Estate agent asking for beneficiaries details

darrmont

I am an executor on an estate and part of the assets is a farm and home which are being sold by an estate agent but he is asking for name and address details for all of the beneficiaries of the will and saying he needs to have them "legally". I do not feel the details of the will should be available to anyone except the executors until it has all be completed and paid out. Is there any reason for the agent to look for this information

mybestattempt

There's no legal or other reason, that I'm aware of, which requires an estate agent to have knowledge of anything at all about the contents of a will.

I've sold property as executor and neither the estate agent nor the conveyancing solicitor asked for anything other than sight of the grant of probate.

If he wants to know who the beneficiaries are, he can find out for himself if/when the will is in the public domain.

Marcon

darrmont said:

I am an executor on an estate and part of the assets is a farm and home which are being sold by an estate agent but he is asking for name and address details for all of the beneficiaries of the will and saying he needs to have them "legally". I do not feel the details of the will should be available to anyone except the executors until it has all be completed and paid out. Is there any reason for the agent to look for this information

You might feel that, but it isn't what happens. You'll need probate to sell, and anyone can download a copy of the will and grant for £1.50 once probate has been granted.

Sounds as if your estate agent is a sensible man - and has possibly been unwittingly involved in family spats in the past, so is carefully checking as he goes along.

Keep_pedalling

If you already have probate then as Marcon says the will is already in the public domain, so just let them have a copy. Just having probate does not automatically mean an executor can sell, for example the will might contain a life interest clause that would prevent it being sold without the permission of the life tenant. 

mybestattempt

Perhaps I'm cynical and too cautious but why didn't the estate agent just tell the executor why he wanted names (and addresses) of the beneficiaries rather than veil his request in needing to have them "legally"?

All the wills I have seen, although only about twenty or so, simply named a beneficiary.

As a beneficiary, I'd not be pleased if an executor passed on information about me, which was not in the will, without my permission.

Malthusian

It is because estate agents are required to carry out money laundering checks, including on all beneficial owners.

The beneficial owners of the property in this case are the beneficiaries of the estate. (Or more specifically, those who are in line for the money from the property.)

See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/money-laundering-regulations-2007-supervision-of-estate-agency-businesses and in particular section 6.66 (O Fortuna-esque music intensifies).

*edit* I was wrong, see mybestattempt's post below.

mybestattempt

I haven't time to today to read the whole document in detail (which I will) but from just a quick look through isn't it section 6.70 which applies for the estate of a deceased person in administration?

Malthusian

You are quite right, that explicitly overrides the general section about trusts, and says that the estate agents only have to conduct AML checks on the executors.

So the estate agent here seems to be gold plating the Government's guidance. 

I agree that the simplest way forward is probably to pass him the Will, as it is in the public domain anyway.