Solicitor as executor

[BlackCatWhiteHat]

My dad died a couple of days ago and I am trying to get my head around what I need to arrange for him.

I have been looking after him for the past decade (shopping, admin, help with domestic tasks etc), more intensively recently as he became unwell, and we had plenty of conversations about the fact that he wanted to be cremated. (Which sounds a bit morbid now that I think if it, but he was elderly and unsurprisingly many of his peers have died in recent years, and these events prompted discussions about what he would like for his own funeral.)

I was surprised to find that he has named his solicitor as executor of his will - but this was less surprising once I realised he had not updated his will since I was a minor. (I am now in my 50s!)

I would be perfectly capable of executing his will myself, but don’t object to the solicitor doing it as this was clearly dad’s intent when the will was written. There are plenty of funds in the estate to pay for this. My concern is that forty years ago when he wrote the will he stated that he wanted to be buried, and more recently he has been very clear that he wants to be cremated and he has also been very precise about where he wants me to scatter his ashes. I am now dreading a situation where a person I’ve never met insists that I bury my dad against his wishes! I am hoping that some of the legal people here can set my mind at rest. Will the executing solicitor take his more recently expressed wishes into account on this issue?

I think the solicitor who helped him draft the will has since died, but the firm is still going so presumably one of them will then be the executor?

Thank you

Sorry for your loss.

I don't think wills usually deal with the deceased funeral matters. Have you seen a copy of the will?

Yes, there is a statement at the beginning that states he wants to be buried!

The rest of it all makes sense and matches what he told me he wants to happen with his home and property.

Write a note down of when your dad told you about his new decision, and subsequent mentions from him.

It might be easier to send an email about it to start.

Thank you, that's helpful. I am not thinking very clearly at the moment and I'm surprised by how much this simple detail is bothering me!

The solicitor is unlikely to enforce this. The will is legally about distributing his assets, not about what happens to his remains. If you are really concerned, you can probably go ahead with the cremation and just notify the solicitor one that’s already been done and dealt with.

Thank you 🙂

Anything he said about his funeral in his will is not legally binding. You are free to ignore the will and follow his wishes as expressed to you.

My mother mentioned a particular funeral plan in her Will, but by the time she died years later, this had been discarded. Her solicitor was the executor, I told him the new funeral arrangements and he released money from the estate to pay for it. He made no comment about the previous arrangements.