Executorship: Not a job for the faint-hearted

Ruth Emery in the Sunday Times highlighted that dealing with a person’s estate can turn into a costly nightmare.  Only this morning I have received a telephone call from a client who has been identified as ‘next of kin’ by a friend who has just died.  The client is not however next of kin, there is a surviving sister who in the case of this intestacy must bear the responsibility of being Personal Representative for her late sister.  We advised our client, who had already made an initial engagement with a funeral director, that arranging the funeral incurs personal responsibility and that she must immediately step aside for the sister to take over.  The role of executor involves finding details of all assets and debts, applying for Probate, keeping records about the estate, paying all taxes due, settling debts and distributing the estate to beneficiaries either under the terms of the Will or according to the law of intestacy.  A recent survey advised that 1 in 8 described the experience as ‘a complete nightmare.’  The administration of the estate may not end with the terms of the Will, it may also be in the interest of beneficiaries to consider a Deed of Variation of the Will.  With a collective experience of over 100 years advising in draft Wills and administering estates, the Private Client Team has supported clients in facing many problems but new areas of law are always developing, for example the digital legacy of a client.

Please do not hesitate to contact me you if have any queries in relation to the above.

Judy Dyke
Director & Solicitor

Find out more about Judy here.
Contact Judy