Will, Co-Executors, Property and Probate
Options
chaotic_j
Posts: 453 Forumite
Hi,
My wife is a co-executor along with her mother, to her grandmothers will. Her grandmother very sadly passed away recently.
We were told that a property, items, shares and money has been left to my wife with the remainder of the money going to her mother, who has already been active as executor.
The death has been registered, funeral plan put in place, property has been visited and papers gathered, banks have been visited and I believe money withdrawn - by her mother. We have been advised of this.
I believe my wifes mother may intend on using the same solicitor that drew up the will for convenience. She doesn't know what the fees are and we feel they could be high.
There are multiple wills, of which my wife has no copies, we do not have any details of sums of money involved, would it be reasonable for my wife to request this information?
As a co-executor should my wife be consulted as to how to deal with the estate and probate? as opposed to being told what has been done?
Is it possible for my wife to nominate me as her husband to take her place as co-executor or are the only options for her to renounce or reserve power? She is not a very assertive kind of person.
Depending on the sums involved, she may wish for her mother to take a larger share of any money left over - again is this possible?
Regarding the property I am not sure if insurance has been cancelled or there wasn't any in place. Is it the responsibility of her mother to secure and insure the property until it is transferred to my wife? or my wife?
In terms of inheritance tax/taxes that may be owed, is this taken from any pot of money in the estate? I ask as my wife has very little money herself. How would the property be valued for inheritance tax purposes?
If some additional expenses have been incurred toward the funeral by her mother, if receipts are kept should these be put down as funeral expenses and offset against any tax etc.
Apologies for all the questions and thanks in advance.
My wife is a co-executor along with her mother, to her grandmothers will. Her grandmother very sadly passed away recently.
We were told that a property, items, shares and money has been left to my wife with the remainder of the money going to her mother, who has already been active as executor.
The death has been registered, funeral plan put in place, property has been visited and papers gathered, banks have been visited and I believe money withdrawn - by her mother. We have been advised of this.
I believe my wifes mother may intend on using the same solicitor that drew up the will for convenience. She doesn't know what the fees are and we feel they could be high.
There are multiple wills, of which my wife has no copies, we do not have any details of sums of money involved, would it be reasonable for my wife to request this information?
As a co-executor should my wife be consulted as to how to deal with the estate and probate? as opposed to being told what has been done?
Is it possible for my wife to nominate me as her husband to take her place as co-executor or are the only options for her to renounce or reserve power? She is not a very assertive kind of person.
Depending on the sums involved, she may wish for her mother to take a larger share of any money left over - again is this possible?
Regarding the property I am not sure if insurance has been cancelled or there wasn't any in place. Is it the responsibility of her mother to secure and insure the property until it is transferred to my wife? or my wife?
In terms of inheritance tax/taxes that may be owed, is this taken from any pot of money in the estate? I ask as my wife has very little money herself. How would the property be valued for inheritance tax purposes?
If some additional expenses have been incurred toward the funeral by her mother, if receipts are kept should these be put down as funeral expenses and offset against any tax etc.
Apologies for all the questions and thanks in advance.
0
Comments
-
There can only be one valid will, the last one (unless for some reason it is invalidated). One executor cannot act alone unless the other recinds or reserves their right to act as executor. She therefore cannot appoint a solisitor to do the work without your wife’s agreement.
As the 2 executors are the only beneficiaries this should be a simple estate to wind up so the use of a solisitor should be limited to the disposal of the property.
Your wife and MIL need to get together to discuss the way forward without further delay.0 -
See comments in red.Hi,
My wife is a co-executor along with her mother, to her grandmothers will. Her grandmother very sadly passed away recently.
We were told that a property, items, shares and money has been left to my wife with the remainder of the money going to her mother, who has already been active as executor.
The death has been registered, funeral plan put in place, property has been visited and papers gathered, banks have been visited and I believe money withdrawn - by her mother. We have been advised of this. Money should not be withdrawn (in the conventional sense) as the account should be frozen. Has the bank released funds on sight of the death certificate?
I believe my wifes mother may intend on using the same solicitor that drew up the will for convenience. She doesn't know what the fees are and we feel they could be high. Get quotes!
There are multiple wills, of which my wife has no copies, we do not have any details of sums of money involved, would it be reasonable for my wife to request this information? If she is one of the executors, she should have a copy of the Will and access to details of the Estate. This information may not be readily available and could take some time to amass depending upon the assets of the deceased.
As a co-executor should my wife be consulted as to how to deal with the estate and probate? as opposed to being told what has been done? Yes, they should be working together in a ideal situation.
Is it possible for my wife to nominate me as her husband to take her place as co-executor or are the only options for her to renounce or reserve power? She is not a very assertive kind of person.
Depending on the sums involved, she may wish for her mother to take a larger share of any money left over - again is this possible? A gift or a Deed of Variation would cover this.
Regarding the property I am not sure if insurance has been cancelled or there wasn't any in place. Is it the responsibility of her mother to secure and insure the property until it is transferred to my wife? or my wife? Either or both as Executors.
In terms of inheritance tax/taxes that may be owed, is this taken from any pot of money in the estate? I ask as my wife has very little money herself. How would the property be valued for inheritance tax purposes? Usually taken from the residual pot but this depends on what the assets are. Valuing the property would, to some extent, depend on whether any IHT is likely to be due. An RICS is always the safest option but may not be necessary depending on circumstances.
