Around six million people have experience of acting as the executor of a Will but just 4% realise that they are legally responsible for the accurate distribution of the estate that is entrusted to them.
It is estimated that around two thirds of the British public do not have a Will. If they die without making one, they are said to be dying ‘intestate’, meaning that the Crown will decide how their estate will be divided up.
With an ever increasing amount of our lives documented online it’s perhaps unsurprising that many people are now asking ‘what happens to my online legacy when I die?’
It is estimated that two-thirds of people in the UK haven’t prepared a Will, so if you are yet to write one then you are not alone. However, what you may not realise is that without one you have no say in what happens to your estate when you die.
Prince is currently being mourned across the world by a generation of fans who adored his eclectic musical style, flamboyant stage presence and ground breaking albums. During his lifetime he sold over 100 million records, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.
While the vast majority of legal professionals operate under a strict moral and ethical code, unfortunately we still hear about cases where less scrupulous individuals take advantage of a family’s vulnerability by overcharging for estate administration services.
Currently, executors pay a flat fee of £215 for probate regardless of the size of estate. However, under the proposed legislation a sliding scale of fees will be introduced, capped at £20,000 for estates worth more than £2 million.