A member of our North Devon Wills team relates the story of a very sad case that crossed her desk recently.
An elderly man recently died, leaving a Will in which appointed his second wife and a son from his first marriage (his only child) as executors. There was an ongoing Trust in the Will. So, after administering the Estate, the Executors were due to become the Trustees of the life interest Trust in favour of the wife for her lifetime. Potentially therefore there was an expectation that the wife and son would have to work together for a number of years to come.
It was immediately apparent that the wife and the son just did not get on and there was a lot of animosity between them. Wider family members became involved and clearly added fuel to the fire. The two of them could not even agree about the Deceased’s funeral arrangements. Both parties put forward strong and compelling arguments as to why the other party was at fault and why their position was the correct one. Both parties were absolutely convinced they were morally right and the other was morally wrong. It was a real struggle to get them to reach agreement so that their loved one could be laid to rest in a dignified way. What was an extremely sad and distressing situation for both of them was exacerbated by their anger and undoubtedly this in turn intensified their grief.
Both parties wanted to appoint me to act for them in the administration of the Estate. However, due to the very clear conflict that existed between them, I did not think it was professionally appropriate for me to act. My duties as a solicitor required me to advise both of them to seek independent legal representation.
Basically the Executors role is to collect in the assets of the Deceased, settle their debts and liabilities and then to distribute the Estate according to the terms of the Will and the law. If there are ongoing Trusts in the Will, then the Executors will, in the majority of cases, become the Trustees of those Trusts.
Anyone may be appointed as an Executor providing they are eighteen years old or over and have mental capacity. Any number of people may be appointed but a Grant of Probate will not be issued to more than four Executors. It is advisable to check with prospective Executors before you appoint them in a Will to ensure that they are willing to assume the responsibility of administering your Estate and any ongoing Trusts. Furthermore, as my recent case demonstrates, it is sensible to ensure where you appoint more than one Executor, that they all get on and can work with one another. If they cannot work together, then apart from the emotional suffering they will each personally endure, the financial cost to the Estate is likely to be high. With this in mind I would always advise people who are planning to appoint their partner together with a child (or children) from a previous relationship to think carefully about it. After all, you are the glue that holds what can be a fragile and delicate relationship together. When the glue dissolves it quite often follows that those relationships fall apart, leaving the type of situation described above.
For advice on making a Will and administering an estate contact our specialist probate solicitors today for a free appraisal and details of the likely costs.
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