THE self-employed actress and presenter Rita O’Brien has been an executor of a will three times: for the woman she considered her grandmother (Gracie); the man she thought was her father (Norman); and for a former neighbour (Douglas).
“I was asked for the first two, but not for the third. I think the solicitors had assumed, because I had had power of attorney and had helped Doug to transition from social housing into a nursing home, that I’d be happy to be executor as well. Although it was a surprise, I didn’t mind,” Mrs O’Brien says, seeing it as just another expression of her Christian faith.
Being executor of Gracie’s will, in 1995, when she was aged just 28, was “relatively easy” she says, because the property that Gracie, Norman, and Mrs O’Brien had lived in together (until Mrs O’Brien got married and moved out) was owned jointly by Norman and Gracie. “There was no property to deal with, therefore. But I had to deal with various bank accounts and investments, and distribute those through quite a lot of people, as well as a number of family heirlooms. It took a few months to sort it all out. And I dealt with the funeral side of everything, as well.”
When Norman died, although he had left Mrs O’Brien details of his bank accounts, he had left a derelict property, which had to be renovated before it could be sold.
“There were lots of things that he thought didn’t matter, which did matter; which meant it ended up taking a few years to actually sort out all the mess,” Mrs O’Brien says. “He had a shop attached to the property, and hadn’t applied for change of use when he retired. It was complicated and stressful.
“The local council were wanting to charge me for X, Y, and Z, because, as far as they were concerned, it was still a business, even though the shop had been boarded up for years. So, I had to do all the deregistration of the business, and get the whole property turned into a domestic home. Then there were all the issues with detaching the gas and electric bills, because he also had separate gas and electric for each side.”
Because the property had water pouring through the roof, and unsafe electrics and gas, Mrs O’ Brien had to borrow money to make it safe, and had to project-manage the refurbishment from 200 miles away, so that the property could be sold and the estate settled.
“Norman died just before my second wedding. So, I was doing a funeral, and all that stuff, and trying to arrange my wedding. We got back from our honeymoon to be told Douglas had died, and that I had also been named as executor.
“He was a bachelor. He was one of those people that just stayed at home looking after his elderly parents. And then they died, and he was elderly himself.
“Doug had gone into a nursing home after breaking his hip. So, as power of attorney, I had already dealt with things like the bills and his possessions. It was really more of a case of getting the money to the right places. Doug died soon after he went into the home.”
Douglas made provision for all his nephews and nieces in his will, he had also included a gift for Mrs O’Brien and her ex-husband.
“He’d always lived as if he had no money. But, when I got power of attorney, I discovered that actually he had lots of money in the bank. It was fairly straightforward, apart from dealing with histrionics from his cleaner who was upset that she wasn’t left anything, which is a shame.
“But, every now and then, something still drops in through the letterbox, another investment or secret bank account suddenly turns up, which I then have to deal with, even though it’s now over six years ago.”
It took at least two years to untangle Norman’s estate after applying for probate, Mrs O’Brien says. “In fact, I’ve still got one or two little bits that I just have just more or less forgotten about, like his shares with Lloyds.”
For anyone who has been appointed an executor of a will, Mrs O’Brien advises: “Communicate with the person who is asking you, to make sure that they do as much as they can to make life easy for you. And make sure that you know what their expectations are of you as their executor.
“Ask them to amass all their paperwork in one place, including a copy of the will, and things like funeral plans if they have one. If they pay bills and things online, make sure they have set out how to contact those different facilities. This may involve access to emails or passwords — when the time is needed — that would normally be considered confidential. Ask them, too, to provide details of the people to contact in the event of their death.”
Finally, she advises asking if there is anything that you need to know in advance: such as, is there any chance someone might dispute the will? “If they have excluded people from their will, ask what their reasons are for doing so. If you then have any of these challenges, you’ve got that knowledge.”
After Norman’s death, in 2017, Mrs O’Brien found out, via a DNA test, that he was not her birth father. And that her two siblings were also not his birth children.
“Norman’s middle ‘daughter’, my half sister, wasn’t left anything in his will. She had actually broken off all contact decades beforehand, and got back in contact just before Norman died.
“There was £10,000 left to my youngest half-sister, and I gave my other half-sister £10,000 out of my inheritance from Norman. Despite that, I still occasionally receive messages from her, accusing me of manipulating the will.
“I don’t reply to the accusations, but I haven’t blocked her. I understand that she is suffering from mental illness, and that one day she might need me.”
Relatives come “out of the woodwork” whenever there’s a death, Mrs O’Brien says, “so it’s really helpful to know what potential issues there might be”.
Probate and how to apply for it
PROBATE is the legal right to deal with a person’s estate (any money, shares, property, and possessions) after they die. If there’s a will, only the executor, or executors, named in it can apply for probate (different probate rules apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland). If there is no will, the closest living relative of the deceased person can apply for letters of administration. Applications are made online or by post.
Before applying for probate, you will need to estimate the value of the deceased person’s estate. You can get any property or land valued by an estate agent or chartered surveyor, and a professional valuation for anything worth more than £1500.
After being granted probate, you will need to pay any debts or taxes owed by the person who’s died (if Inheritance Tax is due, this needs to be paid within six months of a person’s death). Only after these have been paid can the estate be distributed as set out in the will, or by law.
What to do after someone dies
- Collect the death certificate (from the GP, if the person died at home; or the hospital or hospice).
- Make an appointment with your nearest register office to register the death (this must take place within five days of death).
- Inform the GP if the person died in hospital, and contact the appropriate funeral director to arrange collection of the body.
- Locate the will. If you cannot, or you think there might be a more recent version than the one you’ve found, you can carry out a will search. The National Will Register, local branches of the Law Society, and the Society of Will Writers can help with this.
- Contact the executor; or, if you are the executor, you will need to apply for probate. If there is no will, apply to the probate registry for letters of administration. Before you can apply for probate, you must estimate the value of the deceased’s estate, and notify HM Revenue and Customs.
- Inform government offices through the Tell Us Once service. (The registrar will provide a reference number. You must inform the Government within 28 days of being given this number).
- The executors (in the case of there being no will, the nearest relatives) arrange the funeral, according to any instructions in the will.
- If the deceased was your partner, check eligibility for bereavement benefits, and your own tax, benefits, and pension position.
- If the deceased was your partner, check if the death means you need to apply for the right to stay in the UK.
- government departments through the Tell Us Once service.
- employer, or, if the person was self-employed, the National Insurance office
- accountant
- tax office
- local authority council tax department
- insurance companies
- pension provider
- banks
- mortgage provider or landlord
- providers of credit cards, loans, hire purchase, or anything rented
- utility companies
- TV, phone, and broadband providers
- the Bereavement Register and/or the Deceased Preference Service, to stop unwanted mail
- home help
- newspaper, magazine, or digital subscriptions
- internet-based subscriptions such as Netflix
- mobile phone company
- passport and/or driving licence must be returned
- government departments through the Tell Us Once service.
- employer, or, if the person was self-employed, the National Insurance office
- accountant
- tax office
- local authority council tax department
- insurance companies
- pension provider
- banks
- mortgage provider or landlord
- providers of credit cards, loans, hire purchase, or anything rented
- utility companies
- TV, phone, and broadband providers
- the Bereavement Register and/or the Deceased Preference Service, to stop unwanted mail
- home help
- newspaper, magazine, or digital subscriptions
- internet-based subscriptions such as Netflix
- mobile phone company
- passport and/or driving licence must be returned