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

ANGLICANPAT

lol, there'd be no payouts sorted till around 2080 never mind '18

Yorkshireman99

You could decline to act as executor from the start. Otherwise there are a wide choice of charities such as Shelter.

ruth56_2

Very interesting thread...my mother had money left to her by her ex husband " to pay towards a trip to see her grandson in Thailand". The executor advised that he wasn't paying this as " she didn't need it" due to her inheriting half of the marital home ( her ex had refused to move out so she was in rented property till he died) . She did not argue it as £900 and she didn't want the hassle. But this would appear to have been a questionable decision by the executor?

Manxman_in_exile

unholyangel wrote: »

Im another that thinks it will depend on exact wording - whether he specifically states the funds are to be used for that purpose or not (look into conditional/restricted bequests).

With the value of the estate being as it is (I don't know the exact sum but you mention several hundred thousand being left to 1 charity), then the cost of an appointment with a solicitor to check your position will be negligible against the value of the estate so don't be shy about exercising that option. Personally I'd say its even advisable for estates of much lower value.

I'm inclined to agree with this. OP - what is the exact wording? (And how do you know that the charity no longer does the specified activity?).


If I were presented with a will clearly leaving a bequest to charity for a specific purpose, I'd be concerned if they couldn't do it.

Owain_Moneysaver

Bellisima wrote: »

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.

And this raises another awful spectre - that the Will has created a Trust and the executors are also Trustees who have to oversee the operation of the Trust in paying out a grant to the charity.

That would be best avoided, especially for a lay executor.

CapricornLass

Just to echo what Bellisima said: I worked for a while with a charity (connected with humans this time, not animals) eighteen months ago, and Management mentioned during their explanation of their year end accounts that if they were left a bequest for a specified purpose, then the charity had to spend it on that purpose, and it couldn't be added to general funds. From memory, I think it had to be detailed in the annual accounts - hence the explanation being given to us.

Owain_Moneysaver

General clause for leaving a residuary legacy to a charity:

AND I GIVE DEVISE AND BEQUEATH all the remainder of my estate and effects whatsoever and wheresoever both real and personal and whether in possession reversion remainder or expectancy to my RESIDUARY LEGATEES to be divided in equal shares between the Upper Sodbury Cat Society of Miaow House Kitty Street Upper Sodbury (registered charity SOD2345) and the Sodbury Cat and Dog Society of Fleabag Kennels Doggy Street Lower Sodbury (registered charity SOD4567 and SCOSOD876545) absolutely for their general charitable purposes and I direct that the receipt of the Director General or other proper officer for the time being of the said Legatees shall be a sufficient discharge for the said monies.

The important bits to protect the executor to avoid all this problems are in bold.

It is also essential to specify the address and the charity registration number, and be aware that many charities have separate legal and charitable registrations for each local branch, group, or national network. Leave a bequest to the Upper Sodbury branch of the Barsetshire Birdwatching Society and if that branch closes the bequest may lapse rather than pass to the parent society.

thorsoak

Be aware of the fact that most of the large charities have departments that exist solely for the purpose of checking registers of deaths, and obtaining copies of wills as they go to probate, to ensure that if they are mentioned that they get their bequest - and very quickly. Certain charities will threaten executors with legal proceedings if they do not receive their dues pdq!

Yorkshireman99

thorsoak wrote: »

Be aware of the fact that most of the large charities have departments that exist solely for the purpose of checking registers of deaths, and obtaining copies of wills as they go to probate, to ensure that if they are mentioned that they get their bequest - and very quickly. Certain charities will threaten executors with legal proceedings if they do not receive their dues pdq!

As a general point executors need to be hard hearted and not allow themselves to be bullied. Right from the start they can decline to act and if they have any doubts should refuse. There is no shame in doing this as being a lay executor is a voluntary act. They can, of course decide to hand the whole task to a solicitor.

Uxb

Sounds all a bit bizarre theory TBH

1. The National Register of Deaths index has very little to do with whether or not a will exists and whether probate (or letters of admin if no will) is going to be sought for the estate, and actually the index provides very little to ID the person without getting the actual death certificate. I'm not sure anyway that recent deaths are made public in the GRO indexes for privacy and ID theft reasons.
2. the National Probate register index these days provides very little information. Just the full name, the date of death, the probate registry used, date of probate and whether it was an administration or a will and that's it.

If any charity want to start getting copies of every single will at £10 per throw on the off chance that they might just maybe possibly be mentioned, that is a fair amount of money they are going to be in effect chucking in the bin.
I've no idea how many wills and admons are issued per year - I'm sure someone on here has