Wills

[lizzydrippin]

I wondered exactly how a will is enforced by the solicitor that writes it up. I look after an elderly gentleman who a few years ago decided to write a will. He doesnt have an awful lot probably a few thousand pounds in savings and a few insurance policy's (he says one is from the penny bank and is worth around 200 pounds and the other is worth around 300 pounds. H edoesnt own his house (its corporation). He asked me at the time if I would arrange for a solicitor who draws up wills to come to his house and I phoned one out of the phone book. When she came (the solicitor) she took down the details which basically said that he wanted one thousand pounds to go to his friend in Ireland and everything else he owned in the world to go to me. Simple as that. It was witnessed by the solicitor herself and the next door neighbour. The solicitor said "that will be �185 please" , he paid her, she left. A few weeks later the drawn up will arrived in the post and has been put in a safe place. What happens when the old man dies? Is it me who has to notify the solicitor? and what does she do then? The old man didnt go into detail of exactly what he was leaving. So how will the solicitor know. She's also the executor but how will she know what exactly she has to execute? It all seems abit strange.

[Ethel]

The solicitor does not enforce the will - the executor does. As the solicitor is the executor in this case the next of kin will notify her when he dies. Or you could.

It is not strange - it is perfectly straight forward. She will take possession of all his paperwork and personal belongings (not necessarily physical possession) and deal with them in accordance with his will.

He did not need to detail what he was leaving - after the �1000 has been sent to his Irish friend, the funeral paid for and any debts, tax bills, the executor's expenses and so on have been satisfied you get the remainder. Simplicity itself.

[lizzydrippin]

Sorry, I think I used the wrong word when I said it was 'strange'. I didn't mean to imply in any way that there was something funny going on or anything like that. I meant I just couldn't see how it all works. My elderly friend has no family whatsoever, I met him 8 yrs ago when I saw him struggling to walk his dog from my front room window each evening and eventually went out and asked if I could possibly walk his dog. He was very pleased to let me. As the years went on I gradually did more and more for him (cooking, cleaning, shopping etc as he's been housebound for the last 3 yrs). He made me his next of kin around 4 yrs ago. I don't ever ask him what he has got or where it is because Im aware that he has left it to me and it wouldn't feel right. So if I don't know and the solicitor has never asked and my friend isn't around anymore, I couldn't see how it all works. Would it be up to me to collect everything together to give to the solicitor.

[lizzydrippin]

Also I take it that the �185 was just for transferring the will to an official piece of paper and not for anything the solicitor needs to do when my friend passes. Will her expenses come to quite alot (only solicitors are known for charging a fortune arent they). Another reason Im thinking about it is because I know my friend just has at the most �2,000 so if the �1,000 goes to his pal in Ireland and I know funerals cost a fair bit, could it work out that everything he has doesnt cover what needs to be paid out and because Im next of kin it will be down to me to pay the solicitor. Only Im on benefits myself and havent two ha'pennys to rub together. (sorry this is all abit long winded)

[dzug]

You might end up getting nothing, but you won't have to pay anything out.

The funeral bill will be paid first, then the solicitors fee and any other debts, then the friend in Ireland (who might not get all his �1000 if there's not enough to pay him) and finally you.

[lizzydrippin]

Is it essential to have a solicitor do it all? does everyone who has a will have a solicitor to carry it out when they pass away? What does she do? just pay the bills? how will she know what needs paying?

[ndclaret]

If you get a solicitor involved they will ask you to sign that you are their client and you will be responsible for the solicitors fees. These would be paid primarily out of the old fellows money but if there wasn't enough then they would chase you for it.Typical charges are �160 per hour plus VAT . Even a cheap funeral would cost around �1500 to �2000. This would take up a fair bit of what he would like you to have. If I were you before the inevitable happens I would try the Citizens Advice or see if you can get advice from a solicitor. There is a scheme whereby you can get advice on the cheap but I can't remember what it is called. By the way I'm getting stuck with solicitors fees totaling around �5000 so far just because the witch who is getting �130000 out of the house sale is querying everything and I can't stop her. The initial estimate from our solicitor was �800 for the work so be very careful before getting into anything.

[ndclaret]

I should have read a little more carefully as you said the solicitor is the executor and therefore you have to contact them. A solicitor acting as executor is entitled to charge for their services. Ethel's reply of "simplicity itself" leads me to think she is in the legal profession. I have never known any of these sharks find anything simple.

[lizzydrippin]

Thanks for your answer ndclaret, I totally agree with that last statement, goodness me, if there's one thing you can be sure of and thats that everything will become extremely complicated the minute a solicitor becomes involved. It was that reason I asked the question in the first place. I think the old fellow thought that the �185 he paid out to the solicitor to start with was the total payment for everything she would have to do when the time came. All he really wanted was to legalise the will. Neither he nor I knew anything about executors etc and thought she would explain when she came to his house to do the will. Well she was there all of 5 min's and that was that. I kept out of the way (because I didn't want to be hovering about as I am going to be benefiting from the will (well that was the old fellows idea anyway). Its an awkward subject to discuss isn't it. I suppose it will be my job to sort through his stuff when the time comes to pass on to the solicitor. How do most people carry this kind of stuff out. How would one do it with no solicitor involved I wonder?