Charity Will - who actually executes the will?

Fishy46

We are in our 60s and have never done a will so really need to sort this out.  Cost has been prohibitive but realise now the costs to others will be worse if we don't!  If we get a cheaper Will done via a charity, who actually physically ensures the money goes to those we name? Does the Executor then have to appoint a solicitor to deal with the Estate?  Sorry for my ignorance.  We'd probably do a mirror will & leave all to each other but if one of us dies, our Will would have to be redone and the Estate would be given to our Daughters.  Thanks for any help.  This has baffled me a bit.

MobileSaver

Fishy46 said:

We are in our 60s and have never done a will so really need to sort this out.  Cost has been prohibitive but realise now the costs to others will be worse if we don't!  If we get a cheaper Will done via a charity, who actually physically ensures the money goes to those we name? Does the Executor then have to appoint a solicitor to deal with the Estate?  Sorry for my ignorance.  We'd probably do a mirror will & leave all to each other but if one of us dies, our Will would have to be redone and the Estate would be given to our Daughters.  Thanks for any help.  This has baffled me a bit.

What do you class as "cost has been prohibitive"? An elderly relative recently made their first will and the cost from memory was only a couple of hundred quid - it was the costs for the solicitor to arrange power of attorneys that made me raise my eyebrows!

If you have a will done by a Charity solicitor then of course you're expected to include a donation to the Charity which I'd have thought for most people would be somewhat more than the cost of having a will made.

Regards your question, the named Executor is responsible for distributing the funds and it's up to them whether they employ a solicitor or not. If your financial affairs are in relatively good order and your beneficiaries straightforward then in my opinion using a solicitor is an unnecessary and expensive expense and more importantly may introduce considerable delays to how long your daughter has to wait before she can receive her inheritance.

Robin9

It's good that you are to make your wills -  there too many on this forum that don't and chaos and family disputes follows.

The solicitor will go through the "what if's?" -  either or both your daughters die before you, remarry ?  grandchildren - under age 18 ........................     

Get a few quotes from solicitors -  expect pay £300 or so

Have you POA's in place ?  This is a straightforward DIY - you don't need a solicitor for these.   My wife and I did them in lieu of Christmas presents.

Fishy46

Thank you for replies - very helpful.
With all family etc I've had contact with after a death, a Solicitor has been appointed by the Executor (usually the one who made & held the Will for that person) to deal with the distribution of estate funds to beneficiaries so I wasn't sure if you could do it without.  We've been quoted £600 plus each for just a Mirror Will, so I think I'd better shop around. We always seem to need that money for something else, but realise this is important.  POA's we will do afterwards but can do that, as you suggest, without using Solicitors.  
Thanks!

p00hsticks

Although it;s not been my personal experience, I have heard of cases where the solicitor or other will writer has pushed to be named as executor in the will, as it guarantees future business for them, but there is no need to do it. It's far better to name someone personal to you who you trust, such as spouses or children,

They always then have the option of getting a solicitor in when the time comes - either to help or to completely take over - if they feel they are out of their depth. But it's often quite straight forward for relatives to deal with (I was executor for my late brothers estate) and some even find it helps with the grieving process. 

Bear in mind that even if a solicitor is named, they will need to know what your estate consists of and so will need to get much of the information required for probate from your nearest and dearest anyhow. 

BooJewels

£600 each does sound a bit steep to me - I think my husband and I paid about £300 for both of our Wills done at the same time - they were straightforward, nothing complicated.  One tip I would suggest would be to go to your appointment armed with a document with everyone's full name and addresses either written very clearly or typed - including all middle names and all correct spellings. The solicitor explained that people can move and Wills don't necessarily get updated, but a totally complete name makes it easier to identify that person correctly.

If you also do LPAs, it can be useful for your Attorneys to be the same people as your executors too - as if they've already taken care of your affairs, they're more familiar with your arrangements and it can ease the executor process along.  I've done that twice recently and you just swap hats and carry on.  As @p00hsticks suggests, undertaking that role does actually make you feel like you're at least doing something useful and doing that one last thing that you can for them and taking a pride in doing your best work.  I personally felt it was an honour to be trusted to act both as an Attorney and as an executor.

Flugelhorn

p00hsticks said:

Although it;s not been my personal experience, I have heard of cases where the solicitor or other will writer has pushed to be named as executor in the will, as it guarantees future business for them, but there is no need to do it. It's far better to name someone personal to you who you trust, such as spouses or children,

They always then have the option of getting a solicitor in when the time comes - either to help or to completely take over - if they feel they are out of their depth. But it's often quite straight forward for relatives to deal with (I was executor for my late brothers estate) and some even find it helps with the grieving process. 

Bear in mind that even if a solicitor is named, they will need to know what your estate consists of and so will need to get much of the information required for probate from your nearest and dearest anyhow. 

agree re this - we had a failed effort to create wills - the solicitor just seem to forget us and no amount of goading worked to get the finished article off him so we went elsewhere - he definitely tried on the "name us as exec, you can't possibly leave your young son to deal with this..."   

Fishy46

Yes, I had heard to be wary about being pushed into getting the Solicitor to be an Executor.  Thanks.  Have asked for some quotes this afternoon from various Solicitors.  

Keep_pedalling

A will is one of the most import documents you will ever make so do not penny pinch on it and make sure you have it drawn up by a solicitor. Assuming your daughters are adults then appoint them to act as your executors along side the surviving spouse.  

boingy

It's free wills month:

Top free or cheap will-writing services – MoneySavingExpert

and you can choose not to leave anything to charity if you prefer. Book quickly if it interests you.

poseidon1

Don't overlook that it is free wills month ( for simple wills), this month.

Can use the link below to find participating solicitors near you, no obligation to make any charitable donations. However, emphasise this is for simple wills only. Anything more complicated  (especially insertion of any form of ongoing trusts) are outside the ambit of the scheme.

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/leave-a-legacy-gift-in-your-will/free-will-service