After someone’s death, their personal representative has the task of finalising their affairs, commonly referred to as winding up their estate. This task includes preparing estate accounts setting out details of all of the deceased’s assets and liabilities.

Personal representatives

Where the deceased left a Will, their executor, appointed in the Will, has the task of dealing with the estate administration. If there is no Will, then a close family member, often a spouse or child, can take on the role of administrator.

For more information about the tasks involved, see Who to appoint as executor to your Will.

Drawing up estate accounts

The accounts should start with details of the deceased, to include their name, date of death, date of the Will, if there is one, names of the personal representatives, a list of the beneficiaries and details of the legacies.

All assets should be listed together with valuations where these have been obtained. If the estate includes property, a valuation will be necessary. Other valuable items should also be professionally valued.

Debts should also be included, such as mortgages, loans, tax liabilities and balances outstanding on credit cards.

The accounts should include a capital account with information about any change in the value of the estate during the administration period, for example, adjustments if assets have been either over- or under-valued.

There will also need to be an income account showing income and outgoings during the administration. Expenses such as estate agency fees, solicitor’s fees and valuer’s fees should be included here as well as any interest that is received in respect of the deceased’s investments or on money held in the estate account.

The accounts will include a distribution account showing how much each beneficiary will receive. This sum should be sent to the beneficiary with a receipt for them to sign and return. Residuary beneficiaries, ie. beneficiaries who are entitled to receive a share of the estate once all of the debts and specific legacies have been made, are entitled to see the estate accounts.

Personal liability

Dealing with an estate administration is often very time-consuming and long-running. It can also be complex, where the deceased’s estate is not straightforward. Personal representatives need to deal carefully with the estate administration as they can be held personally liable for any mistakes which are made and that cause loss to the estate. This is the case even if the error is genuine. If you act jointly with another executor or administrator, you will also have liability for any errors they make.
If you are responsible for an estate administration on the Isle of Man, you can ask us to deal with the process on your behalf. We can take on the whole task of winding up the estate, to include valuing and disposing of assets, preparing estate accounts and distributing the estate to the beneficiaries. For more information in respect of our services, see Isle of Man estate administration.

Contact us

If you are dealing with an Isle of Man estate administration and you would like advice and assistance, our experienced probate advocates will be happy to hear from you.

For a no obligation initial consultation or to make an initial free enquiry, please call our team on 01624 665522, email us at email us: hello@quinnlegal.im or fill in our online enquiry form.

 

After someone’s death, their personal representative, either an executor or administrator, has the task of finalising their affairs and distributing the estate to their beneficiaries. If a beneficiary cannot be located or is bankrupt, this can cause difficulties.

Where errors are made in the administration process and a loss is caused to the estate, the executor or administrator will have personal liability, even if the error was a genuine mistake.

Missing beneficiaries

If a beneficiary is missing, the personal representative will need to make attempts to locate them. It is often more likely that a beneficiary will be missing if the deceased did not make a Will. Their estate will pass under the Rules of Intestacy, which sets out in order of preference who is entitled to inherit.

It will be for the estate’s administrator to determine which relatives the deceased had and which of them is entitled to inherit. It might even be difficult to know whether relatives exist where families have not stayed in touch, for example, whether there are grandchildren or nieces or nephews and, if so, how many.

The executor or administrator will need to make reasonable attempts to locate missing beneficiaries. This includes looking through the deceased’s papers, asking their friends and family and placing advertisements in the paper asking for the beneficiary or relatives of the deceased to come forward.

If this is not successful, then the estate can pay for a probate tracing company to try and locate the beneficiary.

These steps are important, as the personal representative needs to be able to show that they have tried to discharge their duty.

If the beneficiary cannot be found, an insurance policy can be taken out by the estate which will provide cover in the event that a beneficiary later comes forward to make a claim.

Bankrupt beneficiary

Where an individual has been declared bankrupt, their trustee in bankruptcy takes control of all of their finances, providing them with a living allowance and distributing the rest of their money to their creditors to reduce their debts.

