Will - beneficiary but not executor - do I have to hand over responsibility to executor?

[GloveFromAbove]

I’m the sole beneficiary of a will (of a living person) but not the executor. I don’t get on with the person who is the executor (mutual feeling).

When this person passes away, do I have to hand over all responsibility for sorting the personal effects/house etc to the executor? This will be very hurtful/hard for me as there’s lots of personal effects that have sentimental value to me. The will says they are responsible for selling/getting rid of any effects/house and discharging the funds to me. I hate to think the executor is just going to have a house clearance firm (which is what will happen) and I can’t keep anything.

At present I have PoA for finances which I manage. When this person dies will I have to just hand the keys/any financial details over and wait until I get a payment?

Thank you

Why don’t you talk to the living person and have them vary who the executor will be?

Does the person who made the will still have the capacity to alter it?

If the will really leaves everything to you, then no - all the effects, as well as the house, will become your property, they will have no right to sell them, or do anything with them, unless the will specifically directs them to.

No the person who made the will sadly no longer had capacity. I didn’t even know I was the beneficiary until after they lost capacity and I was going through their financial stuff. I thought I was the executor (which was what they’d told me) but it appears I’m not. The executor is a strange choice tbh. Not family or friend, but a work colleague.
Maybe the person who made the will was coerced but at the time of it being made I think they still had capacity. Not as sharp as they could have been but still had agency over their own decisions.

@PatriciaHolm the will actually says they must dispose of any property as they see fit and give the funds to me.
So the executor could sell a house for buttons and throw all of the personal effects in the bin if they wanted?

The executor has a legal duty to act in your best interests, and to get the best possible price for any property sold etc. So you could challenge any decisions they make and they would be personally liable.

Is it likely they would even try to sabotage you? Would they agree to sign over these duties?

No they wouldn’t sign over the duties. Definitely not.

I just think I’d find it excruciatingly hard to just hand over keys after this person passes away. For the executor to dispose of everything in the house without me even having a say. I suppose I’m asking if legally this is ok - is that what has to happen? Once the person goes, I can’t get back into the house as the executor takes over?

What a horrible position to be in.
I hope you get some solid advice here.

Can you not hold onto sone items now to keep them safe? Make a detailed list and leave with will /executor/relative .

At worse, the will is changed so you don't benefit and you give them back?

I don't see though how that would be committing any crime? Would the executor chase you through the courts so they can then Chuck/sell the stuff and give you the proceeds? And if they did, what court would grant then the right to do this.

I think you’d be well within your rights to keep the keys, as you are the sole beneficiary.

You could make a list of any items you remove.

You could put it in writing early on that as dole beneficiary you wish to be consulted on all decisions pertaining to the house and its contents.

Is it likely they’ll act maliciously? Or are you just worried because you don’t historically get on?

And executors can only claim legal fees against the estate if it's reasonable to do so, not by them pursuing pointless legal action against the sole beneficiary!

Else they could just spend everything on lawyers and run the estate down to nothing. Which wouldn't be allowed.

You have p.o.a. for property and finance, which only exists whilst your relative is alive. You have to act in your relative's interests, but if you know that it is in your relative's wish to pass these items on to you, rather than sell them, then you might check with a solicitor whether you could remove them for safekeeping now, or at least get them listed and valued, so that any attempt to sell them for less could be regarded as not fulfilling the role of executor effectively. If you know it is your relatives wish that you should have these items, then it is in their interest that you should support them.

I found this with a quick google search: "If Executors and Beneficiaries cannot agree on how to divide the household possessions, then all those involved can choose to seek independent legal advice. . ."

So even better, get the legal advice now, and prepare the way, so that if the executor tries to dispose of/sell everything, you are prepared.

OP disregard everything nosquirrels has said they are entirely wrong as are several other posters.

I understand that advice given on here is normally well meaning but so much is wrong it becomes unhelpful.

You would not be handing over responsibility because you do not have the responsibility in the first place and PoA is an entirely different unrelated document.

If the testator has lost capacity it is too late to ask them to change the will.

When the time comes you can ask them to renounce thier postition but they aren’t obligated to do so. They are however obligated to follow what the will says.

There is nothing stopping you from making a deed of variation so that sentimental items could be kept not sold but obviously you’d need to do this before the executor sells them. It isn’t hard to do it’s a form you can download. There should be nothing stopping you from buying these items from the the estate.

I would be weary of contesting the will on the grounds of coercion or lack of capacity as if either is found to be the case and there is no earlier will the laws of intestacy would like come into play and depending on your relationship with the testator you may find yourself disinherited as an unintended consequence.

@Bamski

OP disregard everything nosquirrels has said they are entirely wrong as are several other posters.

I understand that advice given on here is normally well meaning but so much is wrong it becomes unhelpful.