If some additional expenses have been incurred toward the funeral by her mother, if receipts are kept should these be put down as funeral expenses and offset against any tax etc. Yes. These would come from and reduce the value of the final Estate.
Apologies for all the questions and thanks in advance.0 -
Is it possible for my wife to nominate me as her husband to take her place as co-executor or are the only options for her to renounce or reserve power? She is not a very assertive kind of person.
Yes.
There is a POA option with the probate application.0 -
Hi,
Apparently MIL wants to use the solicitor that drew the will up for convenience.. had a look online and they have bad reviews mentioning their 'extortionate' fees.. and they take a long time too!
They charge according to their website £200 an hour ex. VAT and it's usually 6-12 hours of work, plus disbursements, shares increase the cost as does property transfer. I imagine fees could end up being £4-5k?
I think papers have already been taken there.. does that mean they have been instructed then? MIL doesn't actually know what their fees are? Obviously don't want to cause trouble but have wife's best interests in mind, more costs equals less for both wife and MIL.
If the estate is less than £350k then no IHT right? How much could DIY costs be as little as? How long could it take a lay person assuming paperwork was sorted out (which is being done anyway)?
Many thanks.0 -
The estate could be much bigger and still pay no IHT if your GM was a widow, and or owned her own home as the transferable and residence nil rate bands could also apply.
Apart from the probate fees there should be little other expenditure, and it will be faster than solisitors.
If your MIL does not want to get heavily involved in winding up the estate then then the best thing for her to do would be to reserve her powers and leave everything to your wife.0 -
Ahh I see.. there will be no IHT then..
Big savings to be had DIY, will discuss with the wife, thanks!0 -
Hi,
My wife has spoken to MIL about getting quotes for probate and/or at least getting a fixed price quote from the will solicitor but every time this is mentioned it's ignored or she is told that the will solicitor has to be used - the reasons being given we don't see as valid..
Basically at an impasse.. presumably MIL will remain insistent on using the will solicitor but from what we have read about their fees it would be like giving over a blank chequebook.. if my wife does not go along with MIL and instruct this solicitor what happens then?
We could obtain some quotes and ask MIL to pay the difference (which seems fair to us) but doubt she will agree to this.
Also MIL was refusing to deal with grandmothers services and utilities, so I made a few phone calls one morning with wife's permission and sorted it all.. I also went to the property and did the final meter readings etc. as I believe you are supposed to do (I didn't know what the readings were without going there).
Without going into major detail it doesn't seem MIL is happy and is disagreeing on minor things such as how open or closed the curtains should be (!) she has said some items of value are missing since I visited and is talking about changing the locks.. (!?)
We only took a single item of sentimental value (and advised her as such) as she was bullying my wife into going with her to the property and when it became clear my wife wasn't ready to do this yet, she inferred effects would begin to be disposed of. Bear in mind all effects have been left to my wife!
Also MIL wants my wife to go to a bank and sign a document so she can access funds. If the will says money is to be paid 50-50 if my wife goes to sign will she be receiving 50% of this money? How can the funds be accessed without probate? approx 20K. What is to stop MIL using the money, we believe she has debts of an undisclosed large sum.
Apologies for length and thanks in advance.0 -
A single executor cannot instruct the solicitor on her own. The two executor. Must apply together. Thesolicitor should get a grip. Why are there two wills. Both cannot be valid.0
-
Banks will pay out substantial sums without probate, but if MIL wants solicitors to handle the estate then why is she also insisting on going to the bank herself?
The problem you have is that while the executors are at loggerheads nothing will get done unless one of them backs down, or you get her removed as an executor, but that will be expensive and highly destructive to their relationship.
Grief does funny things to some people and causes them not to act rationally.0 -
Mil is trying it on big time. Your wife needs to see the solicitor and explain that she must be involved and give consent. Under no circumstances should draw, or allow the MIL to withdraw money. The bank must informed and will freeze the account.Hi,
My wife has spoken to MIL about getting quotes for probate and/or at least getting a fixed price quote from the will solicitor but every time this is mentioned it's ignored or she is told that the will solicitor has to be used - the reasons being given we don't see as valid..
Basically at an impasse.. presumably MIL will remain insistent on using the will solicitor but from what we have read about their fees it would be like giving over a blank chequebook.. if my wife does not go along with MIL and instruct this solicitor what happens then?
We could obtain some quotes and ask MIL to pay the difference (which seems fair to us) but doubt she will agree to this.
Also MIL was refusing to deal with grandmothers services and utilities, so I made a few phone calls one morning with wife's permission and sorted it all.. I also went to the property and did the final meter readings etc. as I believe you are supposed to do (I didn't know what the readings were without going there).
Without going into major detail it doesn't seem MIL is happy and is disagreeing on minor things such as how open or closed the curtains should be (!) she has said some items of value are missing since I visited and is talking about changing the locks.. (!?)
We only took a single item of sentimental value (and advised her as such) as she was bullying my wife into going with her to the property and when it became clear my wife wasn't ready to do this yet, she inferred effects would begin to be disposed of. Bear in mind all effects have been left to my wife!
Also MIL wants my wife to go to a bank and sign a document so she can access funds. If the will says money is to be paid 50-50 if my wife goes to sign will she be receiving 50% of this money? How can the funds be accessed without probate? approx 20K. What is to stop MIL using the money, we believe she has debts of an undisclosed large sum.
Apologies for length and thanks in advance.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.4K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.8K Spending & Discounts
- 235.5K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.2K Life & Family
- 248.1K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards