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My sister and I are joint executors of my late fathers will, both of us are also joint beneficiaries of this will - which totals to liquid assets of £50K or more. We live many miles away from each other. I just had a baby after my father died and was feeling very low and vunerable, so my sister wanted to deal with all of my fathers finances (she went to his house and seized hold of all his papers while I was in hospital). She was appointed then the executor, with power reserved to me for probate. This was now nearly seven months ago. After months of me chasing her and getting no where fast, eventually she sorted the estate out and was given the grant of probate nearly six weeks ago. I then obviously kept trying to get in touch with her and often my call were not returned. She was due to go on holiday two weeks ago and then promised me that a cheque would be sent to me in the post before she went. I received nothing and confronted her on her return she said that the money had only just come in and that part of my share would be forwarded to me last week. I still haven't received this. I need to know where I stand, as I feel helpless to do anything more and it's causing me alot of upset to know that what my father left for my family is not happening and I am getting told a different story whenever I ask about it. If you can offer me some legal advice, I would greatly appreciate this. Thank you.
You need to get a Solicitor involved quickly. If she has obtained the money, she may have spent it illegally which means you would have to sue her to get the money. If this is the case, she has also committed fraud for which she would be imprisoned.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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Can wills be conditional.
If I were to die and my wife/children lived, then I would leave everything to my wife and children.
If, for example, we all died in an air crash, then I would want to leave everything to my mother.
In particular, I do not want anything to go to any of my in-laws.
Yes, you can have a chian of events as you describe in your will, that is quite normal.
Our WillForLife package which costs £9.99 will be able to deal with that for you.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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My sister will inherit half of my estate should I die but is presently seeking a separation from her husband. Should anything happen to me before she leaves him would he have any entitlement to the money I leave my sister?
He can ask the court in a divorce to take the inheritance in to account. This would only be taken into account if it was known you were either ill and likely to doe within a short period or you were old and likely to die within X number of years. He would not physically be able to touch your money but to have more of the matrimonial assets.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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We purchased a property in 1999 as boyfriend and girlfriend albeit the mortgage is in his name only and he pays the mortgage - this was in case we split up, I would have no claim on him. In the meantime we got married in August this year. Although my name is not on the mortgage deed, should he die - will I be entitled to live in the property? He has a 13 year old son who whose time is divided equally between his mum and dad. Does my step son have any entitlement too?
If there is no will, and the estate is valued at less than £125k you as his spouse will receive everything. If it is worth more, you will get the £125k plus chattels and the remainder would be divided as to half for the child and the other half would be held in trust for you and income paid to you for your life. When you die the capital goes back into his estate to be paid to surviving children or their children if no child has survived.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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no spouse, three children, who would be classed as next of kin ,legally?
will left,three executors,do we need to use a solicitor to access deceased bank account?
The estate will be divided between the 3 children of the whole blood.
You will have to obtain Letters of Administration to do this.
http://www.willyouever.co.uk/moreinfo.asp
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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Do I have to register my will with any legal organisation?
There is no legal requirement to register your Will.
It is however essential to inform your Executors of the whereabouts of the original Will and keep them advised if you change your Will or make a Codicil.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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I am executor of a very small estate (less than £5,000.) Do I legally have to apply for probate or can I deal with the paying out to the beneficiaries myself ?
You can deal with it yourself. Obviously keep accurate records just in case there are any queries.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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Our solicitor seems to imply that he must be named as an executor in my mothers will. His charges for this are 0.5% of the value of any property and 1% of any other assets giving a charge of £2500 to £3000 which seems huge. Is this normal for this type of work. Can the three sons only be executors and exclude the solicitor and do things like get probate? I asked the solicitor if by being executors we could save money. The solicitor by the way has been charging my mother several times for the same thing and I therefore do not trust him. Thanks for your help.
Certainly it is not a requirement that a Solicitor is named as Executor. If you and your brothers are happy and competent to carry out the task I see no reason why you cannot be appointed as Executors. You can easily enlist the help of a Solicitor if you run into difficulties.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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Can a will be changed after death by beneficiary to transfer part of estate to others?
