Tweet
A few years ago, I helped an old friend (86) take care of his affairs just before he died of cancer.
His wife had died about 10 years previously.
Other than his home, which he owned with no mortgage, he did not have much else in the way of cash but had an old classic car in the garage which was worth around £7500.
He had a daughter who would visit him once a month but they did not get on very well towards the end and I think she was jealous of our friendship. The daughter and I are of similar age which I had a feeling didn't help matters as her father use to affectionately call me son.
He had written his Will some decades beforehand and had left his entire estate to his wife and daughter. A few months before he died he went into a care home after breaking his hip during a fall in hospital.
During his time in the care home, he asked me to do a DIY will with him. I obliged and worded his will in the same manner as his previous will. At his request I became his executor. His will was witnessed by the care home manager and his vicar.
He did not leave his daughter anything in the will, instead opting to leave the cash from the sale of the car to his grandchildren and the house to his neighbour. I received nothing from his estate, even though he offered, as I didn't want anything and I knew his daughter would have taken issue if I had.
The day of his passing, I told his daughter that I would take care of everything as I was his executor. She lost her temper and we never spoke again.
As a precaution I took out executors insurance to cover myself, a few weeks later applied for probate and discovered she had placed a caveat on her father's estate. I then took legal advice and wrote to her asking if we could sit down and talk, she refused to reply.
Months and months went by and reluctantly I had to issue a warning and she promptly made an appearance to the court, claiming I had coerced her father into changing his Will and lack of approval and knowledge, which is completely untrue. She also refused mediation, which I was told at the time would cast her in a dim light with the court.
She took the beneficiary (the neighbour) to court and dragged me into the middle of it for preparing his Will. The court found in her favour and reverted back to the previous will.
The court issued part of the legal costs against me as they accepted her versions of events. I have ended up with a £25k+ costs order. I then attempted to claim on the executors insurance.
This was met by a flat refusal as they said I failed to declare any pre-existing issues with the daughter and would have been aware of potential difficulties with the daughter prior to taking the policy out.
I took legal advice and was advised a less than 20% chance of success challenging the insurance company. I reluctantly accepted the fact I had the costs made against me and have since paid them. Or the alternative I could spend the same again challenging the insurance company in court, with less than favourable prospects of winning.
The executor insurance is no different from any other insurance company, they will wriggle out of paying up if they can. There is no way I would ever accept being an executor again, it's a far too complicated process especially when it turns into a dispute and its a very expensive lesson. It's a good idea to check the small print on policies and use a solicitor when it comes to making a will or agreeing to act as someone's executor.
His wife had died about 10 years previously.
Other than his home, which he owned with no mortgage, he did not have much else in the way of cash but had an old classic car in the garage which was worth around £7500.
He had a daughter who would visit him once a month but they did not get on very well towards the end and I think she was jealous of our friendship. The daughter and I are of similar age which I had a feeling didn't help matters as her father use to affectionately call me son.
He had written his Will some decades beforehand and had left his entire estate to his wife and daughter. A few months before he died he went into a care home after breaking his hip during a fall in hospital.
During his time in the care home, he asked me to do a DIY will with him. I obliged and worded his will in the same manner as his previous will. At his request I became his executor. His will was witnessed by the care home manager and his vicar.
He did not leave his daughter anything in the will, instead opting to leave the cash from the sale of the car to his grandchildren and the house to his neighbour. I received nothing from his estate, even though he offered, as I didn't want anything and I knew his daughter would have taken issue if I had.
The day of his passing, I told his daughter that I would take care of everything as I was his executor. She lost her temper and we never spoke again.
As a precaution I took out executors insurance to cover myself, a few weeks later applied for probate and discovered she had placed a caveat on her father's estate. I then took legal advice and wrote to her asking if we could sit down and talk, she refused to reply.
Months and months went by and reluctantly I had to issue a warning and she promptly made an appearance to the court, claiming I had coerced her father into changing his Will and lack of approval and knowledge, which is completely untrue. She also refused mediation, which I was told at the time would cast her in a dim light with the court.
She took the beneficiary (the neighbour) to court and dragged me into the middle of it for preparing his Will. The court found in her favour and reverted back to the previous will.
The court issued part of the legal costs against me as they accepted her versions of events. I have ended up with a £25k+ costs order. I then attempted to claim on the executors insurance.
This was met by a flat refusal as they said I failed to declare any pre-existing issues with the daughter and would have been aware of potential difficulties with the daughter prior to taking the policy out.
I took legal advice and was advised a less than 20% chance of success challenging the insurance company. I reluctantly accepted the fact I had the costs made against me and have since paid them. Or the alternative I could spend the same again challenging the insurance company in court, with less than favourable prospects of winning.
The executor insurance is no different from any other insurance company, they will wriggle out of paying up if they can. There is no way I would ever accept being an executor again, it's a far too complicated process especially when it turns into a dispute and its a very expensive lesson. It's a good idea to check the small print on policies and use a solicitor when it comes to making a will or agreeing to act as someone's executor.
Comment