Distributing money as they ‘see fit’

[fisherhatesgravel72]

If a diy will that has been witnessed, states the executor is to distribute the estate as they ‘see fit’ (no property, spouse or children) Is that legally binding? What is stopping the executor keeping it themselves? Can they donate it all to charity as they are considering doing or can it be contested?

I'm not a legal expert, but the executor has to follow the wishes of the deceased's Will. What does the Will say?

Perhaps 'as they see fit' refers to when the probate has been granted and the estate is nearly ready to be distributed. For example, whether the executor will pay out any interim payments, keeping some back for unexpected costs, or wait until everything is complete.

Any will can be contested in specific circumstances but the costs are usually enormous so only worth doing with large estates. If someone has been reliant on the deceased for their daily living then they might have a claim. But generally people are allowed to dispose of their possessions however they want and tasking an executor is a reasonable choice if the executor accepts the task. The executor choosing to donate it all to charity would be reasonable unless the wording specifically said "distribute it among my living relatives as they see fit" - if it doesn't specify then the executor has free rein.

Is any guidance given as to what would qualify as being ‘fit’?

What is the relationship of the executor to the potential beneficiaries?

Is there a back-story as to who the executor is and why it would be a problem?

What would the testator ‘see fit’ in the same way the executor would?

If you want a particular thing to happen with your estate (that’s within legal limits) then the only way to ensure that happens is to write it in your will. Don’t rely on horrible Aunt Mildred to not keep everything for herself.

There’s no back story. It’s an elderly relative with no dependants, just mostly retired nephews and nieces, the majority don’t bother with her. She feels bad leaving some people out, so washing her hands of it and leaving the executor to decide! The executor thinks it might not be valid and everyone will have a claim on the estate.

If there is no spouse, no children and no other dependents, then there doesn't appear to be any reason stopping the executor donating all the money to charity if that's what they'd like to do. The deceased clearly trusted them to deal with their estate in an appropriate manner.

its not a big estate (about 85k savings) The executor isn’t close to his cousins so isn’t bothered about falling out with some of them. He doesn’t want any of the money so wants to split it between 3 people and a charity the aunt supports.

Sounds fine.

If none of the cousins etc are financially dependent on your relative then it’s unlikely they’d have a claim on the estate.

It would probably cost more to challenge the will in court than what they’d get under the will.

It sounds like the sort of thing that would be more hassle than simply naming chosen beneficiaries in her will, especially for the executor.

Challenging wills in court is ridiculously costly and high risk, but a relative with nothing to lose could make things tricky for the executor.

When DH and I had to make wills in a hurry because reasons, we did similar as a will stopgap in case we both died at the same time. With the executor's agreement, we left everything we owned to the one person and named them as executor. There were pets to rehome or place with rescues, and other outgoings. It suited us and our circumstances perfectly but you do have to really trust your person and to know that they can either deal with any dissenting people who had expectations or that there aren't any.

If I was the executor in this circumstance I would distribute the estate exactly in keeping with the rules of intestacy (what happens if you leave no Will at all)

That would be to divide the estate into equal parts fir each full sibling of the deceased (whether living or dead) and giving that whole share to any such sibling who is living, and passing on/dividing as necessary between the offspring of any such siblings who are already dead.

There are no siblings left just their children. She says every now and again ‘you give it to who you think deserves it’ What a decision to make !

Thank you for your advice will pass it on. They were worried if they left certain people out they would get into trouble as it was a do it yourself will.

"There are no siblings left just their children."

If the estate were to be distributed under the intestacy rules then the children of the siblings (nephews/nieces) would share equally.
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"What is stopping the executor keeping it themselves?"

It all depends on exactly what the will says but, it would appear that there is nothing that would prevent that happening.

"Can they donate it all to charity as they are considering doing or can it be contested?"

Yes, they certainly can. The only people that can contest the will are the spouse, children or anyone else who was dependant on the person who has died.
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"...mostly retired nephews and nieces, the majority don’t bother with her."

[emphasis added]

Well, I can quite understand her not wishing to pass anything on to them. Unless there are any that she particularly wants to give some money to then leaving it to a charity that she would approve of sounds like a good idea.

@AtoC If the estate were to be distributed under the intestacy rules then the children of the siblings (nephews/nieces) would share equally.

On the contrary. They would only share equally if each sibling had an equal number of offspring.

Each original sibling (now deceased) would be assigned an equal share of the estate. Each niece/nephew gets the appropriate portion of their deceased parent's share, divided equally with their respective siblings. So if there's one original sibling that had an only-child, and another original sibling had 5 children, then the only-child would receive 5 times more than the others.

obviously the nieces/nephews with siblings will feel hard done by, and that they should have an equal share. If the deceased cared about that, then making a proper Will would have been the right thing to do, so clearly didn't care.

Sorry, yes, you're quite right.

Personally if I were executor Id either distribute according to intestate rules per PP above or leave it ALL to charity. Giving a bit to one or two people is problematic IMHO and more likely to give rise to complaints etc
Whereas if it all goes to Dogs Trust then everyone will just end up saying Aunt Bessie did love her dogs or whatnot

As you are the executor, would she accept it if you paid for proper legal advice and a watertight will? It might be worth it for the trouble it will save you later.

There are two risks to consider - a realistic challenge to the will and the ability to just make the executors life difficult. It doesn’t seem like the first is likely, unless any would-be challenger could argue the will wasn’t completed with the appropriate formalities to be valid - always possible for a DIY but nothing specific you/executor appear to be aware of. The second is the bigger risk where the executors job can be made difficult and stressful by those who are annoyed / upset. I wouldn’t agree to be executor in such circumstances and would ask that the will is more specific if I was going to take the role as the testator is basically pushing the difficulty she is having onto the executor.

£85k would make a huge difference to a small
local charity supporting families / children in need so I would definitely hope the executor just gives it all to somewhere that will make a big difference

If she's still alive now, and were asking me to be the executor, I would tell her which three people and charity I was planning to give it to, and if she had any objections she could let me know. If she didn't have any objections I'd probably try to convince her to change the will to what I intended to do anyway, or at least write a note to confirm that she knew what it was.

Just get a proper Will done. If she won’t, tell her you won’t be the executor. This is a world of pain waiting to happen.