Re: Wills and Executors
Originally Posted by
Flowerpower
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My brother and I are executors of my Mum’s will together with a solicitor.
I think we could deal with a fair bit of it to save what I expect will be very high solicitors fees.
Do we just go in and tell him this? not sure how to approach it.
I imagine he will want to earn as much money as he can though. But should he be acting on our instructions?
How do we agree who does what?
I had a friend who worked in a solicitors office and she used to tell me they had a list they had to refer to when charging so they charged for time, phonecalls, photocopying, envelopes etc right down to paperclips! Thanks
How difficult or otherwise it is depends on the complexity of the Will and how much the total Estate is worth. I was Executor to my mother's Will and it was quite simple as there was no liability for Inheritance Tax, it was just sorting out final details which was easy as I knew about my mother's finances, I always ensured she had enough to live on and was claiming all the benefits she should.
I am guessing that it's up to you to decide whether or not to do it all yourselves or pay a solicitor, they are expensive that is definite. Unless the Will states the solicitor is to do all the work, relieving you of the stress of it all. They do have different charges for different work they do. The last dealings I had for a solicitor recently was for one hour's work, including one letter – £240 + VAT, extortionate! They charge, or at least the one I went to did, in increments of six minutes so to receive an e-mail for instance, cost the minimum one-tenth of the hourly charge – £24 + VAT!
I found it easier to make a list prioritising what needed to be done as Executor and then ticking them off as completed. That ensures everything was done and in the order required.
There are things to do that are not easy. For instance if there is Inheritance Tax due, I understand that has to be paid
before property is sold, so getting a loan might be what has to be done. You will probably do a lot of the work yourselves, as to start with it's what most people would be doing anyway, such as notifying the correct government departments and also arranging a funeral, etc., etc. The link below to Age UK has information you might find helpful:
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalasset...ecutor_inf.pdf
This one also has details of what has to be done regarding finances:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/fa...-who-has-died/