money issues when someone dies

[cazcraig]

hi, not sure if i am in the right place here, sorry if i am not.

 

my dad does not have long left to live, he has approximately 55,000 in savings that he wants to split between his 3 kids,

 

his wife passed away two years ago, as far as i am aware we are his only living next of kin, he has said he is going to write a letter stating that he is of sound mind and body and that in the event of his death he wants his money transferring from his account into my brothers account (who will then split it between the three of us)

 

question is, how do we go about sorting this out once he has died, and will the letter be sufficient??

 

thank you for reading, any help will be very much appreciated, thank you

Edited September 7, 2013 by honeybee13

[honeybee13]

Hello there. I'm very sorry to hear about your Dad, it must be a tough time.

 

I hope other caggers will be along to comment, but my personal opinion is that for the cost of drawing up a will by a specialist probate solicitor might be worth the money, so you can be sure that what your Dad wants to happen actually happens. A good solicitor should be prepared to come and see your Dad at home to ascertain his wishes.

 

You shouldn't need to use the solicitor to sort out the will if it's straightforward.

 

Alernatively, you might be able to use an online will pack and hopefully the guys here could advise on that.

 

From my own experience of sorting out a relative's will, we put the money into an executors' account before it was divided up, but for the amount you're talking about that might not be necessary.

 

Another source of advice for you could be the CAB. They helped me when our relative died.

 

My best, HB

[cazcraig]

thanks for that, he does have a will pack, not sure where he has got it from, presume its just one you fill out yourself but one of the district nurses have told him not to bother with it because it will take too long to sort the money out! i have never had to deal with anything like this before so i am completely lost as to what to do for the best, we need to pay for his funeral out of it as well so dont want it to a long drawn out process

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

I hope some of the guys will be along later; weekends are always quieter here.

 

I think it might he helpful to have a word with the CAB locally if it would reassure you.

 

HB

[honeybee13]

Here's a link to the government website about probate.

 

https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/if-the-person-didnt-leave-a-will

 

What I'm not clear about is whether intestacy rules apply if the estate is below the inheritance tax threshold, it looks as if they might. Also, does your Dad have other assets that have a value?

 

HB

[steampowered]

A letter has no legal standing. He needs a will. This is because the distribution of assets on someone's death is deemed to be an important matter which has formalities.

 

If he writes a letter which does not comply with the requirements for a will, his assets will be dealt with under the laws of intestasy.

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

Fwiw, in case this helps, when a relative of ours died intestate and we were waiting for probate, her bank said that they would pay funeral expenses from her bank account if the funeral directors contacted them direct, before probate was sorted out.

 

This was Lloyds TSB.

 

HB

[cazcraig]

thank you for your help, the letter he has wrote states he is of sound mind and body and put his bank details, card details and password on stating when he passes it is to be transferred into my brothers account which the details of he has also put into the letter and had it signed by himself and two others, next question, if he needs a will are the self packs you can buy sufficient or does it a;ll have to go through solicitors etc?? thanks

[steampowered]

The bank details and card details are useful practical information which will help whoever deals with the estate.

 

The part stating that money should be transferred into your brother's account has no legal effect. Under English law, what happens to your assets on death is seen as something so important that you have to comply with certain formalities in order to reduce the risk of fraud. If he has not complied with the requirements for a will then the letter will not be treated as a will.

 

You don't have to use a solicitor, a decent will-pack should be fine as long as the instructions are followed carefully and the will is very simple. Otherwise best to use a solicitor or will-writer.

[cazcraig]

thank you so much