Contesting a Will as Next-of-Kin

sheramber

As for the funeral: judging by the number of friends the people attending the Wake is likely to be in the hundreds.  None of the family have anywhere near enough money readilly available to arrange something like that.

The family could arrange a small funeral- family only- which would be better than an anonymous funeral which is what the council will do.

The  executors could have claimed expenses from the estate and the funeral costs would also come from the estate, so need for it cost the executors or the family.

There does not need to be a large funeral- it could be family only, to allow those close to the deceased to pay their last respects.

If the local authority take responsibility it will be an anonymous direct cremation with no mourners. A sad affair for a loved relative.

 

BooJewels

Manxman_in_exile said:

And I TOTALLY fail to understand why any body should expect to get ANYTHING for acting as executor... 

I have a horrible feeling that I might be an executor (in place of my recently passed husband) in one instance (a conversation I need to have when we can get face to face, to check) and considering who the main beneficiaries are likely to be, I'm definitely not taking on that role without getting paid danger money!  For my own family, I consider it an honour to be trusted with it - but there are some battles that you're definitely better retreating from before the first punch is thrown.

Manxman_in_exile

I agree that there is no point in taking on the role of executor if you reckon you are going to have to act like a boxing referee or a hostage negotiator.  I also agree that it is bad form to appoint somebody as executor without first asking them.

You are right that if a family member (or a friend) trusts you to execute their final wishes then that is something that is an honour: not to be undertaken lightly but not to be refused either without good reason.

I don't think anybody should renounce the role just because they have not recieved anything under the will.  That seems churlish in the extreme to me.  If the appointed executor thinks that they should have got something under the will in respect of lawyer's fees or something, they should consider that the OP's cousin may have had more important matters on their mind at the time and may not have been entirely themselves.

Whether that is a reason to challenge the will is another matter...

mjm3346

At the end of the day you can dress it up how you like but:

Deceased left THEIR money to charity.

Others would rather deny charity the money and have it for themselves.
 

Thrugelmir

RomfordNavy said:

74jax said:

The close friends were there virtually daily.  Some of them have incurred significant costs carrying out the deceased wishes but none got even a mention in the final Will.

I know you've mentioned this before but this is really normal.
You obviously don't do things for friends or family during palative stages hoping they will include you in the will. You carry out wishes as you are close and want too. 

 they had asked said friend to chase-up partially completed equity release on a property to cover the cost of having the Will written.  

I wouldn't be surprised if there's a local retired solicitor that offers his services for free. Many people will have no close living relatives. Doesn't require equity release to pay the cost of having a will drafted. The estate can settle the cost at a later date. 

There's many good people in this world that put money before all else. 

maman

I googled a local will writing service and it advertised £165 for a will. Hardly a fortune! 🤔

cymruchris

My dad recently passed away - and he re-wrote his will late last year. It was completed by a solicitor, and witnessed by a solicitor and a solicitor's assistant. My dad was of completely sound mind, and had some in-depth discussions with the solicitor before finalising the details, probably exchanging several emails and having at least 3 half hour telephone conversations, and the will was produced accordingly. When the solicitor came to the house to get it signed, they spent some time asking how he was and having some general conversation, enough to see that he was of sound mind. (Of course, you don't know how much time the solicitor spent with the deceased to arrange and finalise the will - it might have been many hours over the course of a few days).

Due to a historical family issue, a family member was not included, and to ensure clarity if contested, he added a letter of supporting information to outline why he'd made the decision which was stored with the will. The letter in itself doesn't have any legal binding as the will does, but should it be contested (I don't know yet whether it will) then there'll be sufficient supporting evidence to be absolutely clear why the decision was taken.

Have you spoken to the solicitor involved to find out if there's just a will, or a will with a supporting letter? If you haven't asked - it might be worthwhile doing so. (It might not exist - but no harm to ask).

If they were of sound mind when producing their will however, I don't see the possibility of contesting it based on the allowed criteria to do so. It does seem unusual to cut out the whole family, but the thing here is unless you can prove absolutely that someone put undue pressure on them, it was their money, and they have chosen what to do with it. (And I know that's not nice to hear)

In terms of wills - people often think 'well, he or she wouldn't have wanted to cut off their family like that, so it must be wrong' - whereby that's an assumption. If they categorically decided to leave it to the charities, then that was their decision. We might not like it, but we have to live with it. They might very well have thought to themselves 'Well all the family are doing ok - they don't need my money - better it gets used for charitable purposes' - (but again that's an assumed possibility). 

The person that knows exactly what they wanted has passed, the will exists, it was professionally produced, and signed accordingly. If the executor has officially resigned - they (or you) should contact one of the named charities so that it can be passed to their legal department to begin doing what needs to be done, and the funeral arranged with the expenses going against the estate before the deceased ends up with a council burial, alone and undignified.

Mojisola

Manxman_in_exile said:

And I TOTALLY fail to understand why any body should expect to get ANYTHING for acting as executor... 

I can't understand why anyone would expect an executor to do all the work for nothing - although expenses can be claimed, the executor can't charge for time, even if they have to take time off work. 
Our executors have been left extra above their inheritance as a thank you for doing the work. 

maman

Mojisola said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

And I TOTALLY fail to understand why any body should expect to get ANYTHING for acting as executor... 

I can't understand why anyone would expect an executor to do all the work for nothing - although expenses can be claimed, the executor can't charge for time, even if they have to take time off work. 
Our executors have been left extra above their inheritance as a thank you for doing the work. 

Obviously, different views on this point. I've been an executor twice, most recently for my mother. I was pleased to be asked. She died suddenly, albeit leaving a straightforward will. Actually, on my last visit home I'd voluntarily helped her sort through and file some financial papers and clean her kitchen cupboards. That was just a bit of tidying up. I was happy to help as any daughter would. To me, applying for probate etc was just an extension of what I'd done when she was alive. 

Frogletina

Mojisola said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

And I TOTALLY fail to understand why any body should expect to get ANYTHING for acting as executor... 

I can't understand why anyone would expect an executor to do all the work for nothing - although expenses can be claimed, the executor can't charge for time, even if they have to take time off work. 
Our executors have been left extra above their inheritance as a thank you for doing the work. 

I have dealt with probate twice. The first as an executor and the second time as an administrator.

I was named as an executor in the first will but I was not a beneficiary. I was happy to take this on despite the work involved which did take a lot of time. It didn't make any difference to me that I would not be paid for the work. 

I know that in America, although I'm not sure if it is in every state, that an executor can claim a small percentage of the estate if they wish to. Even then, not everyone does.