Probate - Executor of Will

[somapop]

Hi all (something else to add to the arse end of a long, miserable-ish winter).

My mother passed away late last year and as executor of the will I've been dealing with correspondence with the solicitors.
As of this week the probate has been completed at around the same time as her house was sold (after torrid up and downs/sales falling through).

i've no experience in this at all, and mistakingly though probate would also include dealing with the will.
However, it looks like it's down to me to collect in all assets, pay any liabilities and distribute in accordance with the will.
I've closed down her accounts, paid of any outstanding bills, overpayments of pensions and let the shares companies know.
As far as I know, all that should be tied up. No idea what liabilities are in this context.

I'll be honest, I wanted closure asap and a fresh start to the new year and hoping this doesn't get messy.
Without going into too much detail I've not spoken to my sister in years, only meeting her as my mother passed away. Not a particular pleasant person (I'm being polite here but fill your boots with the depths this type of person would sink to to rip my mother off whilst alive).
She has children too, and were all reliant on my mother. There is some of the will given over to them but I'm not 100% convinced they wouldn't try and contest. That's a long, dark story that doesn't need tapping into anymore :(

I guess I'm asking for advice on what I need to be doing at this stage (with regards to distributing, assets etc). This is totally new territory for me, and I don't really have any one close family wise any more to go to.

I've briefly mentioned this to the solicitors and they can offer advice, but I'd be looking at £250 per hour and I'm not sure if I need t or not.

If anyone has a moment (PM if possible) I'd be most grateful.

 

[hammocity]

Hi all (something else to add to the arse end of a long, miserable-ish winter).

My mother passed away late last year and as executor of the will I've been dealing with correspondence with the solicitors.
As of this week the probate has been completed at around the same time as her house was sold (after torrid up and downs/sales falling through).

i've no experience in this at all, and mistakingly though probate would also include dealing with the will.
However, it looks like it's down to me to collect in all assets, pay any liabilities and distribute in accordance with the will.
I've closed down her accounts, paid of any outstanding bills, overpayments of pensions and let the shares companies know.
As far as I know, all that should be tied up. No idea what liabilities are in this context.

I'll be honest, I wanted closure asap and a fresh start to the new year and hoping this doesn't get messy.
Without going into too much detail I've not spoken to my sister in years, only meeting her as my mother passed away. Not a particular pleasant person (I'm being polite here but fill your boots with the depths this type of person would sink to to rip my mother off whilst alive).
She has children too, and were all reliant on my mother. There is some of the will given over to them but I'm not 100% convinced they wouldn't try and contest. That's a long, dark story that doesn't need tapping into anymore :(

I guess I'm asking for advice on what I need to be doing at this stage (with regards to distributing, assets etc). This is totally new territory for me, and I don't really have any one close family wise any more to go to.

I've briefly mentioned this to the solicitors and they can offer advice, but I'd be looking at £250 per hour and I'm not sure if I need t or not.

If anyone has a moment (PM if possible) I'd be most grateful.

If you need any advice on Probate give big Blue Solicitor Mark Ryan of Ashton a call, he dealt with ours. Top lad at reasonable prices, my sister works for his friend who is a Financial Advisor.

I’ve recommended to another poster on here who’s using him, PM me if you need further info. Doesn’t really matter where you live and as I say he loves the Blues and is a very competent professional, he is known as “Mr Probate”!

Mark L Ryan Solicitor

Mark L Ryan Solicitor is a law firm based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. Mark L Ryan Solicitor guarantees that all clients of the firm will receive a personal service that is tailored to their individual needs.

www.marklryan.co.uk

 

[somapop]

If you need any advice on Probate give big Blue Solicitor Mark Ryan of Ashton a call, he dealt with ours. Top lad at reasonable prices, my sister works for his friend who is a Financial Advisor.

I’ve recommended to another poster on here who’s using him, PM me if you need further info. Doesn’t really matter where you live and as I say he loves the Blues and is a very competent professional, he is known as “Mr Probate”!

Mark L Ryan Solicitor

Mark L Ryan Solicitor is a law firm based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. Mark L Ryan Solicitor guarantees that all clients of the firm will receive a personal service that is tailored to their individual needs.

www.marklryan.co.uk

^^ Ahh, probate is now complete.
I'm just wondering how messy the distribution of the will is and if it's something I need advice on or if it's relatively straightforward.

