Avoiding Using Solicitors as Executors

[DAPPH]

Well, here's part of the problem - I'm a Yorkshireman and I hate spending money!!!
I'm driving around in two cars whose total age is 42 years. I am a tight fisted old git who grew up in a cardboard box on the outskirts of Leeds.

Anyway, most of what I'm worth is in the house, which I guess is true of many of us.
If anyone is in any doubt, I'm now more convinced than ever before that solicitors are total crooks.

I'm not too sure of this :-
My Uncle Frank a disabled through injuries batchelor .... sustained in an industrial accident inhis teenager years w83 yrs old was 83 when he died . He lived with his elder brother & the brother's wife for 65 or so years, right from the day the elder brother got wed.

Frank was declared intestate as there was no registered will so his £ 26 k or more savings went to the government till,...... some solicitor from one of these trace and pay us half of what's coming your way companies dug up a distant unknown supposed relative from hundreds of miles away . Later in life we discovered, " No DNA or blood tests done to confirm things "

I suggest you need to check the validity of your will in case of challenges from relatives if any or from such the legal leeches .

 

[DAPPH]

I'm leaving some money to a charity; looking at the possibility that one of their staff could do it.

I appreciate the jokes, but this is serious stuff guys. It's about keeping money from going to solicitors, something we should all be trying to do.

They told me they had a client who wanted her ashes sent back to South Africa where she was born. So the Solictors sent one of their staff by air to deliver the ashes; TRUE!

Like as not they'll have had a five-week holiday junket there after handing over the ashes before coming back to the UK as well.

 

[addjunkie]

I'm leaving some money to a charity; looking at the possibility that one of their staff could do it.

I appreciate the jokes, but this is serious stuff guys. It's about keeping money from going to solicitors, something we should all be trying to do.

They told me they had a client who wanted her ashes sent back to South Africa where she was born. So the Solictors sent one of their staff by air to deliver the ashes; TRUE!

My great Aunt died, leaving a will, my father was executor. The bulk went to a charity…..It was obscene how much they wasted “dicking about with solicitors and estate agents to sell the house”. They even asked my father to clear the house as the contents were worthless. Really sad considering she worked all her life since loosing her husband at 21 to buy her house.
Whats even more sad is my father offered to buy the house from her, so she could live there rent free, and enjoy her money.

So sad as it may sound much of what goes to big charities is eaten away in inflated salaries and incompetence. Doubt an individual staff member would be executor as they may leave the job, more likely the charities firm of solicitors.

Another option is the sell your house and live on the money while you still live there, there are companies that will buy them from you and your remain. Bit like equity release, but different as thats basically a secured loan.

I am joint executor with my daughter for my ex wifes mother, as she didn't want my ex wife doing it, due to shall we say trust issues.

If you are leaving whats left to an individual, make them executor, or their parents if they are a bit young. But it is worth paying a solicitor at the time to make sure its done properly especially if IHT may be involved.

 

[ukracer]

Any one can be the executor, their role legally speaking is to make sure your wishes are followed. They can use a solicitor to-get probate, but its the executor who is legally accountable to divi up as per your will.

Any one can get valuations etc and supply info to solicitor to get probate.

Out of interest what if the money is left to grandkids but one is left out.
Does that one have any claim to anything. Does it matter if they were caught stealing 10's of thousands years ago..

 

[ukracer]

I suggest you need to check the validity of your will in case of challenges from relatives if any or from such the legal leeches .

How do you check that?

 

[JEZGUZ]

My stepmother died last year and I only got the estate accounts last month, solicitors fees for house sale and sorting the estate were over £10K.

 

[addjunkie]

Out of interest what if the money is left to grandkids but one is left out.
Does that one have any claim to anything. Does it matter if they were caught stealing 10's of thousands years ago..

If its in the will, its in the will wether they like it or not, and would require a very good ie big and expensive legal battle to contest. If they are not in the will there is no reason for them to even know its contents, but once probate is granted they can pay a fee to look.

The other way where theyd have no chance of disputing is to leave the “one” a pound with the note in the will explaining why. Its your money, you can give it to whom you like!

