Two executors, siblings, for their late mother's estate. One of them had been a tenant in his mother’s house. After her death, he remained in the property for eight months. He stopped paying rent.
The unpaid rent amounted to £9,600. His sister, the co-executor, was left in an impossible position. The assets were ready for distribution, but for this one debt. She had to ask her brother, formally, to pay what he owed to their mother's estate. The estate he was also in charge of. This is the reality of probate when planning is absent. It is not about spreadsheets. It is about difficult phone calls to the people you love.
A Fatal Conflict
The fundamental problem was a conflict of interest built into the will. The son was appointed to three competing roles. He was an executor, responsible for collecting all estate assets. He was a beneficiary, entitled to a share of those assets. And he was a debtor, owing money to the estate.
An executor's duty is to the estate, not to themselves. You cannot properly chase a debt from yourself on behalf of others. The mother appointed her son from a place of trust. She did not foresee a situation where his interests would diverge so sharply from his duties. But they did. The result was deadlock, legal costs, and a fractured family relationship.
The Right People in the Right Roles
Choosing your executors and attorneys for an LPA is one of the most important financial decisions you will make. This is not a ceremonial role. It is a job with significant legal and financial responsibility. You must ask practical questions. Is the person you have in mind financially stable? Are they impartial? Do they have a potential conflict with other beneficiaries?
The legal position here was clear. The executor’s debt can be deducted from his share of the inheritance. This is known as the 'right of retainer'. But getting to that point cost the estate months of delay and thousands in fees. A professional executor would have collected the rent from day one. Their only interest would have been to execute the will as written.
These situations are avoidable. The work is in the planning. If this raises questions about your own arrangements, we should talk.
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Written by Sean Kiani, Estate Planner at Inheritance Made Simple. Sean writes and reviews the firm's guidance on estate planning, wills, trusts and inheritance tax, and works with families across Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset and Central London. Verify Sean's Society of Will Writers membership listing.