The appointment of an Executor in your Will should be a carefully considered appointment. There is a great deal of responsibility to make sure an Estate is administered properly and that the wishes stated in your Will are carried out. Five key responsibilities are highlighted below:
– Identifying your Assets
Your Executors will need to identify your assets, which could include, but is not limited to the following: a property, car, items of high value such as jewelry or paintings, premium bonds, your pensions and any bank or building society accounts that you own at the date of your death. Sometimes, this can be a difficult task, particularly if you have had many bank accounts open during your lifetime and it is not known which accounts are active and which accounts are closed. It can be helpful, therefore, to keep all of your recent account statements together so that they are able to be easily accessed at the appropriate time. It is important to note, that as solicitors, we are also able to carry out a financial asset search to identify any dormant accounts, which can be of great assistance, and this is one of the reasons why some Executors prefer to instruct Oliver & Co Solicitors to assist them in this daunting task after your death.
– Safeguarding Estate Assets
As soon as your Executors have identified all of your assets, they will then need to take steps to safeguard them. If there is a property, they will need to make sure that the property is insured and that the correct type of home insurance cover is in place. If the Executors suspect that there are any items of high value, then it is likely that a professional probate valuation would need to be carried out and proper steps taken to safeguard and, if necessary, insure the items. The banks and other institutions will also need to be informed and the accounts frozen pending probate.
– Identifying any Debts
Your Executors will also need to identify any outstanding debts such as, mortgages, credit card bills, council tax bills and any other outstanding debts. The various debts will need to be noted and paid following probate, if a Grant of Probate is required. Sometimes, Executors can feel pressured to pay the various debts, but it is important to note that only the funeral account should be paid at this stage, and all of the other accounts should remain frozen pending probate. The funeral invoice can be presented to your bank, and they will arrange to pay the funeral directors directly from your account, but this is the only payment that they will permit. Sometimes, it can be helpful to appoint a professional Executor, such as a solicitor, if it is felt that those closest to you would find this stage of the process overwhelming.
– Valuing the Estate
Once all the assets and debts have been identified, it is necessary to value the Estate in order to determine whether it is appropriate for the Estate to be reported to HM Revenue and Customs. Some Executors can find this task particularly overwhelming, and it is often at this point that Solicitors can be of great assistance. We are able to advise on the current inheritance tax threshold and the correct circumstances in which the value of the Estate must be reported to HM Revenue and Customs. There have been some recent changes in the law, which means that for deaths on or after 1 January 2022, if the gross value of the Estate does not exceed £3 million and there is no inheritance tax to pay because of the spouse or charity exemption, then it will be classed as an ‘excepted estate’ and it will not be necessary to complete the more complex inheritance tax account.
– Administering the Estate
Your Executors will need to administer your Estate properly, in accordance with the wishes in your Will. This could include identifying and contacting the people who you have mentioned in your Will and arranging for transfers of money to them. It means that your Executors are responsible to the chosen beneficiaries of your Will for ensuring they receive the correct amount from your Estate. As solicitors, we can assist with this task by preparing Estate Accounts, showing the monies received into the Estate, the monies paid out of the Estate and the amount due to each of the beneficiaries of your Will. We also take steps to make sure that we make the payments out to the correct beneficiaries, which means taking identification documentation and due diligence. It is for this reason, that many people chose to appoint a professional Executor, such as Oliver & Co Solicitors to act, particularly if they have a high value Estate or many different assets. It can help to take the pressure off family members during a difficult time. However, if Oliver & Co Solicitors were to act as professional Executors, then we would charge for the work done in terms of administering your Estate, but we do normally work closely with family members to keep costs as low as possible.
If you would like any assistance with preparing a Will, then please contact us.
