Do you have to sign paperwork to confirm you are Executor of a will?

[basilbrush]

5 years ago my godfather asked me to be Executor on his will. I agreed but have to admit I had very little idea what it entailed. I heard no more about it and didn't sign any forms etc.

Sadly he died suddenly last week. Am in right in assuming that if he'd made a will with me as Executor I would have had to sign paperwork? So this must mean either he never made a will or that he decided on someone else as Executor?

I'm hoping this is the case as I am concerned that I would not be able to manage all the legal responsibilities at the moment.

Hi basil, I was an executor and didn't have to sign anything. I turned up at the solicitor that held the will with ID.

It's not compulsory, I believe there is a way to hand over the responsibility to someone else but I don't know how you'd do that.

No an executor is nominated by the person composing the will.

You don't need to sign anything for someone to appoint you in their will. If you don't want to do the job of executor you can opt out - the solicitors dealing will be able to sort this for you, it is straightforward and fairly common. The responsibility would pass to the other executors (if any) or if not there are rules to determine who is entitled to apply for the grant of probate (usually the residual beneficiaries). It isn't a big deal, don't take it on if you don't want to.

I was executor for my aunt’s will. Her solicitor contacted me, but I knew I was executor - I don’t think I signed anything beforehand except I had signed a power of attorney in case she could not make decisions on her own. The solicitor contacted me to ask to send a notarised proof of who I was and then the whole process started. We got the solicitor to sort out all the probate etc as my aunt had left quite a complicated will with lots of small bequests and bank accounts everywhere.....

Thanks for your replies! So all I can do is wait and see if a solicitor contacts me and then take it from there ?

Do you know where the will is and whether a solicitor is dealing with it? If so, you could just write to them to say you think you have been named as executor for Mr X and you want to renounce the appointment.

To be able to act as executor for most purposes you would need to apply for a grant of probate. Others can apply instead of you, and you will be said to have "power reserved" or something like that.

Being named executor in a will doesn't oblige the named person to do anything.

No, I have no idea who solicitor is or where will might be. I could make inquiries at funeral but that might look a bit insensitive

If he wanted you as an executor it means he trusted you to take the will to probate and be sure his wishes were seen. That to me would include contacting nearest family and asking if they have the will

Your responsibility is to see that the will is executed. And I believe it is a legal duty. You can refuse. The lawyer may do the bulk of it anyway but you kind of represent the person whose will it is - you make sure that his wishes are complied with. There's often two people named as executors.
If you know who his lawyer is you can contact them and ask, but as the will can express whether the deceased wants to be cremated or buried etc it is surprising if you haven't been contacted (assuming they have your current contact details).

@pipandmum yes, that's a good point about his funeral wishes

There need not necessarily be a solicitor involved, though it seems likely. If the will is stored by a solicitor there is no reason why they might know your uncle has died. If there are other relatives you should ask them.

As bad been said, there may not be solicitors involved at all. DH and I have been executors 3 times and solicitors haven't been involved on any of those occasions. The first question really is to find out where his will is.

Do you know there was actually a will in place with a solicitor?

No, strangely you don’t have to sign, I found out I was named by a friend and had to tell him no.

If you get contacted you can turn it down. There are two ways I think.

If you scroll down, there’s a section that covers it

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/dealing-with-the-financial-affairs-of-someone-who-has-died/#h-if-you-are-an-executor-and-you-do-not-wish-to-act

Thanks, this is useful.