Do I have to appoint a trustee; and what are trustees allowed to do?

CharlieC2210

CharlieC2210 said:

Savvy_Sue said:

CharlieC2210 said:

I'm surprised wills become public documents after probate. Seems very strange to me. I could understand family members being allowed access but why are they accesible to everybody? I wonder how many people have a good nosey once a neighbour dies?

I suspect very few people will get round to having a good nosey after a neighbour dies, simply because of the time lag ... It only becomes publicly available once probate has been granted and that does take time, even if straightforward.

You do need to discuss with your solicitor your idea of a small immediate bequest, and the fudging of the main bequest. Needs to be carefully worded. 

Good point, and it doesn't look straightforward generally; I just tried to find my mum's Will online (I've already seen it; I was just trying to see how it worked) and my head was hurting after 5 minutes.

Regards the small immediate bequest; I wasn't planning on making that an official part of the Will; more a wish/instruction for my daughter's mum.

P.s. I thought a minor couldn't legally inherit anyway, until they're 18?

theoretica

CharlieC2210 said:

As for another trustee? I wonder if that would be a kick in the teeth for her mum. Yes, it's not necessarily not trusting her mum, but if I imagine being in that position I don't see it as pleasant.

I don't know if bereaved minor trusts for under 18s are different, but other kinds of trusts MUST have more than one trustee - so if one dies the government isn't left sorting out the mess.

Tempting as it may be to not sort things officially, but just not tell the daughter about money until she is 21, income etc would be taxed in her name so she would need to know for that to be got right.

CharlieC2210

theoretica said:

CharlieC2210 said:

As for another trustee? I wonder if that would be a kick in the teeth for her mum. Yes, it's not necessarily not trusting her mum, but if I imagine being in that position I don't see it as pleasant.

I don't know if bereaved minor trusts for under 18s are different, but other kinds of trusts MUST have more than one trustee - so if one dies the government isn't left sorting out the mess.

Tempting as it may be to not sort things officially, but just not tell the daughter about money until she is 21, income etc would be taxed in her name so she would need to know for that to be got right.

Thanks, I'll look into how many trustees are required legally. I had a look at bereaved minor trusts on the gov.uk website but it's a long read; bookmarked for later. 

And the more I think about the advice given on here the more inclined I am to keep it simple. Let my daughter inherit when she's 18; let her mum tell her about it if I die before my daughter, and before she's 18.  And let her mum decide regards selling or letting the property (and my daughter, when she's of age, if it's not sold by then).

CharlieC2210

Although a minor can't inherit until they're 18 are there exceptions made for small amounts/small percentages of their overall inheritance. E.g. If a minor was left, say, £100,000 could he or she be allowed to receive a small amount/small percentage of that straight away if requested by the testator*, once probate has been sorted, say,£5,000? The answer seems to be no, from my online searches, but a few results say, "...in general..." leading me to believe there might be exceptions (?).

*I just learned that word this morning