What happens to old wills and how to remove executor 11 November 2022 at 9:27AM in Deaths, funerals & probate 3 replies 297 views

silvercar

We originally wrote our (mirror) wills many years ago. They are now out of date and we intend to re-write them. The previous executors were our solicitor and a sibling. We intend to now appoint our adult children as executors. Do we need to inform the previous executors? Sibling would be no problem, the solicitor is a personal friend and has moved practices and merged his practice with a larger firm. He is likely to take it personally that he is no longer the executor, so I'm wondering if this is necessary. 

Keep_pedalling

You new will will revoke the old one and their is no requirement to inform the solicitor other than to avoid confusion when you die. You circumstances are very different now that you have adult children to take on the executor rule, the solicitor is a professional so rather than take it personally I would expect he would agree that your decision is the correct one.

Any reason why you are avoiding using him again? 

silvercar

Keep_pedalling said:

You new will will revoke the old one and their is no requirement to inform the solicitor other than to avoid confusion when you die. You circumstances are very different now that you have adult children to take on the executor rule, the solicitor is a professional so rather than take it personally I would expect he would agree that your decision is the correct one.

Any reason why you are avoiding using him again? 

Only that his charges are high, both for writing the will and I think it was in the region of 3% of the estate as executor.

Our previous will was complex as it had to cover the welfare of the children etc and as a friend he understood the nuances of our wishes. Now it is very straightforward and I would be happy using a local solicitor. 

Marcon

silvercar said:

Keep_pedalling said:

You new will will revoke the old one and their is no requirement to inform the solicitor other than to avoid confusion when you die. You circumstances are very different now that you have adult children to take on the executor rule, the solicitor is a professional so rather than take it personally I would expect he would agree that your decision is the correct one.

Any reason why you are avoiding using him again? 

Only that his charges are high, both for writing the will and I think it was in the region of 3% of the estate as executor.

Our previous will was complex as it had to cover the welfare of the children etc and as a friend he understood the nuances of our wishes. Now it is very straightforward and I would be happy using a local solicitor. 

If he's a personal friend, you could explain why you have now decided to use a local solicitor; or simply go ahead and do so without saying anything (just make sure the current solicitor isn't storing your current wills. You need to destroy them once your new wills are in place, to help ensure there can be no confusion).