A will can be varied. A beneficiary can vary what he inherits if he or she so wishes. The only requirement is that the person who is prejudiced must be a party to the deed, in this simple example obviously it will be the beneficiary. However it is usual for the Personal Representatives to be a party to the deed as well. If the variation is made to reduce the effects of Inheritance Tax then the variation must take place within two years from the date of death.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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I own a limited company with a partner. We own 50% each. My wife will be well provided for so I want to leave my shares in the company to my children along with other monetary gifts. How are these shares costed as part of my estate and will my children be taxed on them?
Shares in a Private Company are valued by the shares valuation division of the Capital Taxes Office. The basis of the valuation is an 'open market valuation' based on information available including accounts.
It may be that this asset will benefit from a relief from Inheritance Tax known as Business property relief.
The relief is available for certain types of business and business assets and certain types of shares. You must have owned the assets for a minimum period usually two years and the assets must also qualify for relief under a number of other quite complex rules.
There is a useful leaflet 'IHT 17' available published by Inland Revenue Capital Taxes Office (0115 974 000) which provides more information.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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Is it possible to see someones will after they have died even if I am not a beneficiary or executor. If so how?
If the Will has been proved it is possible to obtain a copy of the Grant of Probate with the Will attached. An application can be made to any Probate Registry detailing the full name of the deceased, the last known address of the deceased and the date of death. A £5.00 fee is required made payable to H M Paymaster General.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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I wish to add a Codicil to my existing Will. How do I go about this and does the Codicil need to be signed by two independent witnesses?
I suggest you see the Solicitor who originally drew up the will to make the codicil for you. It is unlikley to cost a great deal. It has to be witnessesed in the same way as a will.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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My father has recently died having not left a Will. We have had no contact with him for nearly 7 years now. We have been informed by his partner's solicitor that myself and my brother have initial entitlement to our father's estate. My father and his partner were not married, and she was not dependent upon him. The solicitor has advised us that we are entitled to apply for a "Grant of Letters of Assessment" - please could you tell me what this is and what this means? Could you also tell me where myself and my brother stand in terms of what we are legally entitled to, and the possible outcomes of his partner contesting our entitlement. Thank you!
I assume that your father is divorced from your mother.
You and your brother are both entitled to administer the estate of your late father. You are also beneficially entitled to the estate in equal shares.
I suggest an appointment is made to see a Solicitor as soon as possible to make the application for Letters of Administration. The Solicitor will be able to obtain a copy of your late Fathers death certificate if you do not have one. Once Letters of Administration have been granted you then have authority to adminster the estate.
As for your late Fathers partner it does not sound as if she will have a basis of a claim. The only ground for a claim is contained in section 2 (1) Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents ) Act 1975 which states that a claim can only be made if reasonable financial provision has not been made. If your late Father did not provide for his partner in any way she will have some difficulty in proving this.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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I am the executor of a will. The will was prepared in three pages. The first pages deals with the executors, the estate and the beneficiaries. The date of the attestation is at the foot of the page, but has not been completed. The second page has been signed by the deceased and two witnesses by the wording SIGNED by the said (name of deceased) as his last will in the presence of us both present who at his request and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witneses and two witnesses have signed. The 3rd page is Dated 27.10.90 as Will (name of deceased) and the name and address of the solicitors who prepared the will is at the foot of the page. I have applied for probate and I have an interview with the Probate Registry next week. I have been asked to bring along one of the witnesses to "establish the validity of the will" I cannot track down the witnesses. What now is likely to happen?
The executors are also the beneficiaries.
Can you advise?
I am afraid there is no exact answer.
Obviously the Probate Registry is asking you to prove the validity of the Will. When executing a Will you should make sure that there is at least a small part of the body of the Will on the page that the Testator signs in order to avoid this problem, i.e., the assumption that the Will could be substituted.
As you cannot find the Witnesses the Probate Registry will have to decide whether they are prepared to prove the Will.
You do not say whether you are a relative of the deceased. If you are and you are entitled to benefit under the intestacy rules then your legacy may be protected.
To summarise it is a decision for the Probate Registry to make.
Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor
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