 

[ukracer]

Frank was declared intestate as there was no registered will so his £ 26 k or more savings went to the government till,......

Why did it go to the government and not his brother.

 

[addjunkie]

How do you check that?

Use a solicitor!

 

[Newlands]

I don't have any problem at all with where the money is going, I'm just trying to be sure it gets there and with the least amount skimmed off.

When my dad sorted out his will (and my mums) he made them as simple as possible, had already sorted me and a brother out to have power of attorney in case he went doolally (he didn’t!), and included the instruction that we were to sort out probate and execute the wills if possible. We did exactly that, and it wasn’t at all difficult. He popped off first and we didn’t need probate as everything passed to Mum.

When she died we had to get probate because she had money in Premium Bonds (you only need probate if you have bonds, stocks, shares or a big lump in the bank). It was very simple - all the paperwork is done on the gov.U.K. site, loads of help available and you only need a solicitor if your finances are complicated. For someone with a couple of bank accounts and some premium bonds a solicitor is not needed at all.

If I were you I’d appoint two of your beneficiaries to be executors (hopefully they will agree, and you know them well enough that you can trust they will steer clear of the money-grabbers!).
Just my two pennies worth.

 

[Dev]

‘Fun’ fact - if you get married it invalidates any previous will you have.

Romance scammers use this loophole to prey on lonely old people and the families don’t realise till it’s too late.

 

[Newlands]

How do you check that?

You don’t have to register a will for it to be legal. It can even be a note on the back of a fag packet. You can register it if you want, with the National Will Register, but neither of my parents wills were registered. I had to send both parents wills off when I applied for probate after my mum died, and there was no issue at all. They were signed and witnessed, which is obviously a sensible thing to do, and not actually written on the back of a fag packe!

 

[Keith 66]

If you leave a will it makes it a whole lot easier for everyone. Anyone can be apointed as executor, doesnt have to be a family member just someone you trust.
When it comes to probate a high street solicitor will charge up to 6% plus of the value of an estate.
An outfit such as Coop legal services will charge 2% plus.
When Mum passed away she had left everything very much in order, so i decided to go for probate myself. Her solicitor was extremely rude & arrogant & it gave me great pleasure to blow them out.
Even better when it saved me a not inconsiderable sum of dosh!

 

[qwakers]

A good bit of advice is to register the will whilst you’re still all there. It stops people being able to bully you into changing it on your deathbed, any will registered supersedes any other will, unless you retrieve the will and register a new one.

 

[Farside]

I'm leaving some money to a charity; looking at the possibility that one of their staff could do it.

I appreciate the jokes, but this is serious stuff guys. It's about keeping money from going to solicitors, something we should all be trying to do.

They told me they had a client who wanted her ashes sent back to South Africa where she was born. So the Solictors sent one of their staff by air to deliver the ashes; TRUE!

Ashes are probably on the banned list unless accompanied.

 

[500e]

As @gaz1 said
you could always treat the other familys children.
This is what we do a monthly payment into a bank accounts accesable when 17
It has worked well so far

 

[500e]

Wills are another rabbit hole

 

[500e]

Leave a fixed amount to charities or you can have problems a friend left most of her estate to charities after a few small bequests, they harassed the execs as to wither they had searched for the cheapest estate agents to sell the house, their share was not inconsiderable

 

[Morrisman]

Spend it all before you go!

The only way to profit from life is to die in debt.

 

[Morrisman]

A good bit of advice is to register the will whilst you’re still all there. It stops people being able to bully you into changing it on your deathbed, any will registered supersedes any other will, unless you retrieve the will and register a new one.

Where does one 'register' a will? Is there some legal central body where all wills have gone noted?

My dad died in May, mum is in a home, after a massive stroke. We don't know where mums will is, though we know she made one a few years ago.

Currently going through the solicitor-burdened legal battle to sell their house, the paper trail is endless. We thought we had it secured, with powers of attorney for both parents, court of protection, but no, now that we need to sell the house yet another court order has to be sorted.... only £1200 for the solicitors fees.......