Solicitors as Executors – No! No! No!

We strongly recommend you never consider appointing a solicitor as an executor to an estate.

There are a number of reasons why we say this.

The main reason of course is cost. Solicitors can often charge a fee based on a percentage of the estate. This will typically be in the region of 1.5%. In addition to this they will charge an hourly rate for carrying out their administrative duties.

A recently deceased client saw solicitor’s costs of £4,800 on an estate of just £30,000 – This amounts to 16% of the estate!!!

We see no reason for the charging the percentage fee – on what basis do they justify this?

The point is they dont have to justify it and the beneficiaries and co-executors can do very little to stop them.

This is the second reason for not having a solicitor as an executor.

A client of ours recently had a huge problem. The deceased had been very vocal to friends and family that the solicitor was pestering to be appointed to be an executor of the estate. The client had been quite specific in that this was not required. Just before the client died some late amendments were made to the estate, which was well know to the benficiaries.

When the deceased’s Will was read not only had the changes not been in line with what the deceased wanted but also the solicitor had become an executor. This was despite the deceased re-iterating her desire for this not to be the case just 3 days before they died.

When challenged on the matter, the solicitor advised there was a witness to their appointment but when spoken to the witness did not support the solicitor’s claims. Numerous other parties confirmed the fact the solicitor was not to have this role.

The solicitor was asked to step down or reserve their position, which after several months of ignoring correspondence eventually refused to do so. This is despite the recognised protocol for solicitors where in such cases they are duty bound to, at the very least, reserve their position.

The Solicitors Regulatory Authority proved to be an extremely weak regulator, failing to even look into the matter with any due diligence. They were simply not interested and their reaction smelt of “jobs for the boys”. The client’s family are now forced to proceed through the Courts at potential costs to the estate to ensure the deceased’s wishes are respected.

So beware, every occupation has Harold Shipman like characters and solicitors are no different.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

Be prudent. Appoint executors you can trust 100%.

Never appoint a solicitor as an executor, unless you agree the fee at the time of writing your will. Even then, get it documented and make your beneficiaries /co-executors aware of the terms of their appointment. Insist on a clause for the solicitor to act in a reserved position if the co-executors request it. If it isn’t written down it didn’t happen.

Remember your executors can always seek the advice of solicitors if they need help in dealing with probate. They can agree the fee up front and keep control over the costs.

Better still they can seek advice of appropriately qualified financial advisers like Moffatt Financial Planning Ltd, who cannot charge for this service.

This will enable the executors to keep control of the estate and ensure more of your estate is past on to the beneficiaries in line with your requirements.

By the way if you haven’t written a Will yet, you should have done. Drop me a line if you want me to sort this out for you.

I reiterate that I work with many totally ethical solicitors on a daily basis and my comments are not intended to insult them. Those good people will like you and I, want these discgraceful characters removing from their occupation. Lets be prudent to ensure these “bad guys” dont succeed.