Can the a person who has completed IVA be an Executor of a Will?

SeanLac

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931370#Comment_81931370

I dont want to challenge the Power of Attorney as that's held by elder sister and I dont want to challenge my mother's Will itself. I'm only interested as to what I can do about my younger sister being included as an Executor as she is is the one who has previously gone through an IVA process (completed) but is now showing signs of new financial difficulties, and she previously tried to suggest that my father's money should be distributed as soon as possible after he died without it going through the process of going to my mother in the first place as beqeathed in his will.

elsien

I understand everything you’re saying, and I am not minimising your concerns but you still don’t have enough evidence to make any changes.

To change a will or create a new one for someone who lacks capacity it has to go to the court of protection to look at a statutory will. That would be not be cheap it is very likely your sister would contest and you have no evidence of her unfitness as things stand. Simply a verbal statement from several years ago where she actually did do the right thing, and the feeling she may be having money difficulties at the moment but nothing to substantiate it.

What would your mother‘s estate consist of?

Newly_retired

Hopefully the other sister/ executor will have things under her control, especially as she is already acting under Power of Attorney, so will have good knowledge of your mother’s financial affairs and will ensure that the estate is distributed correctly.

SeanLac

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931466#Comment_81931466

Well there have been some other things going on between them which have not exact been Kosher and they are constantly backing each other up on some things. Some rules in the the guide for use of an EPA have been broken and the elder sister has benefitted from some 'gifts' from my mother but they've not been reported to the Court of Protection (which she should have done as the amount and value of those gifts have been way over the normal level). I'm considering reporting this to the Office of the Public Guardian. So, in short, there have been some dubious incidents of collusion between the 2 of them.

SeanLac

Her estate consists of money, property, premium bonds and other savings to the tune of about £800,000.

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931481#Comment_81931481

In which case report it & tell sister that you want to be added to PoA to protect your mothers funds.

elsien

it is not possible to change a power-of-attorney for someone who lacks capacity. You can’t simply be added on, it doesn’t work like that.
And power of attorney ends on death so the power of attorney will have no input over the execution of the estate.
The OPG would have to investigate any concerns.
if the power-of-attorney was overturned, then with that level of assets, someone would have to apply for deputyship. That is not a quick process.

Just for the sake of clarity because I think people are interpreting your post in different ways, how many executors does your mother have? One sister, or both?

SeanLac

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931714#Comment_81931714

I have 2 sisters who are both executors of my mum's will. I and my brother (who doesnt live in the UK) are beneficiaries only. Just for clarification, neither myself not my brother are looking to become either an Executor or to take over the role of Power of Attorney. My concerns purely relate to the position of my younger sister (given her financial issue and previous attempts to obtain the money from my Dad's will) re whether she is fit to be an Executor. If there was to be anyone appointed as an additional Executor or Power of Attorney then I think we would prefer an independent person such as a Solicitor, however my elder sister has changed the family solicitor and is not letting on who the new solicitor is.

SeanLac

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931661#Comment_81931661

Yes - I am now preparing a file for the Office of the Public Guardian which I am going to submit idc, however I wanted to see if there was any advice here as to how I can include this situation as I want to be careful that it is legally and factually correct as that is quite a big step to take.

SeanLac

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931370#Comment_81931370

There is one piece of evidence I have (a bank statement) which shows a transfer of £15,000 from my mum's account by my elder sister (holder of PoA) to my younger sister's account (one of the two Executors - the other being the elder sister) of my mum's will in late 2023. It seems that it was only explained to my mum as a loan but the reason for the loan was not explained in detail. It has subsequently turned out to be to help the younger sister's daughter out whilst trying to remortgage her house after a separation from her partner. My younger sister did not want to reveal the purpose the money was going to be used for as she didn't want to let mum know of the probIems my sister's daughter was having. I think this may fall into the category of a 'gift' under the Guide to the Powers of Attorney publication (by the Office of the PG), but as the value is over-and-above a normal gift it should have been reported to the Court of Protection? My elder sister (holder of the PoA) did not do so. In addition, my elder sister has, over a period of several months (in 2022-2023) received multiple gifts of patchwork materials from my mum (in the hundreds of pieces) which I think were probably sold online by her own daughter to the tune of thousands of pounds. None of these have been reported to the Court of Protection as far as I know, but there should be records on the ebay account which was used to sell the items. I of course cannot access a personal ebay account.