Responsibilities
In the terms of the law, the executor is required to 'collect, get in, and administer according to law the estate of the deceased'. In more specific terms, it is their duty to execute the wishes of the deceased. In this way, their first responsibility will be to settle any outstanding debts which are owed by the estate, and to assess any such claims made by banks or other financial institutions.
Following this they will be required to arrange for payment of any inheritance tax which may be owed by the estate and, of course, to carry out the disbursement of the remaining assets to the named beneficiaries. Finally, it will also fall to the executor to investigate the possibility of any further heirs.
It is possible for a solicitor or professional executor to be named in a will. However if, as is generally the case, a family member or friend has been nominated, they may choose to enlist the help of such a third party to aid them in their work. In these cases, the named executor has a substantial amount of choice as to how much of the work he or she carries out; a solicitor could be employed to carry out almost all of the work or, alternatively, only a small proportion of it. The executor's decision as to whether or not to enlist such help will of course be affected by the complexities of the affairs in question; in many cases, their duties will be no more than the disbursement of the contents of a bank account.
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Minimum Commitment
Whether or not help from a third party is arranged, the named executor will be expected to carry out at least some of the work. Most frequently this entails performing the initial tasks associated with locating and valuing the deceased individual's assets. Again, depending on the size and complexity of the estate, this can be a very simple or a very complex task. Similarly, it is often expected that the executor will make the appropriate funeral arrangements, in line with the directions given in the will.
At a very minimum, the executor should assume that they will be required to lend their signature to a variety of documents.
In the first instance, and before any other action is taken, the executor must receive legal ratification of his or her right to take control of the assets in the estate. This requires them to apply for a Grant of Probate from the Probate Registry, which it will be necessary to produce before any bank or other relevant institution will hand over control of assets.
Although executorships can be a significant amount of work, it should be noted that the individuals in question are legally entitled to be reimbursed their expenses from the estate. The task should not, therefore, be to their financial detriment.
I have reached a point where it isn't viable and I am struggling financially so I have placed the house on the market.
My brother has decided ( now over a year on) to speak to a solicitor about contesting the fact nothing was left to him. I also have two half sisters who live elsewhere. My mother left my brother and I with our dad and moved away. She died a few years ago and my grandad originally left everything to her in the original or preceding will. On her death she changed it and left everything to me. The will was made at a solicitors and witnessed there. He was as fit as a fiddle at the time of writing the will.
My brother now says he can take me to court for the proceeds of the house sale which will be the only remainder of the estate. I don't know what to do. Is this even possible if he had clear intentions when he made out his will?
Probate was granted over a year ago. I have struggled for a year. Can he do this?
I am being threatened by him he will get solicitors involved.
The will was none specific in that it says everything to me. No one else ( not any of the three other grandchildren effectively mentioned at all) does he or they have any say?
My two sisters were provided for by my mother's will but my fully biological brother is the one threatening me with this. I don't know whether to tell him to do it and contest it or effectively give in to bullying and the threat of it.
My Nan's daughter and her daughter's husband were with her when she wrote her will.
All of my Nan's kids were beneficiaries of a certain amount each and the will states if they die before my Nan's then their inheritance goes straight to their kids.
My Dad was already dead when this will was wrote and I was not put in the will yet the others are if their parents die which since the will was written 2 of my Nan's children died and there inheritance went to my cousin's, my Nan's grandkids.
I have a copy of the will and just want to know is there anything I can do?
Its not fair. I feel hurt and I feel like they used my dad's death as an excuse to keep more money for themselves.
thanks
As we are over 2 years from dad,s death we do now need to conclude matters in the interests of all beneficiaries
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