Change in executor

[chinaman]

I am a Court pf Protection for my Aunt who has been living with Alzheimer's disease for several years.

She made her will in 1980 and specified my Father as her executor. As he is now in his late 80's and not in the best of health, he would like me to be her executor, given that I am dealing with her financial affairs anyway.

Does anyone know if this is possible to accomplish as my Aunt does not have capacity and if so, how please? My father is getting quite anxious about it and wants to be taken off her will so I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you
Philip

 

[ITBookworm]

Although your father is the executor for your aunt (currently) there is no requirement that he actually does the work when your aunt dies He can appoint anyone he chooses to do the work for him although he obviously retains the overall responsibility to make sure things are done "properly".

My husband was executor for his father and was a perfectly healthy mid 40s when he passed away (and he was financial POA for his dad at that point too). For all that, I got the job of going through his dad's paperwork to double check details of any bank accounts, shares etc. When we were reasonably happy we had all the information that might be needed he handed the whole lot over to a lawyer to sort out.

He got a few queries but nothing serious and then some forms back to read through and then sign and that was it. The lawyer hadn't had anything to do with the FIL before and we obviously had to pay a bill for the work but it wasn't excessive. The relief in knowing that the lawyer had experience in dealing with anything that might be needed and the lack of stress at a difficult time made the fee worth every penny.

Obviously it might be possible to change executor (someone else might know better than me) but it isn't the end of the world if you can't.

Good luck reassuring your dad.

 

[Katrine]

Hi there. AFAIK you as an attorney/deputy cannot change your aunt's executors and your father cannot refuse his executorship in advance. A will only comes into effect when the testator dies and therefore an executor is only an executor at this point, not before. Conversely, upon your aunt's death you will immediately cease to be her attorney/deputy.

I understand that this is a worry for your father, but you can reassure him. There will be 2 main options when the time comes. The simplest is that he remains the executor but that you (or a solicitor) does most of the work. Letters can be drafted for him to sign. If he is unwilling or unable to act as executor, then you could step in to act:
https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/if-the-person-left-a-will

 

[sue38]

Hi and welcome to Talking Point.

You could make an application to the court of protection to make what is known as a 'statutory will'. You can find more about it on the gov.uk website here https://www.gov.uk/apply-statutory-will/overview

Otherwise when your aunt passes away your father could appoint you as his attorney to act as executor on his behalf. This of course would depend on your father surviving your aunt.

The latter option would probably be simpler (and cheaper), but if this is worrying your father you might consider applying for a statutory will.

 

[Katrine]

The statutory will option does seem like a sledgehammer to crack a nut. If the provisions made by the testator have not changed, why would the court replace her current will just to alter the details of executor/s, while she is still alive? The OP could go to a lot of trouble and expense, and there's no absolute guarantee that he will be able to act (something might happen to him in the meantime). Then someone else would have to step in, unless a co-executor is named in the replacement statutory will. If auntie's estate and probate are likely to be straightforward, wouldn't it be better just to wait?

 

[Kevinl]

Hi Chinaman, welcome to TP
Most of the good advice has already been said, but I'll add a bit more (hopefully).
Should your dad die first then there is no "inheritance rights" in that you would not inherit the responsibility, secondly that as an executor of my late mum's will (alone with my brother) we just dumped the whole lot with a solicitor, negotiated a fixed fee and shopped around. Had we gone down the road of the Court of Protection (CoP) or guardianship it would have (I believe) cost a lot more.
When my mother passed away we just went to some local solicitors, asked the fees and picked the one we liked best, job done, sign the odd paper and cheque in the post.
My brother did the whole executor thing as his wife was named as an executor, he said "never again". We got a local firm of solicitors to do it for a bit over £1k when my mum died.
Being named as an executor makes you liable for nothing, if she has a debt then that's not your dad's problem in case that's what he's worried about.
If her affairs are very complicated and your dad is a big beneficiary of a lot of cash then maybe professional help is justified, otherwise it will probably cost more to make the change than you'll ever get back.
K

 

[Bunpoots]

I was the named executor for my aunt's estate when she died. My dad and I sorted out her bank statements etc. I got the property valued and rented it out while the solicitor I instructed dealt with the probate. We couldn't sell until the estate was settled, which took about 9 months.

There is no reason why your dad needs to deal with this by himself.