quicker. Even with their limits. A transfer before midnight and another after midnight. Thankfully I didn't pop my clogs in the 6 hours before all transactions were complete.

Yorkshireman99

getmore4less wrote: »

Stop making stuff up

Do you actually understand the concept of fiduciary duty? Not made up at all.

Yorkshireman99

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Again, I have to ask what law? An extensive google search has come up blank.

As I have said elsewhere breach of fiduciary duty. Google it for details.

Yorkshireman99

PassingOutInTheParade wrote: »

I'm not going to get into personal name-calling but certain people purport to be an 'authority' on certain matters.

However, they are seldom able to back-up their claims when asked (several times normally).

It is such a shame as people come on here mainly for support and then are met with answers that basically tell them they are acting illegally.
I know I would find that sort of allegation terribly upsetting, especially if recently bereaved.

If you can't offer support based on experience, or back-up your claims with fact, I suggest it's best to stay on the sidelines.

The reality is that people often make mistakes that can be very costly. Are you seriously suggesting that people should not point out errors in case the questioner might be offended? Surely it is best to tell them the facts ASAP? Just because there is widespread ignorance of a topic is even more reason to correct than perpetuate the error. There have been many cases on here where people have got in a dreadful, and often costly, mess because they did not seek timely advice. Sadly the harsh reality is often unpleasant. In the current thread it seems many simply do not understand the basics of executor responsibilities.

Keep_pedalling

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

As I have said elsewhere breach of fiduciary duty. Google it for details.

Sorry but that is of no help, unless you can point to a specific section of the law that says a lay executor must open an executors account to hold estate money I still can’t take your statement as fact.

If it was that crucial to open one up for a simple estate, why does no guide I have ever looked at warn people to do this?

Yorkshireman99

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Sorry but that is of no help, unless you can point to a specific section of the law that says a lay executor must open an executors account to hold estate money I still can’t take your statement as fact.

If it was that crucial to open one up for a simple estate, why does no guide I have ever looked at warn people to do this?

There is no specific law that says you must open an executor’s account. There is a general rule of dealing with estate property. This is known as a fiduciary duty. This means that a trustee must not deal with estate property in a way that breaks the law or is unduly risky. In the case of money a trustee should not mix the estate’s money with their own. That is why an executor’s accounts should be used. To illustrate this all solicitor’s have separate clients bank accounts that separate their own money from that of their client’s. this duty still applies to lay executors. I have no idea why the duty should not be mentioned in guides since it is a fundamental part of all trustee’s duties. It is important that anyone accepting executorship should understand what the task involves. In many cases what may seem instinctive may not be the correct thing to do. As far as bank accounts are concerned the rules for using a trustee account are different from those for standard personal accounts. It has become clear that this difference is simply not understood by many people including the OP. Furthermore many bank staff are ill trained in this area. Quite why many banks don’t offer them is a mystery to me particularly as cheques are, quite correctly, made payable to the executors and banks will not allow these to be paid into a non trustee account. I can well understand the frustration of the OP, and others, about this legal technicality but that does not mean it can ignored. Please remember that it was the bank, not me, that initially told the OP that it was illegal to use a standard current account for trustee funds. I simply confirmed the bank was correct. Don.t shoot the messenger! My intention was never to cause distress to the OP simply to state the reality.

fred246

Imagine a man has 4 apples. In his will he states that he wants his 2 sons to inherit equal shares of his apples. The executor's job is to make sure that each son receives 2 apples each. It doesn't matter whether the executor puts his apples in a box or a basket or even his own pocket as long as each son receives 2 apples at the end of the process.

troubleinparadise

Dymphna60 wrote: »

Update on my story.
After being put out the bank yesterday I contacted Nat West for an appointment. Very surprised to get one this afternoon.
Met co executor at the branch.He felt a little queasy after bus journey .
Have opened an executor account. Or rather it will be an executor account on Monday.
Man in branch says the system is he opens us a select account in branch . Takes copies of all our paperwork. Eg grant of probate.
This is sent to headquarters along with all the extra forms and it is converted to an executor account.
Nothing complicated has to be done to operate it . It’s up to executors to decide if all or only 1 have to sign .

As to amounts of money.tens of thousands in 3 banks and NS&I .Not hundreds of thousands!

Everything is just so stressful and upsetting.
Yes one day this will be done and I can just cry because I miss him so much .

I’m glad you’re making progress with being able to sort things out, even if the solution isn’t very practical for both of you.

We selected to be able to sign cheques or make transfers individually so we could split up tasks and do things separately - whatever you do is pretty obvious very quickly, and whilst it does require trust should be ok in most situations.

Keep going, and look after yourself

Apodemus

An interesting alternative that was suggested to me by the bereavement section of the bank (both executors and deceased were with the same branch) was that we simply have everything paid into the deceased’s account and they would make the final distribution out on presentation of the written instructions from the executors.

Yorkshireman99

Apodemus wrote: »

An interesting alternative that was suggested to me by the bereavement section of the bank (both executors and deceased were with the same branch) was that we simply have everything paid into the deceased’s account and they would make the final distribution out on presentation of the written instructions from the executors.

This is EXACTLy what the bank should allow. They will rename it Exors of X.XXXX deceased and will allow payments such as funeral exprnses or IHT.