With it being Dying Matters Awareness Week May 6-12, Platinum’s Editor-In-Chief Katy Sunnassee looks at wills and the importance not only of having one, but what it could mean for your family.
WORDS: KATY SUNNASSEE. IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK.
I’m slightly ashamed to admit I’ve not yet written a will. I know it’s crucial for multiple reasons. My father-in-law passed away last October, which only highlighted to my husband and I the need to sort out our finances. Although my late father-in-law had a will, it hadn’t been updated since 2018, after which some matters had changed and, without going into too much detail, it left a huge headache for my husband. Not least because he had to wade through boxes and boxes of paperwork, none of which had been kept in an orderly fashion, but, to add to that, because his dad hadn’t told him what he’d decided, it all came as a bit of a shock.
While death isn’t exactly a fun topic, it’s made me start conversations with my own parents to find out what they plan to do, and they’re happy to involve me and my brother in the conversation so that one day – and may it be a long, long time coming – we’re not left a) surprised about their decisions, and b) left with a paperwork nightmare on our hands.
For example, you may want to inform the people named as executors on your will that they will be so appointed. This allows you to have early conversations so, when the time comes, the process isn’t such a shock and the people involved will have an idea about what they’ll need to do.
An executor is a person named in a will to be responsible for administering the estate of the deceased. There may be more than one executor but not typically more than four. An executor may be a relative of the deceased, close friend or a professional, such as a solicitor.
‘The executor will have a number of duties and responsibilities, including sorting out the assets and liabilities of the estate, paying any taxes arising, and administrating and distributing the estate in accordance with the will and law,’ says Joanna Grewer, a partner at Roythornes Solicitors (roythorne.co.uk).
Acting as an executor can be burdensome and involve a lot of work, as my husband is discovering only too well. His father had multiple bank and savings accounts, including one in his birth country, plus a house there, where the laws of inheritance differ.
‘There can be personal responsibility for an executor if something should go wrong. As such, legal advice is ty
