Contesting a Will as Next-of-Kin

74jax

Is this a close relative? A parent / sibling?

At first I was horrified someone had to go through the same as myself and my brother, with someone in hospital they couldn't visit due to distance /lockdown rules - I'm still haunted to this day.

But as things come out, I'm starting to think it's an uncle you maybe saw once a year or so etc.

For mse to help, sometimes we really need the facts, however hard they are to write.

If it's a close relative, how you didn't even speak to a nurse, doctor, specialist at all, is beyond me. You need to prove certain things to contest a Will and a couple are - sound mind (which you have implied they had) and that the close relationship continued. When you couldn't get hold of them (at end of life) you didn't even call hospitals..... More you won't arrange a funeral, despite a funeral Bill being the first thing paid from an estate.

Using covid and distance, is 1) no excuse for not knowing what is going on, 2) where they are, 3) how they are, and 4) being 'present' in their final days. Believe me, I know.

It looks like they chose to change the will as you weren't as close as you thought you were and in the final month they realised this.

unforeseen

Funeral costs will be the first call on the estate PROVIDING the person arranging it has authority to do so.

You can't randomly arrange a funeral and expect the estate to pay without some arrangement. Without knowing the state of the deceased's estate eveny roughly (it might be insolvent, regardless of the bequests written into the will) it's a dicey decision to make unless you are in a position to foot the bill if necessary. 

RAS

Speak to the charities.

Funeral costs take priority, so all that's needed is for the funeral director's to send the bill to the bank and the bill will be paid, having priority over the beneficiaries. If you've got your relative in the Co-op that may be more of a problem as they want paying upfront based on other comments.

Are the executors who've resigned family members? If so, they could have arranged for the funeral costs to be paid by the bank without been seen to intermeddle.

Now one of the charities is going to have to administer the estate (as residuary beneficiaries) but they would still be expected to support paying the bill for the funeral.

Manxman_in_exile

RomfordNavy said:

74jax said:

Who is arranging the funeral?

That is a very good question.  One would have expected next-of-kin to but funeral cannot be arranged without the permission of the executor.  In this case there is no executor as both have resigned,

Apologies if I'm mistaken, but this thread was two days old and had reached page 4 before you mentioned the (very relevant?) fact that the two executors had renounced.  I know that you posted previously that the "friend" was "reserve" executor, but who was the other, and do you know why they both renounced?  (I think you may have indicated earlier that the friend may not have been entirely happy to have been left nothing).

Somebody needs to apply to administer the estate.  It would usually be a family member but does not have to be.  As others have pointed out, "next of kin" is a meaningless term.

Are the charity beneficiaries aware of the bequests?  I'm surprised they have not stepped in... 

RomfordNavy

Keep_pedalling said:

RomfordNavy said:

74jax said:

I'm at a loss though why no family members have even started this.

We have, the deceased is with a funeral parlour.  However, as all the family appear to have been cut out of the Will completely there is some doubt as to whether they would be willing to pay for a funeral which under normal circumstances would come from the deceased estate.

Often wills contain instructions for their funeral, Who is the executor? 

There isn't one, both have relinquished their executorships largely as a result of the contents of this Will.  I think both had expected some small gratuity for acting as executor but they were both excluded along with the deceased family.

RomfordNavy

elsien said:

This is very much coming across as if being cut out of the will is more important to you than seeing your relative decently buried. He has an estate. His funeral costs will come from it once someone starts to administer it. That will be the first call in the estate before any beneficiaries, whoever they are. 

You have to look at the whole picture.  Some people involved have incurred quite significant costs in carrying out the deceased wishes but because those were not explicity written into the Will they will not get recompence for.

There are a number of family heirlooms which we know were of great importance to the deceased but not mentined in the Will so they will obviously now be sold off by the big charities involved.

The deceased normal preferred charities which were donated to regularly were not mentined.

RomfordNavy

elsien said:

His funeral costs will come from it once someone starts to administer it. That will be the first call in the estate before any beneficiaries, whoever they are. 

Not true from what I can establish.  It is the executors who are responsible for arranging a funeral, if next-of-kin and family do it without previusly obtaining explicit permission from the executors they will not be paid for it.

JGB1955

RomfordNavy said:

  It is the executors who are responsible for arranging a funeral, if next-of-kin and family do it without previusly obtaining explicit permission from the executors they will not be paid for it.

they MAY not be paid for it... but there's little reason why they wouldn't be....

elsien

RomfordNavy said:

elsien said:

His funeral costs will come from it once someone starts to administer it. That will be the first call in the estate before any beneficiaries, whoever they are. 

Not true from what I can establish.  It is the executors who are responsible for arranging a funeral, if next-of-kin and family do it without previusly obtaining explicit permission from the executors they will not be paid for it.

That is why  the reference to whoever applies to administer it instead. 

RomfordNavy

Manxman_in_exile said:

Apologies if I'm mistaken, but this thread was two days old and had reached page 4 before you mentioned the (very relevant?) fact that the two executors had renounced.  I know that you posted previously that the "friend" was "reserve" executor, but who was the other, and do you know why they both renounced?  (I think you may have indicated earlier that the friend may not have been entirely happy to have been left nothing).

Somebody needs to apply to administer the estate.  It would usually be a family member but does not have to be.  As others have pointed out, "next of kin" is a meaningless term.

Are the charity beneficiaries aware of the bequests?  I'm surprised they have not stepped in... 

One renounced because had been written in the Will without beeing asked.  The other renounced because having agreed to it was then faced with the situation where the deceased became very awkward, suspected as a result of medication, and would not provide any details of assets or assistance with other details.  Both also considered it a bit of a kick in the teeth to be completely excluded from the Will.  Don't think either would have wanted much but a small gratuity for carrying out the task may have been expected.

Charities are not as far as I know aware.