Advice re contentious will please

Marcon

Flowerpotperson said:

I am joint Executer in my recently deceased uncles will. There are a number of beneficiaries split across two families. The estate has not been divided equally, with the lion share going to the residuary beneficiary. She stands to inherit a substantial life changing amount of money, and is unwilling to do the honourable thing and share it amongst the other beneficiaries.

Why should she? It's up to your uncle to decide how to leave his assets and he clearly preferred her. It's not a case of her 'doing the honourable thing', but a case of doing what what he wanted to do.

Flowerpotperson said:

All of the other beneficiaries are very unhappy with this and may challenge the will.

As Executer and Trustee is there anything that I can do to split the estate in a more equitable way. Within the will I have been given the power to re direct assets to other benefices (i.e. his property), but I’m not sure if the residuary beneficiary would need to agree to this, and what the procedure would be to do this.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You sound completely out of your depth - and under fire. Get yourself some proper legal advice from a solicitor who has seen the will, not least to protect you from the wrath of the disappointed beneficiaries.

RAS

Appreciate that a lot may have happened in the last 17 years but the donor didn't change their will.

And once you've got legal advice, if you haven't intermeddled and don't want to be further involved, you can renounce your role. 

Then it's up to the other executor, or if they also renounce the residuary beneficiary has first dibs at executing the estate.

swingaloo

On what grounds do they think they could they challenge the will?

DancingBadger

I'm an executor and residual beneficiary of my deceased brother-in-law's will which, similar to the OP's situation, leaves most of his estate to just one of his nephews and nieces.  It's a complicated situation; all the nephews and nieces will benefit to a small extent under the terms of my late sister's will, but when she died he changed his will so that only one of his relatives is a beneficiary along with me.  

The reason the rest were excluded is they made no effort to keep in touch with their uncle or offer any help in his declining years when he was in poor health and in need of assistance and care.  Two of the siblings accept the situation, but one is furious is telling anyone who'll listen the sibling who'll receive the lion's share is "robbing" him.  In his book, family is family and that means the money should be distributed evenly regardless of his uncle's wishes.  

He can rant as much as he likes, but I'll still administer the will(s) as the testators intended.

tetrarch

swingaloo said:

Flowerpotperson said:

Thanks for all the replies. I really do believe that my uncle never intended to create a will that caused this much division and bad feeling among the two families, and I have to question the advice he got from the solicitor when drafting the will (which is now 17 years old) which is far from tax efficient and very divisive.

What you believe is irrelevant. Your duty as Executor is to distribute the will as it written even if you think it is unfair. My will leaves half of my estate to a non-family member. It is deliberate and may rattle a few cages but I know the reasons (no-one else needs to know) and if I thought my executor would try to change things I would be  devastated.

Does your executor know that you will be putting them in what may be a contentious position?

Whilst you say "no-one else needs to know", does that extend to your executor?

Regards

Tet

Hoenir

tetrarch said:

swingaloo said:

Flowerpotperson said:

Thanks for all the replies. I really do believe that my uncle never intended to create a will that caused this much division and bad feeling among the two families, and I have to question the advice he got from the solicitor when drafting the will (which is now 17 years old) which is far from tax efficient and very divisive.

What you believe is irrelevant. Your duty as Executor is to distribute the will as it written even if you think it is unfair. My will leaves half of my estate to a non-family member. It is deliberate and may rattle a few cages but I know the reasons (no-one else needs to know) and if I thought my executor would try to change things I would be  devastated.

Does your executor know that you will be putting them in what may be a contentious position?

Executors can renounce their appointment as executor of a will. Not a role that they are forced to undertake. Not that they oblidged into entering into any conversation or discussion on the matter. Money sadly brings out the worst in families. Self entitlement rising above anything else. 

swingaloo

tetrarch said:

swingaloo said:

Flowerpotperson said:

Thanks for all the replies. I really do believe that my uncle never intended to create a will that caused this much division and bad feeling among the two families, and I have to question the advice he got from the solicitor when drafting the will (which is now 17 years old) which is far from tax efficient and very divisive.

What you believe is irrelevant. Your duty as Executor is to distribute the will as it written even if you think it is unfair. My will leaves half of my estate to a non-family member. It is deliberate and may rattle a few cages but I know the reasons (no-one else needs to know) and if I thought my executor would try to change things I would be  devastated.

Does your executor know that you will be putting them in what may be a contentious position?

Whilst you say "no-one else needs to know", does that extend to your executor?

Regards

Tet

My executor is a solicitor I have used for the last few years. When I say 'no one else needs to know' I mean that I have my reasons why certain people are not major beneficiaries in my will but I want to keep those reasons private. I presume those people will  have a good idea why they have not been left  a great deal but that is no-one else business. I have made small bequests to them so that they cannot think they were left out in error.

What is the use of making a will and appointing an executer if they are to be given free will to change things after my death.

Savvy_Sue

elsien said:

The honourable thing? 

Interesting choice of words. Any variation on the will needs to be agreed by all the beneficiaries.

Apparently only those adversely affected need to agree a variation.

doodling

Hi,

Flowerpotperson said:

I am joint Executer in my recently deceased uncles will. There are a number of beneficiaries split across two families. The estate has not been divided equally, with the lion share going to the residuary beneficiary. She stands to inherit a substantial life changing amount of money, and is unwilling to do the honourable thing and share it amongst the other beneficiaries.

All of the other beneficiaries are very unhappy with this and may challenge the will.

As Executer and Trustee is there anything that I can do to split the estate in a more equitable way. Within the will I have been given the power to re direct assets to other benefices (i.e. his property), but I’m not sure if the residuary beneficiary would need to agree to this, and what the procedure would be to do this.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My advice would be for the beneficiaries to do the honorable thing and respect the deceased's wishes.

My advice to the executor would also be to do the honorable thing and respect the deceased's wishes.  If the will appears to allow discretion then I would strongly advise that legal advice is sought before exercising it.

Baldytyke88

Flowerpotperson said:

I am joint Executer in my recently deceased uncles will. 

What does the other executor think of your ideas?

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