Cheques from deceased person

Misha96

FlorayG said:

Misha96 said:

Sea_Shell said:

Misha96 said:

Last year, a dying friend wrote a number of cheques for several people not included in his Will. The majority of the cheques were not banked and have been handed over to the executors. 

There is contention about the status of the cheques. Some recipients believe they will receive the sum they were gifted following grant of probate. I don’t think the cheques have more than a paper value unless the executor wishes to gift the money from his share of the deceased liquid assets.

 Who is correct?

What timescales are at play here?

Time between writing and handing out the cheques and dying?

It probably doesn't change the legal status, but if a significant period (weeks rather than days) , then the recipients haven't helped their situation.

The accounts should be frozen and so the cheques are probably invalid, but IANAL.

I think it was only days.

Ah you neglected that important bit of information in your first post, it looked like it had been months. If the deceased was compos mentis when they wrote those cheques then the estate should honour them; after all, if the recipients had paid them in the day they got them then they would have had the money

The deceased was of sound mind.

Misha96

MattMattMattUK said:

Misha96 said:

Last year, a dying friend wrote a number of cheques for several people not included in his Will. The majority of the cheques were not banked and have been handed over to the executors. 

There is contention about the status of the cheques. Some recipients believe they will receive the sum they were gifted following grant of probate. I don’t think the cheques have more than a paper value unless the executor wishes to gift the money from his share of the deceased liquid assets.

Who is correct?

It is complicated, especially as the recipients handed the cheques to the executor(s), they should have cashed them. I am guessing that you feel that you should get that money, rather than the recipients intended by the deceased? 

The reality is that this would almost certainly need a judge to decide if it is not agreed to pay them out from the deceased's estate. 

Thanks for your input. I was not a recipient of a cheque so I'm not hoping for anything. 

p00hsticks

I'd say the value of the cheques should be paid from the estate, and treated as gifts made within seven years of death for IHT/probate purposes. 

Keep_pedalling

Uncashed cheques are not classed debts owed by the estate. Whether the estate pays these people or not is down to the residual beneficiaries.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm28300#:~:text=A%20cheque%20is%20a%20revocable,valid%20debt%20of%20the%20deceased.

madbadrob

This is not as straightforward as you would think.  If a cheque is issued but not cashed before a death then according to Hugh James Law firm the money is no longer the recipent of the cheque but is actually returned to the estate.  They go further and I would suggest reading https://www.hughjames.com/blog/deathbed-gifting-of-cheques/

.Gov say that an uncashed cheque is not a debt to an estate as well seehttps://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm28300

https://trustsdiscussionforum.co.uk/t/uncashed-cheques-prior-to-death/3817 is a great site I follow and this link shows virtually this question.

Therefore based on all that I have found online and the latter one a STEP discussion forum that the cheques fall back into the estate and the gifts fail.  I would however seek legal advice on this just to cover your own backside