Thanks.

 

[anyoldblu]

Depends on the will. If you can work with a simple spreadsheet it's easy.

All the income on one side, all the willed payments on the other.

Pay out according to the distribution in the will.

I'm wondering why you had solicitors in the mix at all. Presumably, you had to use them for the house sale?

 

[mr t]

I don’t know your exact circumstance so can I only generalise.

You can do everything yourself but you need to be in the right state of mind to be able to do it.

You can use solicitors to do it all for you which will take a lot of the stress of the situation off you but you will pay for their services and they don’t come cheap.

Other than that you’ve not really got any more options as far as I’m aware.

So it may be best to do everything yourself if you feel up to it but if not then let someone else do it for you unless of course you can’t / don’t want to pay for their services.

As executor of the will it is your decision as to how to proceed no matter what other folk think you should be doing.

Good luck with it all.

 

[hammocity]

^^ Ahh, probate is now complete.
I'm just wondering how messy the distribution of the will is and if it's something I need advice on or if it's relatively straightforward.

Thanks.

Mark is probably a good guy to go to for that advice without incurring 250 an hour but good luck whichever you go.

 

[Slipper One]

I was lucky being co-executor for my mother, because I have my cousin who has a little experience in the process.

My mother was diagnosed with cancer just before Christmas in December 2019, so I flew over to spend Christmas and New Year with her. We used that time to outline and put to paper all her arrangements and wishes, which it turn made executing her will to the letter much easier after she died in June 2020.

It was all a fairly straightforward process, but made greatly easier by having my cousin also working on it in the UK. I suppose it was a lot easier once her house had been sold.

The final part is me laying her granite marker in May where her ashes are buried and that’s it all complete. Job done, everything as much as we could, as she requested!!

The latter is what we tried hardest to do…….what she would have wanted.

You'll need to work with a solicitor, but I'd try the Internet and The Google first, there's a lot of information there before paying for advice.

 

[Gaylord du Bois]

I've done it a few times myself. Once before the internet existed and even then it wasn't too difficult.
Are you sole executor ?
Have you set up an account for the proceeds of the deceased estate ? If not do so.
Keep an inventory of the in/out and have everything paid in and from here. Once you're sufficiently happy that all debts have been paid and proceeds have been collected, divide the estate according to the will. It's fairly straightforward really with plenty of help online these days.

Dealing with the financial affairs of someone who has died

Information on the role of the executor or administrator in dealing with the estate of a deceased person.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

I've done it a few times myself. Once before the internet existed and even then it wasn't too difficult.
Are you sole executor ?
Have you set up an account for the proceeds of the deceased estate ? If not do so.
Keep an inventory of the in/out and have everything paid in and from here. Once you're sufficiently happy that all debts have been paid and proceeds have been collected, divide the estate according to the will. It's fairly straightforward really with plenty of help online these days.

Dealing with the financial affairs of someone who has died

Information on the role of the executor or administrator in dealing with the estate of a deceased person.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

This is good advice if you think it could get messy with the sister.

Normally your mum's bank account would just have its name changed with 'executors of' placed in front. Then just star consolidating the cash in there and paying out costs until all you have is cash sat there. Then you pay out and close the account. I would assume legal costs can be covered in the costs.

If there is a risk it gets challenged then you need to put extra effort into the paper trail and recording everything.

 

[The Black Shed]

In situations like this, the saying 'there are two certainties in life; death and taxes', comes very much to the fore. My father passed away last year and as of yesterday, we clicked into month 7 and I still don't have grant of probate. Imagine the turnaround before email and the internet, relying solely on the Royal Mail!! There's just myself and my brother named in the will, we're on great terms, both blues which helps (!) and we will split everything down the middle. So that's easy and as the OP said, his mother's will needs to be executed accordingly.

The firm helping us with my estate are charging £350/hr so you've got yourself a bargain there Somapop compared to my fees. And for me it will be cheaper than a % of the overall estate. I wish you a speedy turnaround, if that's the right thing to say, weddings and funerals can be joyous events but they can also bring some critters to the surface.

All the best to you