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Mum executor to a weird estate that may technically be insolvent
divadee
Posts: 10,609 Forumite
My grandad has died and we found as a surprise my mum (daughter in law to grandad) is the executor.
My grandad remarried after my nan died and the will is very simple in some ways and complicated in another.
He has left everything to his wife bar 3 bequests to me, brother and my daughter. This is fine.
Everything was held in joint bank accounts. So legally that all passes to his wife. We understand that.
He lived in a park home (so not registered with the land registry) which also passes to his wife. Does my mum as executor have to do anything about the park home?
His wife has said she just wants to write cheques for the amount for the bequests but I have said she can't do that until the estate is settled. Am I right? She says she will pay them out of her money anyway and to be honest it's a very small token amount that none of us are worried to be honest.
Although technically there is no money in the estate as all the cash in the bank accounts went to his wife. Does this mean the estate is insolvent and my mum shouldn't take on the role of executor?
There are no other debts on the estate as his wife has taken on all the bills for the past 2 years (grandad was in a care home). Wife has already paid all funeral costs etc.....
Do we need probate for this? It should be so simple but at the same time is confusing us all.
My grandad remarried after my nan died and the will is very simple in some ways and complicated in another.
He has left everything to his wife bar 3 bequests to me, brother and my daughter. This is fine.
Everything was held in joint bank accounts. So legally that all passes to his wife. We understand that.
He lived in a park home (so not registered with the land registry) which also passes to his wife. Does my mum as executor have to do anything about the park home?
His wife has said she just wants to write cheques for the amount for the bequests but I have said she can't do that until the estate is settled. Am I right? She says she will pay them out of her money anyway and to be honest it's a very small token amount that none of us are worried to be honest.
Although technically there is no money in the estate as all the cash in the bank accounts went to his wife. Does this mean the estate is insolvent and my mum shouldn't take on the role of executor?
There are no other debts on the estate as his wife has taken on all the bills for the past 2 years (grandad was in a care home). Wife has already paid all funeral costs etc.....
Do we need probate for this? It should be so simple but at the same time is confusing us all.
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Comments
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It depends on the exact wording of the will and the ownership of the park home. The money in the joint accounts does not form part of the estate. It does sound as if the estate could be insolvent and until things are clarified your wife should do nothing.My grandad has died and we found as a surprise my mum (daughter in law to grandad) is the executor.
My grandad remarried after my nan died and the will is very simple in some ways and complicated in another.
He has left everything to his wife bar 3 bequests to me, brother and my daughter. This is fine.
Everything was held in joint bank accounts. So legally that all passes to his wife. We understand that.
He lived in a park home (so not registered with the land registry) which also passes to his wife. Does my mum as executor have to do anything about the park home?
His wife has said she just wants to write cheques for the amount for the bequests but I have said she can't do that until the estate is settled. Am I right? She says she will pay them out of her money anyway and to be honest it's a very small token amount that none of us are worried to be honest.
Although technically there is no money in the estate as all the cash in the bank accounts went to his wife. Does this mean the estate is insolvent and my mum shouldn't take on the role of executor?
There are no other debts on the estate as his wife has taken on all the bills for the past 2 years (grandad was in a care home). Wife has already paid all funeral costs etc.....
Do we need probate for this? It should be so simple but at the same time is confusing us all.0 -
I think you mean his step-mother, not his wife.Yorkshireman99 wrote: »It depends on the exact wording of the will and the ownership of the park home. The money in the joint accounts does not form part of the estate. It does sound as if the estate could be insolvent and until things are clarified your wife should do nothing.0 -
Actually, his mum, not his step mother or wife. Families are so complicated.0
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Yorkshireman99 wrote: »It depends on the exact wording of the will and the ownership of the park home. The money in the joint accounts does not form part of the estate. It does sound as if the estate could be insolvent and until things are clarified your wife should do nothing.
Is it insolvent though if there are no debts? The park home was in joint names so that automatically passes to the wife (not tenants in common).
We just worry that my mum will try and administer the will just to close it all down properly and find it a nightmare.0 -
Actually, his mum, not his step mother or wife. Families are so complicated.
Actually HER mum hahahahaha. Yep It is a bit complicated. We had no idea she was the executor. It was my dad (as the son) and when he died we had her told the will had been changed but not told to my mum being the executor. Moral in this! Make sure you ask and tell who you want to be your executors.0 -
Simple one this
Do nothing, renounce her role, let the deceased wife deal with the estate0 -
Although technically there is no money in the estate as all the cash in the bank accounts went to his wife. Does this mean the estate is insolvent and my mum shouldn't take on the role of executor?
There are no other debts on the estate as his wife has taken on all the bills for the past 2 years (grandad was in a care home). Wife has already paid all funeral costs etc.....
The estate may not be completely without assets as, no doubt, he had a few of his own belongings whether that be a car, gold watch, fishing tackle, bicycle, etc, etc, etc, however the first call on any of these would be the funeral costs so, unless he had anything of significant value in his own name, you may be correct in your assumption that the estate is indeeed insolvent.
It may be, however, that his wife could take a view on paying his small bequests from their joint account as a goodwill gesture. Just a thought.0 -
Well it gets a bit stranger. After having a discussion with the wife, it would seem that the only other asset in the estate that was totally in my grandads name was a freehold to a property in London. This has been left to a charity in his will. How on earth do we go about transferring that over? i would assume this would need probate now. My mum is in bits over all of this as she is elderly herself and is thinking of handing it all over to a solicitor.0
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nom_de_plume wrote: »It may be, however, that his wife could take a view on paying his small bequests from their joint account as a goodwill gesture. Just a thought.
The wife has already wanted to do this, but we have stopped her until the estate is sorted. They had the bequest money in a separate account and she wanted to write cheques yesterday but I dont want to make thinks more complicated for anyone (and it is such a small amount that its not needed) and mess up the estate.0 -
Well it gets a bit stranger. After having a discussion with the wife, it would seem that the only other asset in the estate that was totally in my grandads name was a freehold to a property in London. This has been left to a charity in his will. How on earth do we go about transferring that over? i would assume this would need probate now. My mum is in bits over all of this as she is elderly herself and is thinking of handing it all over to a solicitor.
Is there enough money in the estate to pay a solicitor?0
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