Executor of Will - change. retirement.

johnire

Does anyone know if it’s possible to change your mind if named as executor of a will?
The person involved has already agreed to take on that role but having thought about it they don’t want to proceed. They’ve been in that role for about 2 months and now for different reasons don’t feel happy in that role.
Is it a simple matter of just contacting the solicitor and they can arrange that?
Thanks in advance.

4ensic15

johnire wrote: »

Does anyone know if it’s possible to change your mind if named as executor of a will?
The person involved has already agreed to take on that role but having thought about it they don’t want to proceed. They’ve been in that role for about 2 months and now for different reasons don’t feel happy in that role.
Is it a simple matter of just contacting the solicitor and they can arrange that?
Thanks in advance.

An executor can always renounce. A replacement will have to be found.

Peregrinus

johnire wrote: »

Does anyone know if it’s possible to change your mind if named as executor of a will?
The person involved has already agreed to take on that role but having thought about it they don’t want to proceed. They’ve been in that role for about 2 months and now for different reasons don’t feel happy in that role.
Is it a simple matter of just contacting the solicitor and they can arrange that?
Thanks in advance.

Has the testator died?

seagull

There is always the option of remaining as the named executor, but paying someone to do the actual work involved in settling the estate.

coylemj

seagull wrote: »

There is always the option of remaining as the named executor, but paying someone to do the actual work involved in settling the estate.

Is that a roundabout way of saying 'pay a solicitor to do it'?

Or if you mean (wink, wink) pay an amateur lawyer to do the legwork while you are nominally the executor, take note that when you elect to do personal probate, you (the nominated executor) are required to show up in person to meet an official from the Probate Office and you are not allowed to bring a 'friend'. At which point your role as a frontman will be exposed and you will be told to give the work to a solicitor.

If you can't or won't do the work yourself, you need to either renounce the role or hand it over to a solicitor.

seagull

I was meaning pay a professional. It's not uncommon for someone to discover that there's more to managing the estate than they'd realised, finding themselves out of their depths and getting professional advice.

2breal

Lucky you, you'll get rid of them easy, they must tell the solicitor that they want to resign as executor and then the court will appoint another, I believe.

Carawaystick

What happens when an executor is named in a will but predeceases the deceased? Joe Cahill was named in the English lad who left Millions to Sinn Féin's will

Peregrinus

johnire wrote: »

Does anyone know if it’s possible to change your mind if named as executor of a will?
The person involved has already agreed to take on that role but having thought about it they don’t want to proceed. They’ve been in that role for about 2 months and now for different reasons don’t feel happy in that role.
Is it a simple matter of just contacting the solicitor and they can arrange that?
Thanks in advance.

I'm assuming the testator has already died, and you have already got a grant of probate.

Options:

1. As already suggested, remain as executor but hire a professional to do most of the legwork. You can pay the costs of this out of the estate. You might feel some moral squeamishness about doing this if you were named as executor in the expectation that you would do the work yourself, and especially if you indicated that you would, or allowed the testator to think that you would. If you feel sufficiently morally squeamish about this you might decide to bear the costs of hiring the solicitor yourself.

2. Ask to be discharged as executor. This will require an application to the probate office, and the application will have to name somebody else, suitable and willing, to take on the role instead. This will normally be the next-of-kin or the principal beneficiary under the will, since they have an obvious interest in seeing the estate gets administered and distributed.

Carawaystick wrote: »

What happens when an executor is named in a will but predeceases the deceased? Joe Cahill was named in the English lad who left Millions to Sinn Féin's will

The person who would be entitled to administer the estate if no executor had been named in the will will usually be appointed. That would normally be the next of kin or the principal beneficiary under the will.