Beneficiary of aunts will

peter212693 · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:34

Hi all,

As the title suggests I am a beneficiary of my aunts will who sadly passed away earlier this year. There are 7 of us grand children who are sharing the estate. The house is due to go on the market in the next few weeks and its all being dealt with by local solicitors.

The question is am I able to ask them how much (approximately) I am entitled to?

I don't want it to sound wrong or inconsiderate but im hoping to use the money to help towards a deposit on a bigger house when my wife and I move (to accomodate out 18 month old daughters toys

)and knowing would help us gauge what we are looking at.

Thanks in advance.

John40 · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:36

Well if you know roughly how much it will sell for and you're getting a 7th it doesn't take a lot of working out.

Assuming of course she doesn't have a lot of creditors.

bremen1874 · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:38

The house must have been valued for probate so you should know roughly what it's worth

itchy · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:39

Providing she did not pass away in a 1 bed terrace, a few grand I would imagine.

Sorry for your loss.

peter212693 · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:39

True, but there was money invested in shares, etc too dating back years and years. There has not been any sort of list of what will be included in the whole estate.

Uther · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:41

Value of estate minus all costs. Solicitor will be a few grand (think I was quoted 4k, but am handling the estate and probate myself) and the estate agent will want a few k as well. Funeral expenses unless she had a plan (coop etc)
If the estate is worth a lot (over 325k now I think) the taxman will also want his cut.
You get a 7th of what's left after the estate is settled.
* edit stocks and shares might complicate things a bit more. I am dealing with a simple estate, a few k in the bank and a house, but it still took several months.

godinman · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:46

Obviously you can ask.

beamer · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:54

Nowt wrong in asking the administrators - they are getting a hefty fee for a bit of paper pushing - make sure you get your money's worth out of that service. Also consider working with the other beneficiaries to keep the assets, particularly the shares as is - liquidating now may well not be a smart move and it might be better to have 1/7th of the shares transferred to your own share account instead. Potentially same for the house.

Uther · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:56

Depends entirely on the will surely? The one I'm dealing with explicitly states that all assets are to be sold, and the money raised distributed.

peter212693 · 4 Aug 2015 at 21:59

Thanks all, I will dig the copy of the will out tomorrow and check but im sure im in the same boat and the will stated everything to be sold monies distributed. I will write to them and ask for details of what the estate will comprise of and an estimated amount after fees.

Phantom Shadow · 4 Aug 2015 at 22:18

When you say sharing the estate do you just know that you are a beneficiary along with them or have you also been told the will said to split equally between the 7 of you?

Split equally is the most likely scenario, but also worth confirming if you haven't already been told incase the will has an uneven split.

peter212693 · 4 Aug 2015 at 22:20

Phantom Shadow said:
When you say sharing the estate do you just know that you are a beneficiary along with them or have you also been told the will said to split equally between the 7 of you?

Split equally is the most likely scenario, but also worth confirming if you haven't already been told incase the will has an uneven split.

Yes, the will states an even split between us.

Is there something I need to request formally? "Inventory of the estate" "Total estate account" or just ask for the executors workings out?

peterwalkley · 4 Aug 2015 at 22:27

Ask the solicitors. As part of managing the estate they have a formal duty to keep all the beneficiaries informed. They will have a rough estimate of the entire estate value as it would have to be checked if there was likely to be any inheritance tax liability.

Your question is not unreasonable, but also don't expect a precise answer as they can't predict the sale price of the house.

The whole process can take a while. When I managed my mum's estate it was nearly a year before everything was finally sorted out.

peter212693 · 4 Aug 2015 at 22:37

Moses said:
Ring up and do this,

YouTube VID

This is what I'm trying to avoid looking like

peterwalkley said:
Ask the solicitors. As part of managing the estate they have a formal duty to keep all the beneficiaries informed. They will have a rough estimate of the entire estate value as it would have to be checked if there was likely to be any inheritance tax liability.

Your question is not unreasonable, but also don't expect a precise answer as they can't predict the sale price of the house.

The whole process can take a while. When I managed my mum's estate it was nearly a year before everything was finally sorted out.

Thanks for you input. Would you expect them to have a good idea of the whole estate at this point as its been in their hands nearly 5 months now? Obviously excluding the house sale price which they will have a valuation of anyway.

Cat_J · 4 Aug 2015 at 23:10

You're obviously trying to handle this in a respectful manner which is commendable, but remember these people are as much working for you as your past aunt. You can ask them anything you want, explain why you're asking if it makes you feel better but they will have heard it all before anyway so no need to be shy.

This is a sad time but people will realise these questions need to be asked.

As others have said, sorry for your loss. Talking about money after death always brings up feelings of guilt, but it is a reality of life and its why they left you the will.

Uther · 4 Aug 2015 at 23:22

peter212693 said:
This is what I'm trying to avoid looking like

Thanks for you input. Would you expect them to have a good idea of the whole estate at this point as its been in their hands nearly 5 months now? Obviously excluding the house sale price which they will have a valuation of anyway.

More than likely. It took 4 months for a grant of probate in my case.

beamer · 5 Aug 2015 at 01:06

Further to what I said earlier and the timescales others have indicated, don't go spending what you don't yet have ... if someone, anyone with a potential claim on the estate and/or creditors not yet identified comes forward, or the validity of the will is challenged, it could drag on for a lot longer and you could end up with a lot less than initially expected. Hatching chickens and all that.

Efour · 5 Aug 2015 at 05:38

I would phone and ask ?

Cosimo · 5 Aug 2015 at 06:42

Efour said:
I would phone and ask ?

Same here and I would also check the valuation of the house to make sure that it is set to a realistic price.

peterwalkley · 5 Aug 2015 at 08:34

peter212693 said:
Would you expect them to have a good idea of the whole estate at this point as its been in their hands nearly 5 months now? Obviously excluding the house sale price which they will have a valuation of anyway.

Yes, unless your Aunt was some major money launderer. I can't remember exactly, but HMRC wanted an initial estimate of the size of the estate quite quickly so they should have gathered most of the information by now.

Is there someone in the family nominated as a contact point for the Solicitors ? Having to answer the same set of questions 7 times might put their costs up a bit.

As advised earlier, don't spend it before you've got it, but its fair to at least get some idea of what's coming.