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Changes in the family

A baby is born; a child becomes 18 (or perhaps some significant later age); or there is a death or disability. A gift in your Will to a beneficiary who has died before you may lapse.

Marriage

Automatically revokes a previous Will, unless your Will expressly states that it is made in contemplation of that fourthcoming marriage. It is always safer to prepare a new Will upon marrying.

Civil Partnership

Registering a Civil partnership has the same effect as marriage.

Divorce

Unlike marriage, a divorce does not revoke a previous Will. But if your former spouse is named as a beneficiary, then upon divorce he or she will cease to be a beneficiary or receive a gift unless your Will expressly provides that the gift should still take effect if you divorce. If a former spouse is named Executor, then upon divorce he or she will no longer be allowed to act as Executor or obtain Probate of your Will. It is best to make a new Will whenever you get divorced.

Dissolution of Civil Partnership

The dissolution of a Civil Partnership has the same effect as a marriage

Separation

Does not have the same effect on a Will which divorce has, so it is best to review the Will as soon as seperation occurs

Change in Financial Circumstances

You may have recently acquired assets which you would like to give to a particular beneficiaries, or perhaps due to hard times your estate may have become insufficiant to provide for the legacies you have made.

Changes in Taxatrion

If your estate is large enough (or becomes large enough) to attract Tax, new taxes or reliefs or changes in the rates may call for changes to your Will.

Going to Live Abroad

You are likely to acquire assets abroad and your domicile may change.

Executors & Trustees

• Being an Executor is a difficult and time consuming job.

• The role carries personal legal liability.

• Relatives may be too distressed to perform the role.

• Decisions could make them unpopular with beneficiaries.

Many people appoint trusted friends and reliatives to be the Executors of their Will, often without even consulting the person(s) involved and without having given much thought to what is actually involved in the role.

In addition to the immediate tasks you might be required to attend to, such as arranging the funeral, there is often a lot of paperwork to be dealt with and official documents which need to be completed over the first few weeks following a death.

You could find yourself administering the estate over a long period of time and you will also need to arrange for the care of any minor children and pets, and arrange adequeate insurance for the Deceased's assets, such as their property.

Being the Executor of an Estate is not reaslly an honour, it's a difficult and time consuming job that also carries some legal liability. For example, payment of all taxes becomes your personal liability as the Exeutor. You have a fiduciary duty to the Beneficiaries, and should any mistakes occur the Beneficiaries may look to you for compensation.

You may have to make tough decisions in order to comply with the wishes of the Deceased; these decisions could quite posibly lead to you becoming unpopular with the Beneficiaries and even cause diputes.

Having to carry out this role at a time when you may not be feeling up to the task can be extremely stressful.

A key consideration for you will be the extent to which you wish to involve professionals to help and support you. Our Probate team will be happy to assist with any questions you may have. Call us on 0800 056 2015 WDS Associates has been appointed as joint Executors. Where there is more than one Executor, it is usual for on Executor to take the leading role. WDS is an establised Trust Corporation specialising in Probate and will happily deal with the whole of the administration of the estate, if you so desire.

Understanding the Role of an Executor

• Register the death at the Local registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages if there are no family members wishing to do so. The death must be registered in order to obtain the Death Certificate, and it is advisable to get more than one copy as it will be needed when dealing with Insurance companies, pension providers etc.

• Ensure a ny last wishes such as organ or body donations are carried out. The job might also include planning for the Funeral or Cremation and arranging for payment for the services provided.

• Make sure you have the last original Will of the Deceased. The Testator should have notified you as to the location of this.

• Locate all the heirs to the estate, and consider whether if any have passed away whether their share goes to their own children or back into the estate.

• Make an exhaustive list of all the assets of the estate, from personal to real property, to bank accounts, investments etc. Debts including credit cards, utility bills, loans etc. must also be accounted for. The Executor must arrange for any assets (including property) to be insured for the period of administration.

• Open a seperate estate account into which money collected in can be credited. This will prevent any monies being confgused with your personal finances.

• Notify all relevant institutions of the death e.g. utility companies, credit card companies, banks, council tax office, Department for Work and Pensions, HMRC.

• Arrange care and placement for minor or dependant children. The Courts may need to be involved in this. If there are pets, the Executor will need to care for them and make arrangements for their continued care.

• Pay the Deceased's Income Tax (and any other taxes due) and complete an Inheritance Tax return, within 12 months of death. The Executor is resposible for paying or arranging to pay any Tax. The Executor is personally liable if accurate accounts are not filed with HMRC, and they may have to pay both penalties and interest on the amount due if the return is not completed correctly.

• Complete the relevant forms and submit them to the Local Probate Registry to obtain the Grant of Probate. The Executor may have to attend the Probate Registry Office in person.

• Make sure that all the Deceased's debts are settled and paid (in the appropriate order of preference, if applicable).

• Distribute the estate according to the Will, making sure that if anything is to be left to minor children, a Trustee has been named.

• After you have completed all of your tasks, the Executor has to produce a full set of accounts for the Beneficiaries showing the estate assets and liabilities, administration income and expenses and how the estate has been distributed.

Beneficiaries

Adults

There is no particular complexity in making a gift to an adult