If the individual inherits a legacy while they are an undischarged bankrupt, the executor or administrator should ensure that this is paid to the trustee in bankruptcy and not to the beneficiary themselves.

If the inheritance is paid to the beneficiary directly, then it would be open to the trustee in bankruptcy to make a claim against the executor or administrator for the full amount.

It is illegal for the beneficiary not to disclose an inheritance to the trustee in bankruptcy. They will be given the remainder of the legacy, if any is left, after all of their debts have been paid.

As part of the estate administration process, the personal representative should carry out a bankruptcy search against all of the beneficiaries, which will protect their position.

Contact us

If you are the personal representative of someone who has died, we can take on the administration of the estate on your behalf. If you are unable to locate a beneficiary, we will ensure that all possible steps are taken to trace them and that your position is protected as far as possible. We will also ensure that bankruptcy searches are carried out in respect of all beneficiaries.

If you would like to speak to one of our property team, call us on 01624 665522 or email us: hello@quinnlegal.im or fill in our online enquiry form.

An Enduring Power of Attorney or EPA is a legally binding document by which you can give legal authority to an attorney of your choice to manage your financial affairs, should you ever become unable to do so yourself.

Without an EPA, your loved ones could have difficulty in dealing with matters on your behalf and would need to apply to the court to appoint a receiver. This is a more complex process and can take many weeks to deal with.

Making an Enduring Power of Attorney

By making an EPA, you can be sure that someone will be able to step in on your behalf if you should become unable to make your own decisions. By registering the EPA with the Isle of Man Courts of Justice, your named attorney(s) will be able to pay bills on your behalf and manage your property and financial affairs. The registration will be accompanied by a medical certificate confirming that you are unable to act on your own behalf by way of a safeguard.

Who To Choose As Your Attorney

You can choose between one and four attorneys, who should be aged at least 18, and you can also name a substitute attorney should you wish to. People generally choose either a relative, a trusted friend or a professional to take on this role.

You should be aware that if you choose someone who is of a similar age to you, they may be unable to take on the task if and when the time comes.

Appointing Your Children As Attorneys

It is open to you to appoint your children as attorneys, however you should think this through carefully. The job will need someone who is capable and has good financial understanding and also who has sufficient time to devote to the role. You will also need to be sure that they will act in your best interests.

If you choose to appoint more than one attorney, you can allow them to act individually or require them to act jointly, with all appointed attorneys needed to make any single decision. This can make the process of managing finances difficult and slow at times.

You will also need to consider whether your children get along well enough to act together. Dealing with property and finances on behalf of a parent can be stressful and if they are likely to argue, you may want to consider another option to preserve their relationship as far as possible.

Discussing Your Enduring Power of Attorney With Your Family

Once you have decided whom you would like to act on your behalf in the event that you ever need an attorney, it is a good idea to discuss your decision with your family if you can. This will avoid surprises in the future and give them the opportunity to get used to the idea and raise any concerns they have with you.

By explaining your wishes to them face to face, you will be giving them the best chance of understanding what you want and why.

Future Changes To The Law

The Manx government has proposed to extend the powers that can be given to an attorney to include medical care. A similar law exists in England and Wales, where a Lasting Power of Attorney can be made to cover either property and finances or health and welfare.

Contact Us

At Quinn Legal, we offer a package service, which includes a Will, an Enduring Power of Attorney and an Advance Decision. These are the crucial documents that can give you peace of mind for the future and enable your loved ones to help you as needed and benefit from your assets when the time comes. You can find out more about an Advance Decision here.

We have a client platform to help you put these three important documents in place, or please feel free to call us to discuss your needs and to ask any questions you may have.

For a no obligation initial consultation or to make an initial free enquiry, please call our team on 01624 665522, email us at email us: hello@quinnlegal.im or fill in our online enquiry form.

It can be tempting to try and draft your Will yourself or use a cheap service where you will not have the assistance of an expert Wills lawyer. In the long run, this can be a disastrous choice. There are very strict rules surrounding Wills and any errors can have far-reaching effects, potentially leaving loved ones without their inheritance and even causing bitter family disputes.

What Can Go Wrong With Wills?

