Wills & Testaments

[peetee]

A timely story here too. I know somebody who has been assigned executor of a will and they have been very shocked and upset to find that all the beneficiaries have been informed of the proportional distribution of the deceased estate including the names of the other beneficiaries. She is investigating as to whether this is a mistake made by the solicitor concerned or a point of law in which she has no say. I would advise anyone to clarify this matter in advance for the sake of all concerned.

[ambodach]

I became the executor for an estate of the owner of a flat which was security for a loan from Santander. I paid off the loan and Santander said they could not produce the title deeds as they had in their words been dematerialised. Nowadays for fairly recent transactions this is not a problem as everything can be got electronically if you know where to go. A solicitor should be able to handle this easily enough but for a lay person if there is no will it could be a nightmare as there are so many hoops to jump through.

[thirdcrank]

A timely story here too. I know somebody who has been assigned executor of a will and they have been very shocked and upset to find that all the beneficiaries have been informed of the proportional distribution of the deceased estate including the names of the other beneficiaries. She is investigating as to whether this is a mistake made by the solicitor concerned or a point of law in which she has no say. I would advise anyone to clarify this matter in advance for the sake of all concerned.

I'm lost with this. I'd have thought it's quite normal for the beneficiaries of a will to know what it says. eg It's common for couples to have mirror wills where both are doing the same thing ie everything to the survivor who leaves everything divided equally between their children. Having all the beneficiaries sitting around the table while the executor breaks the news is from literary fiction. Also, it's not uncommon for the executor to be one of the beneficiaries. Bearing in mind that in the majority of cases this must be a family thing, it must be normal for everybody to be aware of their expectations. The executor is an administrator, not a showman.

[francovendee]

OH! to be living in the UK when I peg out. We come under French law and after my death, our assets, mostly the house is split 50% to my wife and the other 50% split between the children. My wife would have the right to remain here until her death. If the property was sold before then the children have to have their 50%.
As I have a daughter living in the UK it gets even more complicated and I feel sorry for my wife if I pop off first.

[RickH]

If Probate has been granted (the right for an executor to deal with someone's estate) the will becomes a public document that anyone can obtain a copy of. There's a fee to get a copy, I don't know if you can see details online. I think there may be ways to keep will details private but I wouldn't know how.

[peetee]

I'm lost with this. I'd have thought it's quite normal for the beneficiaries of a will to know what it says. eg It's common for couples to have mirror wills where both are doing the same thing ie everything to the survivor who leaves everything divided equally between their children. Having all the beneficiaries sitting around the table while the executor breaks the news is from literary fiction. Also, it's not uncommon for the executor to be one of the beneficiaries. Bearing in mind that in the majority of cases this must be a family thing, it must be normal for everybody to be aware of their expectations. The executor is an administrator, not a showman.

The beneficiaries include several societies and institutions and they have been sent the names of family recipients (some of who are minors) to which they have no connection. I too feel that is wrong.
Is this not in contravention of the freedom of information laws?

[Cyril Haearn]

I would not want to know what anyone else recieves

Read some biographies on wykedpia, the value of the estate of deceased people was quoted!

[thirdcrank]

RickH is right: I'd forgotten about wills being public documents. Once upon a time, the details of the wills of famous or wealthy people were published by newspapers.

[MrsHJ]

Just aimed at the poster but anyone with overseas property eg holiday home in France will Probably need a separate will in that country as the heirs rules are different to
UK law.

[thirdcrank]

Anyone got any knowledge of self writing ones last will & testament? (Nb. Any recommendations in respect to paid for templates?)

Drowning a couple of weeks ago due to a brain seizure has highlighted the probability that I'll have a seizure and die on the bike sometime .

Given that I've spent the bulk of my equity going cycling ten years back, my equity is fairly straightforward & limited (Nb. Primarily pension funds). But I'd prefer to ensure that it goes to %**%$ and not $%^*(

I'm just ...er ... resucitating this to reiterate that it's possible to survive but then to be unable to cope or "lose capacity." If you have any form of wealth including a house, it would then probably be handy if somebody you trust could take charge of things. The current way of doing this is to create a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA.) I'm mentioning this now because my wife and I have just done it. For many years we've had Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA,) which were still applicable but we decided the time had come to nominate somebody from the next generation. Our EPA's were DIY using the official forms. They were never tested but a DIY EPA I did for my mother many years ago worked well when it was needed when she was 94 and went into residential care. The only problems related to poorly-trained staff in some banks - not all - who had no idea.

A feature of LPA's which was not available with EPA's is the ability to appoint an attorney to make decisions about health and welfare. In legal terms, this means that if you cannot make these decisions doctors etc must consult the attorney as though they were the patient speaking. How effective this is in reality I don't know, and it is quite new.

We did our LPA's DIY and they have recently been okayed and registered by the Office of the Public Guardian. If you follow the instructions provided it's quite straightforward and the main faff involves a lot of signatures and getting them in the right order. In one sense it's not cheap £82 a throw IIRC and a couple making two each (one for financial decisions, another for health) is £360 plus. OTOH, if you do end up without capacity the only way somebody can make decisions on your behalf is by applying to become a deputy, which involves supervision by the Court of Protection and big fees for the privilege. When my mother was in care, I got chatting to a lady visitor who was almost my mother's age but she was the deputy for her husband. Even though they had been married all their adult lives, she was having to submit accounts to ensure she was not ripping him off.
https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney