Malcolm Kyle

A staggering 27 million people do not have a will to secure their assets when they die. Are you one of the 27 million at risk from this ‘wills time bomb’?

Death is never a comfortable subject to discuss but frighteningly few of us are planning ahead for the day when it will arrive. Research conducted by the National Consumer Council (NCC) revealed that more than 27 million people in England and Wales do not have a will, leaving their estate wide open. Scarier still, 30% of individuals aged 65 and over — that’s nearly two million people with a life expectancy of less than 20 years — have not made a will.

I know, that you’re probably thinking, “do I really need a Will” or commonly “I’ll get round to it later, as I don’t need to worry about this for a while”.

To answer the first point Basically, if you have children or something to leave, then you should make a will.

Property-owners who are co-habiting should take particular care. Currently, more than four out of five cohabiting couples (83%) do not have a will. Yet despite common misconception to the contrary, unmarried cohabiting couples have no automatic right to inherit their partner’s assets. Your only hope would be to try and claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.

If you think that sounds like it might be difficult, then you’d be right. Claims need to be submitted within six months of the Grant of Letters of Administration, and even then there’s still no guarantee that you’ll succeed. You will also need a solicitor to fight your corner, which could be very expensive.

A scarier example still is if you are separated but not divorced. In this circumstance your surviving spouse could end up with the keys to your house, even if your relationship has already ended.

Property listed as ‘joint tenancy’ as opposed to ‘tenants in common’ passes on by survivorship, not by will. So if the house is still in joint names and you die, then your unwanted partner should be entitled to the whole property simply because they have survived you.

Money, Money, Money

Under Intestacy laws in England and Wales, if you have no will but were married and your estate is worth £125,000 or less, then everything will go to your husband, wife, or civil partner.

Things get slightly more complicated if your estate is worth more than £125,000. Spouses and civil partners receive just £125,000, or £200,000 if there are no children, along with personal items, such as household articles and other items used for personal use.

The balance is then split between other surviving relatives – so the danger is, if your family home is worth more than £125,000, it may have to be sold in order to pay out these relatives, potentially leaving your spouse homeless.

And, if you are unmarried and have no close surviving relatives, in the worst case scenario, your entire estate could even end up going to the Crown.

Protect Your Children

According to the NCC, 79% of parents fail to make provisions for their children before they die.

Yet if you have children under 18 and a guardian is not identified in a will, then the courts could appoint one of their choice.

Scary Isn’t it and I believe most people haven’t made a Will because they are simply unaware of the consequences of not doing so.

How Much Does A Will Cost?

So how much does a will cost? Less than you may think. Naturally, it all depends on your needs, but in most cases, you’ll pay around £100 for a single and between £150 for joint mirror wills (when a couple leaves the same assets to each other).

My prices are fixed and listed

You could of course consider doing it yourself, as there are plenty of choices available however, if you’re dividing up an estate that’s worth a lot more than the paper your will would be written on, then it pays to seek professional help. Sorting out a badly worded will could end up costing your heirs dearly.

You should also ensure your will is kept up to date. I suggest that you review your will every five years or after major life changes such a separation, divorce, or a change in financial circumstances. Changes are especially important if you get married or enter into a civil partnership, as this will revoke an earlier will, unless it is expressly made in contemplation of your marriage/partnership and certain requirements are met.

Finally, it is important that you choose sensible executors (the people you wish to carry out the task of administering your estate after your death).

Many people mistakenly believe that if you are a beneficiary, you cannot also be an executor. This is not true. However, you cannot be a beneficiary (or the spouse of a beneficiary) and a witness to the will.

Death is never a pleasant topic to discuss, but making the right preparations in advance could save you, and more importantly your loved ones a lot of hassle in the future. After all, once you’re dead, it will be too late…

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By LUKE SALKELD – Daily Mail online
3rd November 2010

The ex-wife and the girlfriend of a millionaire estate agent both forged a will in a dispute over his fortune, a court heard yesterday.

Chris John died suddenly at the age of 47, leaving a property portfolio and sports cars – but no will.

His girlfriend Gillian Clemo used a forged will to try to ensure she could stay in the luxury home the couple had shared, the jury was told.

His former wife Helen John, 48, who had split from her husband ‘acrimoniously’ after his affair with Clemo, then altered that will after discovering that their divorce had never been officially finalised, it was said.

The alleged fraud and counter fraud began after Mr John, who once sold a property to singer Charlotte Church, died of a brain haemorrhage. There was no sign of a will deciding how his estate should be divided.

Clemo, 57, is said to have wanted Mr John’s sisters to be appointed as executors, so she would be allowed to continue living in the Cardiff house.

John Philpotts, prosecuting, told Newport Crown Court: ‘When no will was discovered there developed a dispute as to who should administrate the estate. On the one hand were the two sisters and on the other hand Helen John. No agreement could be reached.’

‘Mrs Clemo wanted the sisters to be executors so she would be allowed to stay in the house.’

The court heard Clemo then swore an affidavit that the will, which left the estate to Mr John’s daughter when she reached 27, was real and that she had witnessed it.

But Mr Philpotts said handwriting experts decided it was not Mr John who had signed the will. ‘In addition there was the fact that Mr John’s daughter’s name was spelled wrongly,’ he said.

