When an executor feels the will now doesnt reflect deceased wishes.

Yorkshireman99

ANGLICANPAT wrote: »

Quick question if I may . If I see a solicitor at this point (ie probate is held although not all funds in) to ask advice on the points raised above, would I expect to get answers written /recorded for my use should I be challenged later?

Assuming it is a paid for consultation you can ask for the advice to be confirmed in writing but you will be charged for it.

ANGLICANPAT

Thanks for all the help folks.

Uxb

ANGLICANPAT wrote: »

Gosh, now, the more I know , the more I know how much I didnt know I didnt know lol! Note to self. Do not agree ever again, to deal with any will that isnt simply left to immediate family !

I wish thee well
Another one I knew left all the money to umpteen charities as residual beneficiaries in various shares. The executor was to be given various gifts both of a financial (eg their NSI certificates) and some existent actual assets (eg grandfather clock) as recompense for the work done - rather than a monetary gift of x thousand.
Well you can guess what happened after the person (finally) died - yup those assets had been sold in the (many) years since the will was written and no longer existed.
As the will did not specify any alternative cash value the bequest 'fails' and the executor therefore gets nowt.

All this of course discovered after the executor had started work - nope it was not me I know when to stay clear of these disasters.

(The executor is dumping the entire work onto a solicitor and having as little to do with it as possible)

gloriouslyhappy

ANGLICANPAT wrote: »

When a will states clearly that a bequest made to a charity is to help with a specific niche of the charitable help they they offer , and as executor you hear that the charity named no longer performs that precise help that the deceased wanted to champion , should the executor try and do what the deceased would have wanted ie omit this charity

[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

AnotherJoe wrote: »

How about, when you pay the money to the first charity, include a note stating it was left with the intention of being used for purpose "X" (use the exact will wording) and let them worry about the legalities.

theoretica wrote: »

I am surprised no-one has mentioned contacting the charity.

Dear charity, I am executor of a will which leaves you some money 'exact wording'. Please advise whether you will accept this.

Depending on the wording of the will it may become 'restricted funds' that can only be spent on that purpose and the charity may refuse the money - it has been known.

I think you first need to contact the charity and establish for sure whether or not they actually still perform the duties for which the deceased intended the money to go to, it may be that those particular activities are just on hold for some reason, or are still going on but not in an especially public way. Then depending on their answer, follow a combination of the advice from AnotherJoe and theoretica.

I'm currently updating my will and will certainly take all this forum information into consideration when making any charitable bequests, I think I'll put in the charity can use the bequest in any way that furthers their work, which should make it easier for the executor.

gloriouslyhappy

AnotherJoe wrote: »

To take a silly example to make a serious point, suppose someone had put " I leave one million pounds to Battersea Dogs Home to further their work of looking after donkeys". What happens in a case like that I wonder?

Battersea is now officially called Battersea Dogs and Cats Home so you never know, if they were left a million pounds to look after donkeys, they might well start looking after donkeys and change their name to Battersea Dogs, Cats and Donkeys Home - after all, they started out located in an old stable complex!

Yorkshireman99

gloriouslyhappy wrote: »

I think you first need to contact the charity and establish for sure whether or not they actually still perform the duties for which the deceased intended the money to go to, it may be that those particular activities are just on hold for some reason, or are still going on but not in an especially public way. Then depending on their answer, follow a combination of the advice from AnotherJoe and theoretica.

I'm currently updating my will and will certainly take all this forum information into consideration when making any charitable bequests, I think I'll put in the charity can use the bequest in any way that furthers their work, which should make it easier for the executor.

I see no need to complicate thing. Just say it is to go to XYZ charity. Remember the poor executor who has to carry out your wishes.being an executor is onerous enough without having to interpret things.Law students may recall the will that said “All to mother” -nd was properly signed and witnessed. Not surprisingly the court said it was quite clear.

Bellisima

I worked for an animal charity for many years and we received a huge donation from a lady’s will. She specified it had to be spent on a “project” and her many executors/trustees wanted to see plans (including a cardboard model image) before the monies were released. Other charities were also offered the money, but we were the only ones who offered proper plans and a model, so we got the donation. We built new kennels and a reception area to accommodate all the dogs ready for rehoming and all the huge number of visitors we received every week. The kennels were named after this wonderful lady.

My point is that as an executer you are there to carry out their wishes and yes, a specific project can be nominated. Hope this makes sense!

ANGLICANPAT

What I have is troublesome enough, Im just glad my friend didnt have a will that said something like " I leave my estate to homeless people " What on earth would you do with something like that !

-taff

Get in touch with Foul Ole Ron and ask him to spread the word

unforeseen

-taff wrote: »

Get in touch with Foul Ole Ron and ask him to spread the word

Just don't mention the duck