What Does Being An Executor Involve?

[pixie373]

My friend has asked me to be Executor of her will. She is single with three young children. Although she doesn't have a huge amount of assets herself, her parents own properties valued at around 3.5 million.
She is an only child and sole beneficiary of her parents will.
My friend and her parents have top legal people advising and they have ringfenced (?) and set up trusts to ensure that all the assets go to my friend and then her daughters, without any boyfriends/husbands being able to claim any of it in the future.
My friend has a likelyhood of having a life-limiting illness and has asked me to be executor if anything happens to her, to see her daughters get their share.
I would just like to be sure of what this would involve, before I agree.

Thank you

[aelmpvw]

your friend's parents assets of 3.5 million are irrelevant to your question

[Peter Pedant]

goggle duties of an executor and you will find the law firms queue up to tell you what you have to do .

I hope the hmrc booklet would leap out at me but it didnt

say yes - it is your social duty and not difficult - having been one myself.

Discuss with the testatrix (!) what she wants you do to and take notes and then when the evil hour strikes you take up your previously agreed positions... not difficult really

[VHG]

With such a large estate keep clear of it.

It is likely to be a lot of work with that much money so let the solicitors handle it.

If she dies before her parents it is irrelevant anyway.

[Peter Pedant]

as lay pixie you cant charge for your time,
but you werent thinking of that were you ?

Here is a bit about Diana's will:
"THE GILDED life of X, a lawyer who helped negotiate Princess Diana's divorce, is becoming fraught with difficulty.

His firm Mishcon de Reya was heavily criticised for charging £500,000 for three months' work to the Diana Memorial Fund, of which X is a trustee.

X was divorced by his wife last month after he admitted adultery with the daughter of a client. And now his firm is to lose a key member of the team which handled the royal divorce.".......


It was apparently expected by the Dead Diana team that the lawyers would give their time free. Ya, well.
You dont get to be a rich hot shot lawyer by practising for zilch do you ?

[pixie373]

That was quick. Thank you. I want to help, but just want to make sure I have some idea what I'm taking on. Aelmpvw, she will be due to inherit that from her parents. She said she is not allowed to be executor to their will, as she is the only beneficiary. The three wills are linked together. Not sure if the value is relevant or not.

[pixie373]

No! I won't benefit from it except knowing the children are ok. I do run my own business though, and I'm thinking about how much time it may take up. I assume it won't cost me money, as costs covered by estate?

[atalanta]

Do consult the Citizens Advice Bureau. They may even be able to set up a very cheap half-hour with a local solicitor to help you get an outline of the work you face. You will be able to charge your actual expenses to the estate ( copies of the death certificate, postage, ) and of course the funeral.

[FredPuli43]

Nothing to stop the sole beneficiary being the executrix [female] or executor [male] of their parent's will. They can't be a witness to it, but they can be the beneficiary. It is very common for that to be so; I was executor to both my parents' wills and the sole beneficiary to the second.

I can guarantee that you will need professional help,if only to understand how the created trusts work. There will be an enormous amount of correspondence to deal with,mostly from the Revenue, and in connection with any business or property. I had nothing much else to do, but still found it daunting and I needed professional advisers, paid from the Estate, at every turn. If you feel confident in dealing with them and keep a kindly eye on their charges, well take it on. And my mother's estate has taken 4 years to wind up.

[pixie373]

Thank you for all the advice. You're all so helpful! Citizens advice would probably be a good place to start. I also thought she could be executor and beneficiary- I am on my mum's will. I think it is something to do with all the wills being done together and if something happened to my friend after her parents die, someone will need to co-ordinate everything.
My friend has no other close family and her dad has Huntingdons. She has a 50/50 chance of having it herself (won't be tested) so may not also have the mental capacity to make decisions in ten/twenty years.