[Closed] Being a will executor in England

My wife was executor (along with another neighbour) to an old lady and good friend over the road (who had no children).

It's a few years ago now but from what I can remember the legal side of things weren't too bad. The downside was because there was no family all proceeds from the house sale were left to charity. And the executors had the job of clearing the house for sale. The charities were a right pain-in-the-arse too, just no patience and constant badgering to get their money.

They were both left a couple of thousand in the will to cover their time and hassle, which softened things a little.

If it were me I'd advise that they nominate a solicitor to handle things. It'll cost more but if there's no family to inherit anything it won't matter.

I would say yes but only in conjunction with a solicitor unless its really straightforward

its better to have someone who is not a solicitor involved IMO but the solicitor can take a lot of the unknown and hassle out of it

this is how I have dealt with Julies estate.  The solicitor and me and both executors so I can do stuff while awaiting probate but the solicitor deals with all the hassle.  Usual cost is around 3% of the estate IIRC

What has Will done to deserve that?

What has Will done to deserve that?

He'll just be glad no one's shooting at him. 🙂

Do you know that your personal circumstances won't change between now and when you're called upon?
It can be quite time-consuming depending on what state the estate is in, e.g carrier bags full of paper or a proper filing system. Lots of stuff to sell or simple cash in the bank?
If there are beneficiaries that you're friendly with then being executor can cause conflict so I'd ask for a minimum of sharing the duties with a probate solicitor.
As executor you can be held responsible for any errors that you make, but you can also back out if there are other executors.
If you take the job on solo then you can change your mind and appoint a solicitor as administrator, but you'll still be executor and retain responsibility
IANAS

I asked a good friend to be executor for me, she 'll be well rewarded for the effort. The last 2 deaths I know of have ended up with massive family disputes.

Problems are q easy to predict, if there are say 4 beneficiaries of very different means, all getting equal amounts, expect the ones for whom the inheritance means a lot to be v difficult.

Check the will is up to date and legal, also that your reward is stipulated in the will, with some indexation if you don't expect to be doing it for a few years.

Problems are q easy to predict, if there are say 4 beneficiaries of very different means, all getting equal amounts, expect the ones for whom the inheritance means a lot to be v difficult.

I've seen it be the other way round too - the difficult ones were the ones who needed the cash the least!

Cheers for the advice folks. Given their circumstances and the general absence of relatives I expect it would be a fairly simple process so I've said a sort of qualified yes.

Some duties can be done remotely but you'll likely need to make at least one trip to the property to get paperwork and get keys, and if there are and specific heirlooms that have been left to someone.

The legal and money stuff can all be done remotely.

There are companies that do house clearances. Some charge, some don't charge, and some even pay you. This usually depends on the value of the furniture and what is agreed with the firm.

You can pay to have the house cleaned, and then instruct an estate agent to deal with the sale.

The executor can be as hands on or hands off as they want. The executors time and reasonable expenses can be claimed from the estate also. This would be separate from any 'fee' or inheritance specifically left to them.

I'm going through this at the moment. You're maybe only really going to need a solicitor if the will is likely to get contested, or there's an irregularity or issue with it (for example the probate office want a completely unmarked, pristine, original-only copy of the will)...
I've heard of a case where someone has ended up with a useless solicitor, its dragged on for months, cost money, and they end up DIY-ing it...
Note that before you can apply for probate you have to accurately value the entire estate, which the lovely people at HMRC will tell you includes small change, pictures on the wall, all effects and belongings, you have to go back through seven years of their bank statements looking for potential gifts that were given away, etc, etc. Only once you have done this, come up with an accurate figure with evidence, including a probate estimate for any house/property(ies), investments, other money that may come in after death (eg may be a pension credit) minus funeral costs etc, can you actually apply for probate and be able to liquidate their property.
HMRC can challenge your case any time for up to 10 years so you have to keep all records.
I'd only do it for family tbh, and I guess the closer you are to the inheritance tax limit the sniffier HMRC might get about it.
You'll also probably have to deal with things like council tax exemption on the property, take up responsibility for bills (eg leccy) until the property is disposed of, etc. Not sure if you would be able to get fast access to any bank account(s) they had left to cover this, I think it depends on the size of their final balance, but you might need probate first (I got almost instant access but it helped I'm a close relative with the same bank).
Its not been as bad as it sounds but as it tends to be a stressful / upsetting time I can see why people would want the weight taken off their shoulders and go for a solicitor.

LOL at that depiction of the valuation process. Get an auctioneer to give an estimate, he'll spend 5 mins walking round the house and give a ridiculously low figure, which no-one will ever query.

I'd happily agree to be executor (in fact I'm currently acting as such in two cases which have dragged on a while) but expect to appoint a professional to do all the donkeywork.