A Will needs to be clear and unambiguous so that there is no scope for misunderstanding. It is not always easy to achieve this, particularly if you have a complex estate or complicated wishes for who will inherit. The Will must also be witnessed correctly, or it could be invalid.

The person making the Will must have the mental capacity to understand the implications of what they are signing and should not have been unduly influenced by anyone else in respect of the making of the Will. If a genuine legal expert is involved in taking instructions and drawing up the Will, then if a query is raised in the future as to capacity or influence, they will be able to give authoritative evidence as to their client’s state of mind at the time.

A Will could also deal with only part of someone’s estate if it is not properly drafted, meaning that part of the estate would be dealt with under the Rules of Intestacy, which set out what happens to assets when someone does not leave a Will. This could make the winding up of the estate more complicated than it should be and could also mean that loved ones do not inherit what you wanted them to have.

When A Will Is Challenged

If there are errors within the Will or it is challenged for any reason, the executors will be legally bound to defend the estate from legal claims. To do this, they will need to engage expert contentious probate advocates. If the legal action is lengthy, it could potentially drain the estate of funds.

The beneficiaries would also have to wait until the dispute was settled before they could receive their inheritance. In some cases, this could take years.

Avoiding A Wills Dispute

Putting a professionally drafted Will in place is the number one way to avoid a dispute arising after your death. Where your wishes are clearly and unambiguously set out, there will be less scope for disagreements or misunderstandings to arise.

You can also discuss your intentions with your loved ones so that they can raise any issues they have with you and understand the choices you have made.

As well as making sure your Will is correctly drafted, a professional Wills advocate will ensure that the document is correctly witnessed.

For information about the Wills services we provide at Quinn Legal, see our Wills page or give us ring.

Contact Us

If you need a Will drawn up, we will be happy to work with you to ensure your wishes are correctly set out.

For a no obligation initial consultation or to make an initial free enquiry, please call our team on 01624 665522, email us at email us: hello@quinnlegal.im or fill in our online enquiry form

Couples often leave all of their assets to each other in their Wills. While this is commonplace and understandable, it can cause problems for their children, who could miss out entirely on their inheritance in certain circumstances.

Sideways disinheritance

If a couple leaves everything to each other in their Wills, then after the death of the first to die, the survivor will own all of the assets outright. If they subsequently marry, then their Will automatically becomes invalid. This means that even if their original Will leaves all of their estate to their children, once they are married, this no longer applies.

The children of the original couple could lose out in a number of ways. If no new Will is made, then their the surviving parent’s estate will pass under the Rules of Intestacy, which means that the new spouse could inherit everything or substantially more than the children.

If a new Will is made, then there is nothing to stop the surviving parent leaving everything to their new spouse. If this happens, the children will receive nothing and the whole estate moves sideways to a different family, potentially on to the new spouse’s children.

Even if the new spouse makes a Will leaving money to the children of the original couple, there is nothing to stop them changing their Will and cutting the children out at some future date.

How to avoid sideways disinheritance

One of the easiest ways to avoid sideways disinheritance is to bequeath your spouse or partner a life interest in the assets that you are leaving. This means that they can continue to live in a shared home for as long as they need to. However, when they finally leave or die, the share that belonged to the first person to die passes in accordance with the terms of their Will, meaning they can leave it to their children and be sure that they will receive it in the end, after it is no longer needed by the surviving spouse or partner.

Leaving a life interest in an asset also means that it cannot be taken into account when assessing the surviving spouse for benefits such as payment for care home fees and it will be protected from being used in this way.

It will also protect the money from being spent by the surviving spouse or being lost in bankruptcy or divorce.

Contact us

At Quinn Legal, we can talk through your options with you to ensure that your Will makes provision for all of your family in the way that you would wish and so that none of your loved ones are left out. Our advocates have experience in drawing up Wills for individuals in all circumstances, including those with complex or high-value estates.

For more information about the benefits of having a Will, see our Wills page.

For a no obligation initial consultation or to make an initial free enquiry, please call our team on 01624 665522, email us at email us: hello@quinnlegal.im or fill in our online enquiry form.