Deceased estate accounts for residual beneficiary

kaybee55

I am one of two residual beneficiaries of a Will but not an executive. We have also both been left a valuable item each. I understand as a residual beneficiary I am entitled to a copy of the deceased estate accounts. Should these accounts show all the deceased assets at the time of death or just the residue please.

SevenOfNine

Yes, you are entitled to see the whole accounts, & if you so wish (though it could prove something of a pain) all the documents associated with the compilation of the accounts as well.

If you are not being shown anything at all, you can't verify that the executor has distributed the 'residue' because you don't know exactly what the actual residue is, you only know what £££ you've been given.

We gave the residual beneficiaries copies of the basic accounts as we went along collecting/realising income & settling debts. At the end we gave them all a complete set, every bit of in/out info, the exact residual balance & an invitation to come & look at every bit of supporting documentation of they so wished.

No-one bothered, what they had was completely transparent.

Marcon

Time of death, but the estate accounts aren't necessarily as detailed as you may think. They need only be a list of income (generated from bank accounts, savings accounts and/or sale of the assets) less expenditure incurred by the executors, whether settling debts or legitimate expenses. The accounts should show the total net balance available for distribution and give details of how this has been split between all the beneficiaries.

Tom99

This entitlement is often referred to and is very sensible, but is it a legal entitlement, if so which law, or just a generally accepted principle of good practice?

Yorkshireman99

Tom99 wrote: »

This entitlement is often referred to and is very sensible, but is it a legal entitlement, if so which law, or just a generally accepted principle of good practice?

Administration of Estates Act 1925. Plenty of cases if you google it

kaybee55

Thank you all for your kind help it is much appreciated.

LarryLancaster

I can comment being in a similar position with the same question. My stepfather's solicitor wrote to me with a "statement of my late mother's accounts" after she died without leaving a will. It reads something like this:


1. share of house. £200,000
2. Plus savings. £70,000
3. Minus funeral and solicitor fees: £10000


Net estate £260,000 minus spouse benefit (£250,000) = £10,000 divided in half. £5,000 split between deceased's two children = £5,000 each.



It was my distinct impression that my mother had considerably more than £70000 in savings and I do know that at one time she had assets in a variety of unit trusts, shares in various companies and cash in at least six different bank accounts. The limited information above gives no assurance that all assets have been identified, but my stepfather won't communicate with us. What more information am I entitled, as a residual beneficiary, to ask his solicitor and how detailed a breakdown of my mother's accounts can I reasonably expect?

Yorkshireman99

LarryLancaster wrote: »

I can comment being in a similar position with the same question. My stepfather's solicitor wrote to me with a "statement of my late mother's accounts" after she died without leaving a will. It reads something like this:


1. share of house. £200,000
2. Plus savings. £70,000
3. Minus funeral and solicitor fees: £10000


Net estate £260,000 minus spouse benefit (£250,000) = £10,000 divided in half. £5,000 split between deceased's two children = £5,000 each.



It was my distinct impression that my mother had considerably more than £70000 in savings and I do know that at one time she had assets in a variety of unit trusts, shares in various companies and cash in at least six different bank accounts. The limited information above gives no assurance that all assets have been identified, but my stepfather won't communicate with us. What more information am I entitled, as a residual beneficiary, to ask his solicitor and how detailed a breakdown of my mother's accounts can I reasonably expect?

You are entitled to as detailed accounts as are needed to check. You are also entitled to answers to anyqueries you have. The. Executor is obliged to do this. As you have doubts make the executor aware of them.

Owain_Moneysaver

This page is about the best description of estate accounts I have found.

Administration of Estates Act 1925 ... states that the Personal Representative has a duty to provide (when requested by the Court) a full inventory of everything in the Estate. This also states that they must provide an account of the Estate administration,


Each asset of the Estate should be detailed, such as money, property and personal possessions, with the value of that item as at the date of death.

SevenOfNine

Larry Lancaster - Accounts I produced were 2 full pages of an excel spreadsheet from the time of death, starting with cash in the house & bank accounts. What you've been given as "plus savings" is not good enough, what, how much, where eg ISA, £3k, Nationwide: Bank a/c, £8k, Lloyds. Neither is the total for the 'expenditure', this should be broken down separately, itemised.

Everything properly broken down (though if we'd flogged the junk in the house I would only itemise the larger, more valuable items. The rest I'd have just listed the total).

I have invoices & income paperwork for everything, all filed in the same order (chronological) as the entries on the spreadsheet. The residual beneficiaries got that with an invitation to come & see the itemised paperwork.

You must ask for much more detailed itemised information given that you are a residual beneficiary & wish to see it. Sounds like stepfather used a solicitor as it's he/she that has written to you, so I'd probably write to them with a copy to the uncommunicative stepfather.

childofbaahl

When I produced accounts for my sister a few years back it was a 50+ page bundle but that was complete overkill, although also necessary due to that particular situation.

There was a 4-5 page breakdown of the accounts by type and each entry listed where the monies had come from / who the debt was owed to or how much the administration had spent on stamps...

The rest of the bundle was scanned receipts / bills and bank statements but what is really only needed is the breakdown showing values and where they are from / going to. As others have said, you need as much information as is necessary to satisfy you of the veracity of the final figure. Most cases are as 7of9 has done, if people want proof or specifics then they had ask.