Talking about the will, Mrs John told the court: ‘I was shown a copy. It was on A4 white paper with a couple of lines written on it. It immediately struck me that it didn’t look like my husband’s signature.’

Mrs John admitted forging a modification to the will, although details were not given in court. She said she had been worried about her daughter’s inheritance, said to be worth millions.

The jury heard she had been given a formal caution by police instead of being taken to court.

Clemo denies using a forged will under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act.

The trial continues.

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Reported in the Northampton Chronicle and Echo – 13th August 2010

An executor of a dead man’s will who was accused of stealing £310,000 from his estate intended for his children has agreed to pay it back with interest, a court heard. Lesley Cook, aged 59, was trusted with the money by his one-time friend John Dines prior to his death last year so it could be handed to his three children. But he kept hold of the money and refused to give it up claiming it had been given to him as a gift, before leaving for Thailand.

He was charged with theft between May and December 2008 and pleaded not guilty in December.

Judge Richard Bray was then asked to decide whether Mr Dine’s statement taken in the weeks before he died could be used as hearsay evidence against Cook, which he said could be submitted in any future trial. However, Cook, of Chandlers Ford in Hampshire, has now agreed to repay the money.

He appeared at Northampton Crown Court yesterday to agree a consent order for the money to be transferred to the family’s solicitors.

It had been left sitting in three of his bank accounts which were made the subject of restraint orders once the allegation was first made.

He will now pay £310,095, plus £6,960 of interest in the next few weeks and the prosecution will then allow the theft allegation to lie on file.

Alex Bull, prosecuting, said: “The monies total £317,931 and will be transferred from those accounts to the accounts of the family’s solicitors.

“It can then be transferred to the executors, and transferred in the proper way. These solicitors will then inform the Crown and the court and the restraint order can then be discharged. There will then be a further court hearing for the matter to lie on file.”

It was alleged Cook stole the money destined for John Dines’s three children, in the months leading up to his death from cancer in April last year

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Article by: James Salmon

Bereaved families are being preyed upon by banks and unregulated probate firms which charge thousands of pounds to execute the estate of their loved ones.

Money Mail and consumer group Which? have separately investigated the often-murky world of will-writing and probate services – the legal process of handling the affairs of the deceased.

We found shocking evidence of:

• High Street banks charging almost twice as much as solicitors for probate services;
• Grieving relatives subjected to ‘hard-sell’ tactics;
• Banks automatically appointing themselves as executors of wills;
• Unregulated firms left free to give poor advice; and
• Bereaved families prevented from shopping around for better deals. executing or administering the estates of the deceased is a lucrative business for banks, solicitors and specialist probate and will-writing firms, with estimates saying it is worth more than half a billion pounds a year.

When someone dies, executors must deal with the financial details such as the sale of assets, paying bills and distribution of the estate among the beneficiaries.

Families can often do this themselves, with the whole process costing no more than a few hundred pounds.

But banks are exploiting the fears of customers and appointing themselves as executors.

Consumer group Which? sent eight undercover researchers to make 42 visits or calls to solicitors, specialist will-writers and banks around the UK posing as divorcees wanting to write a will.

They found that banks will charge on average £10,830 for executing a typical £270,000 estate – around double the £ 4,759 charged by will- writers and £5,199 by solicitors.

Barclays is the most expensive of the High St reet giants, with an average charge of £13,395.

A common ploy is to lure customers in with cheap wills costing as little as £75.

The Which? report also says banks appoint themselves as executor. James Daley, editor of Which? Money, says: ‘These extortionate charges are completely unjustifiable. There is no need to have a professional executor in many cases. Most people have no idea what they should be paying. As they are going through a traumatic time in their lives, they are an easy target.

‘It’s disgraceful that banks are insisting they are named sole or joint executor, and for that privilege they are taking thousands of pounds in fees from the estate.’

The Office of Fair Trading says other firms, including solicitors and will-writers, are also guilty of burying charges in the small print.

David Stallibrass, from the OFT, adds: ‘Customers thinking they are getting a cheap will are unwittingly signing themselves up for executor services costing thousands of pounds.

Firms are not making it clear that you don’t need to appoint a professional executor, and that with simple estates you can do the probate yourself.’

The banks all say they make this clear to customers. A spokesman for Barclays says: ‘We are working to review and simplify our fee structures on probate pricing, and are looking to introduce more fixed-fee pricing.

‘Both executorships and trustee services are comprehensive services covering all aspects of whatever is necessary to fulfil the appropriate duties.

‘The relationship is managed throughout by an experienced professional, with an average of more than 20 years in the business.’

A Lloyds Banking group spokesman says: ‘Our fees are clear and transparent, and are explained up front to our customers. They reflect the quality, completeness and expertise of the service we offer.’

An HSBC spokesman says: ‘Our rates are specifically designed to be fair to customers, focusing on charging for the work being completed, not on a higher percentage fee based on the estate value.

‘The will-writing form and documentation clearly states in a number of places in bold that it is necessary to appoint HSBC as sole or joint executor.

‘Staff are instructed to explain clearly that if a customer does not want to appoint HSBC, then they should be referred to a local solicitor of the customer’s choice, or to a specific solicitor with nationwide coverage to write their will.’

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