You would not be handing over responsibility because you do not have the responsibility in the first place and PoA is an entirely different unrelated document.

If the testator has lost capacity it is too late to ask them to change the will.

When the time comes you can ask them to renounce thier postition but they aren’t obligated to do so. They are however obligated to follow what the will says.

There is nothing stopping you from making a deed of variation so that sentimental items could be kept not sold but obviously you’d need to do this before the executor sells them. It isn’t hard to do it’s a form you can download. There should be nothing stopping you from buying these items from the the estate.

I would be weary of contesting the will on the grounds of coercion or lack of capacity as if either is found to be the case and there is no earlier will the laws of intestacy would like come into play and depending on your relationship with the testator you may find yourself disinherited as an unintended consequence.

I’m perfectly prepared to be wrong, Bamski, but as the OP is the sole beneficiary of the will, there’s no suggestion she needs to contest it - I’m not sure why you’ve said that?

It’s merely how the executor may act after the death - that they may not in fact act on her best interests and sell the contents out of spite rather than offer them to her.

The will itself isn’t contested and the house and its contents are all left to OP.

It’s good to know there’s an official form OP can fill in though rather than just making a list. But why would she need to buy them from the estate when ‘the estate’ is left to OP in its entirety?

Without having seen the will but based on what the op has said the instructions to the executor are to convert the estate to cash. If the executor follows this and insists on selling the items then the way to keep hold of the sentimental items would be to buy them.

In practice the executor and the beneficiary would have a sensible conversation and not need to go down that route but again, taking the op at thier word it may be a solution to that problem.

Thanks all.

Yes there are sentimental items in the house but my main concern is that as soon as the person dies (I’m their next of kin) this executor will just dispose of stuff, whether they sell it or Chuck it, I don’t feel ready to get rid of the stuff. It’s like having my childhood home dismantled under my eyes.
Even if I make a list now and remove things, there’s no guarantee the executor wouldn’t want them back to sell when the death happens.

Is there any way I can stop this person being executor?

Bamski is right, the instructions of the will say to convert to cash. Which the executor can choose to do with what they want as long as it benefits me. I don’t want them to invest it or anything else.

speak to a soclitor about taking those items now for safekeeping,

See what potential offence you may be committing. I can;t think you are. The executor would have no case to say you must return them so they can throw away/sell for £1. They must act in your best interest,

Also check with a solicitor if you can instruct the executor to NOT convery into cash but transfer everything of physical property straight to you. Surely that would be far cheaper for them to do? than try and sell and arrange clearances, therefore more payout for you.

You can't stop them being executor, because the person who made the will has no capacity.

But there will surely be a way in which you can stop them doing anything with the possessions or house that you do not agree to, given that you are the sole beneficiary and that the executor has to act in your best interests.

I think I would do as burnout describes and contact a solicitor to find out how best to approach it.

Are you sure this person will be so malicious as to not consult with you over what happens? It just seems so unlikely, refusing to discuss or coordinate with the sole beneficiary. I understand that it is worrying you, and so you should definitely find out how to officially prevent anything happening that would be distressing or not in your best interests, but remember that it is a legal duty they are undertaking. They can't just do what they want, because they need to prove they're acted in your best interests. It would be hard to prove that if you were on record saying that you wanted to be involved with decisions made over the contents of the estate.

Do you have access to the items that you're worried would be disposed of? If so could you take these into your custody now? I think that's what I would do.

I echo what others have said, you should go and seek professional advice. Bear in mind the duty of care you currently owe this person as their financial PoA before you start contemplating removing things now.

At the risk of repeating myself as the sole beneficiary you have two broad choices 1. A deed of variation. You could have this drafted and ready to hand over to the Executor when the time comes.

1. Buy the items from the estate. Remember as the sole beneficiary you would receive the proceeds eventually anyway, so other than the impact it may have on you from a cash flow perspective you could massively overpay knowing you’ll get the money back. The executor has a fiduciary duty to you as the beneficiary and they would be in breach of that they were to reject your excessive offer! If you were buying the home then there would of course be stamp duty, whereas there wouldn't be if it’s handed over as part of the distribution of the estate. Hopefully though the executor would see how ridiculous the situation is and not actually force you to go down this route.

But please don’t take the word of a stranger on the internet, you have too much at stake. Go and seek proper professional advice.

I agree with Bamski. A deed of variation should be achievable since you are the sole beneficiary.

And if there are specific sentimental things you want kept then you can could notify the executor that you will beat any sale offer he has by 10%, (and of course remove transactional costs) so he would be in breach of his obligations to sell it to anyone else - this is based on the logic of the situation rather than specific legal expertise.

Thanks all. I will seek legal advice. I’m sure the executor won’t cooperate but it’s good to know I have a legal basis for my complaint.