Jacqueline Emmerson has over thirty years legal experience in dealing with Wills/Probate, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Court of Protection and Mental Incapacity cases. She manages the affairs of older clients who have no one to assist them, often recovering thousands of pounds in overpaid utility bills and backdated claims for state benefits. Together with her Clear and Clean team she can turn around houses very quickly often presenting them for sale at tens of thousands more than they were initially valued.

Jacqueline’s team are the proud winners of Private Client Team of The Year at the British Wills and Probate Awards. Jacqueline has since gone on to be a judge for these prestigious awards.

Jacqueline writes articles, gives talks, appears on radio and has produced videos in relation to her expertise in this area of law. She is a Dementia Friend and member of Gosforth Dementia Group. Emmersons is the only Solicitors firm in the country to offer Slow Shopping, for those with physical or mental incapacity or impairment. This was set up by Jacqueline.

Just email your query and telephone number to jacqueline.emmerson@emmersons-solicitors.co.uk and Jacqueline will get back to you.

Executor Duties and Responsibilities. Newcastle and Sunderland Solicitors

What Should I do if an Executor Doesn’t Wish to Act?

Many of our clients assume that the best thing to do is to appoint a family member or a friend as an Executor to deal with their estate. However, this is not always a good idea.

When you make your will the people you appoint as executors may be very close friends. But fast forward ten years. Do you still see those friends? Do they still live close to you. What if they have moved to the other end of the country, or moved abroad? If you have lost touch with them should they be left with the legal obligations of running your estate. Would you want them to be dealing with the most personal aspects of your life, the contents of your home or to know how much money you left or the level of debt that you may have had.

Executor Solicitors Newcastle and Sunderland

Even appointing a family member can lead to problems. Did you appoint only your husband or wife or your brother or sister. How old will they be when you die? If they are the same age as you then you need to think ahead. How would they cope with searching your home for valuables, organising a locksmith, an auctioneer, having the entire contents of your home cleared, dealing with tax bills etc.

In one of our cases our client died. She had appointed her husband and two cousins to be executors of her estate. Unfortunately her husband was seriously ill in hospital when she died and the two cousins were by now very elderly. They did not respond to letters, did not have internet connection and did not answer phone calls. Eventually the husband managed to speak to another relative who went to visit the two.

They agreed to step aside as executors so that we could actually move on with Administering the Estate.

We had to visit the husband at home every time we needed him to sign documents as he was tofrail to visit us. He couldn't leave the house to visit the post office so it is faster for us to visit him.

In this instance it would have been far better if our client had appointed us as Professional Executors of her estate. Our Specialist Wills and Probate Lawyers would have swung into action moving the case along much faster. The husband would not have been so involved at a time when he was quite ill.

If an Executor Doesn’t Wish to Act.

There are two options:

1. The Executor Signs a Deed of Renunciation

What is a Deed of Renunciation?

This is a formal legal document, prepared by your solicitor, permitting a person named as an Executor to step down permanently. They will not be involved with the administration of the estate at all. However, in order to be able to do this they must not have “intermeddled” with the estate at any time. It is therefore important that they are asked to step down as soon as possible.

This is a permanent step and cannot be undone.
Stepping aside as an Executor does not affect any inheritance received as an Beneficiary. Unless the will states otherwise.
When applying for a Grant of Probate the Probate Registry will require proof that the Executor has Renounced.

2. The Executor Signs a Power Reserved

What is Power Reserved?

We often find that those with health issues, frailty or who live a long distance away will sign a Power Reserved. It means they don’t have to sign every document, thus cutting down on administration and solicitors costs.

They are still an Executor, still entitled to see all paperwork should they wish. They will be mentioned when the application is made to the Probate Registry.

At Emmersons Solicitors, when we are dealing with an Executor who has Reserved Power, we always ask them to check the Estate Accounts and sign them off before distributing the estate to the beneficiaries.

If you need any advice as to whether you should act as an Executor then please don’t hesitate to contact our Wills and Probate Department for a chat. We offer Probate help for you and your family.

Contact our Probate Solicitors in Newcastle or Sunderland.

Our telephone numbers are:

Probate and Executor Solicitors - contact our Newcastle office on: 0191 284 6989

Probate and Executor Solicitors - contact our Sunderland office on: 0191 567 6667

or email us: enquiries@emmersons-solicitors.co.uk

Or complete our Online Enquiry Form and select Probate

Our offices are based in the easy to access central locations of Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland covering the whole of the North East. Covering Gosforth, Jesmond, Gateshead, North Tyneside Washington, Houghton-le-Spring, Seaham and South Shields. Our Wills and Probate Solicitors also offer Nationwide and International services.

Related Probate Services.

Inherited Wealth Disputes - Contentious Probate >>

Contested Estates >>

Lasting Power of Attorney >>

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY...

"I was blown away by your integrity for all the hard work you did on my behalf. I am very grateful for all of your effort and guidance you showed me. Your professionalism was 10 out of 10."
Anita.

"I would like to place on record my considerable satisfaction with the way your Lawyer has dealt with the matter of my late brothers estate. I am 72 years of age and have no previous experience dealing with this kind of thing. I found your Lawyer to be excellent in explaining the various stages of the actions involved and how these fitted into the overall picture. Throughout I felt confident that I could rely on her to deal with everything as needed and to keep me in touch with how things were going. I found your Lawyer to be a friendly and easy person to deal with, which is more than mere courteousness, and much valued at a difficult time in my life."
Mr S

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