Will and executors

[Mumwithbaggage]

My lovely dad died a couple of weeks ago. I then got Covid from the ward he died on so am just trying to get stuff together like moving bills to my name before I inform the bank etc.

I have a copy of his will and am the sole beneficiary (will be sharing money with my 4 children obviously - I'm an only child - and house is in late df/dh and my name equally).

On the will the 2 executors are employees of the solicitors. Is this normal? And is it going to mean lots of extra hassle for me informing banks etc? Was talking to friends this morning who assumed I'd be executor? Is this normal?

Thanks

This is completely normal. We've just done a new will and the solicitors are our executors because they are impartial and have no self-interest in the will.

It's certainly very common. In theory they should be doing everything but if you want to do as much as you can first to save some money and then they would need to sign any IHT forms and any probate application as you have to send the will and they will be shown as executors.

Sorry about your dad

Thank you - not a situation I've found myself in before! Don't want to sound grabby but my dad was very frugal (retired clergyman) and I know he would rather his money went to help his grandchildren.

I'm so sorry about your Dad. Ideally the solicitors will take a similar approach as your late DF and be as conscientious as possible about costs and fees to do the required work. I'm sure you don't want to think about this now but you do need to know that because the solicitors charge for the work they do, there really is little to no motivation for them to be frugal and efficient to leave as much of the estate as possible to the beneficiary. That's why usually, as your friends have assumed, a family member or members are names as Executors who will do at least some of the work and can appoint a solicitor or probate company to do only the work necessary or everything if they really do not have the time or ability to do any of it themselves.
I really hope every goes smoothly for you.

You can ask the solicitors to renounce their job as executors, so long as they have not "intermeddled" in the estate, in other words started to act. They still owe their duty to your father. If it's a simple will, and you are the sole beneficiary and are willing to apply for probate yourself, then it's difficult to see how it could be in your father's interest for his estate to be depleted by professional fees.

You may also want to refer the firm of solicitors to the Law Society practice note on appointing professional executors, see The Law Society: Appointment of a professional executor (you have to subscribe to see the note in full). Under the section Renouncing probate the note says:

"You should also consider whether, at the date of death, circumstances have changed from the time the client appointed you or your firm, and what is now in the best interests of the estate, including whether the administration of the estate could easily be handled by a lay executor."

opheliathrupps that's really interesting, thank you. It does concern me a little that there's a declaration Section 19 of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act (conferring rights of beneficiaries to appoint/remove trustees)shall not apply.

*Crumbs22" I think my lovely dad was trying to make stuff easier for me, and he also just always trusted solicitors etc. Sad thing is, we're all pretty capable of making sensible decisions (plus dd1 did a law degree and masters before changing careers). There are a couple of things I think are not great about the will anyway including a spelling mistake that has been corrected by hand! It was only 2011 - they had computers!!