The executors of your will have a very serious task ahead of them. Settling an estate takes a great deal of organisation and expertise – not to mention tact. It can also be very stressful for grieving friends or family members. For this reason, many people choose to use a professional executor, like Beyond.
So, why choose Beyond and not another solicitor? And what benefits come from using a professional in the first place? Let’s take a look.
What does an executor do?
The executors of your will have the authority to settle your legal and financial affairs after you die. It will be their job to carry out the wishes in your will, transferring your property, money, assets and belongings to the people you’ve chosen.
Even if your estate is very simple, this can be a complicated task. Even small estates can take months of work.
Some examples of tasks your executors might need to do are:
- Gathering together all your financial paperwork to understand the size of your estate
- Contacting all the different organisations and businesses holding your funds and assets
- Calculating the total worth of your estate, considering any debts or tax owed
- Applying for a grant of probate, a legal document that can help them access your accounts
- Arranging for insurance on any property left empty
- Transferring deeds or selling your property for a good price
- Paying all your debts, income tax and inheritance tax, filling out all the paperwork
- Closing all your accounts, redirecting post where needed
- Setting up trusts for pets or underage beneficiaries
- Communicating well and often with your beneficiaries to avoid conflict
- Transferring all your funds and belongings to the right people in a timely manner
…among other things. You can find out more about the duties of an executor here.
Executors need to keep very detailed records of their work. Your main (‘residuary’) beneficiaries can ask to see these anytime. If it turns out that an executor has made a mistake, they will be financially liable.
You don’t need to be a solicitor to be an executor. But all this can be a huge and stressful responsibility to hand on to a friend or family member.
Why a professional executor might be right for your estate
The main reason people use a professional executor is to save their loved ones from this difficult task. With a professional, your family can relax and recoup, knowing that everything is begin taken care of.
Other reasons you might consider a professional are:
- Protecting your family from being liable for any mistakes made when settling the estate
- Getting the estate settled faster, so that your loved ones don’t have to worry about money
- Preventing your family from paying more inheritance tax than they need to
- Wanting an executor with the experience to deal with complicated wishes
- Preventing conflict between beneficiaries and executors
- Wanting an unbiased person who will settle the estate fairly
You can have up to four executors for your will. So, if you like, you can choose a friend or family member to act alongside a professional executor. This gives your loved ones the opportunity to remove the professional if they decide that they’d rather not pay any fees. Most professional executors – including Beyond – will withdraw if asked to.
What makes Beyond the right choice?
If you’re using Beyond’s affordable online will service, you have the option of adding Beyond as the executor. So, why go with us?
We’re experienced. We’ve helped thousands of families just like yours. No matter how big and complicated your estate is, you can trust us to make sure your wishes – and your loved ones – will be taken care of.
Affordable. We’ll give your family a fixed-fee quote up-front, and we’ll stick to it. We will base our fee on what your family needs help with, not on how much your estate is worth. This means we can be substantially cheaper than solicitors who take a percentage or an hourly rate.
Fast. We work hard to release funds as we collect them, so that estates are settled quickly and efficiently.
Flexible. Some families like to have a professional handle every part of settling an estate. Others just need a hand with the initial tax and probate documents. We offer a flexible service that’s tailored to the help that your family needs.
Responsible. Our complete estate administration service includes taking on total liability, protecting your family.
Open. We give every family a personal representative to take care of them and keep them up-to-date. And with our complete estate administration service, we include 27/4 online tracking.
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