Wills, probate and grants

Tulipone

Tulipone

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Chris
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I wonder if anyone here has any experience of dealing with matters after a family member dies? Grateful for any thoughts.

If some one dies leaving a will, then the executor makes the wishes in the will occur. How is it known that there is a will? I guess the executor would know......

What would happen if I were to name my wife as exectutor and leave the will at home? If there was something in the will she didn't like, surely she could just deny any will and go through probate in the knowledge she'd get the estate anyway?

What would happen if the will was written up with the executor being a solicitor and no one told them of the death. The will may not come to light for years and possibly after a grant.

Seems to me that the system has flaws if my assumptions are correct. Grateful for any clarity.
 
I'm dealing with this at the moment, so I'll try and answer, but ultimately you need professional advice.

Yes the executor will know about the existence of the Will, and act accordingly.

If your wife denied any knowledge of the Will (if she doesn't like what was in it) It would be risky as it doesn't automatically mean your estate would go to her, anyone else could make a claim too.

I believe solicitors do regular checks on deaths.
 
If this was a genuine concern for anyone, they should name someone who isn't your wife as the executor (although I'd question why they were married to them). Think of this as kind of a fail-safe.

Lets say you name a child as the executor and bequeath them £10k. If they lose the will (and it's treated as though it never existed), they lose £10k (provided your wife is still alive). I'd call that an incentive to keep the will safe if I were the executor.

Yes they could conspire against you, but if things are that bad, what's to stop your wife murdering you tonight before you get a chance to make your will? :LOL:

There is a presumption made by the courts that if the document is lost and the testator was the last person known to have said will, then the testator intentionally revoked the will by way of destruction.
 
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As Mark said, leaving it with solicitors can be a good idea. Obviously there may be costs involved, dependent on who wrote your will etc. They are regulated so there is recourse to make things right in the (highly unlikely) event that the solicitors themselves lose the will.

Also look at http://www.certainty.co.uk/
 
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It's not uncommon to have a copy of the will lodged with the solicitor that drew it up. That's what my Dad did. Myself and my brothers were executors and we all knew of the existence of the will.
 
Thanks all for your input.

Actually I'm not too bothered about my will, more of another instance elsewhere. I am not wholly convinced that someones wishes have been correctly executed and apart from setting a standing search for a grant, not really sure what else I can do. If there 'was no will', the next of kin could do pretty much what they wanted after probate. Once probate has been granted, it is a bit too late to be concerned and without knowledge of a will, that is that.

It would make sense that wills should be lodged centrally.
 
There are still rules about who inherits an estate if there was no will. However the people who inherit can decide to gift all, or part, of their inheritance to who they like.
If a will comes to light later then the person who was given the grant of representation will have to show that they had made all possible efforts to find a will, they will be liable if they cannot show that.
All wills can be deposited at the Probate Registry which is part of the Family Division of the High Court, which is where my will is :)
 
I was going through some letters yesterday and found one from a solicitors asking me if I Knew a Reverend "smith" as they were trying to locate his executors. Never heard of the guy, but as there were 6 executors they would be doing a lot of tracing before they even sorted the will.
 
My will was drawn up with a solicitor and a copy is lodged with them as well as being registered "officially" somewhere. Not cheap but should help when clogs are popped!
 
Two executors. One a solicitor and another who stands to inherit nothing. ..a good friend for instance. The friend will know of the deceased demise and can inform the solicitor. Ultimately though professional advice is the only way to go.
 
I have acted as an executor four times now. It is not necessary to use a solicitor where the estate and will is straight forward.
When making a will you should appoint two executors, definitely not one.
You should also let other family or appropriate friends know that you have made a will and where it is kept.
Solicitors don't come cheap and there can be a lot of work in administering the estate. Avoid using any bank as an executor as their charges can be very high.
The executors can always seek guidance from a solicitor or CAB and then do the work themselves. Normally executors would be main beneficiaries ( if they are able to carry out the duties).
HOWEVER I AM NOT LAWYER SO COULD BE COMPLETELY WRONG...
 
Could have done my mums will myself (I am sole executor), but after all the fun we had getting the power of attorney sorted out (with same people who we would have to deal with the will) I decided to let the solicitor do it.
 
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