Don’t be ripped off beyond the grave
MAY 5TH, 2010 By DOMINIC
Last week I met with some potential clients who are yet to sort out their wills. The conversation led to what is an acceptable fee for will writing and it reminded me to share a word of caution with regard to free will writing offers.
It’s quite common to see free will writing services offered by high street banks, solicitors and will writing firms but they do have to recoup their costs somewhere and this is usually where they take the long term view.
It’s often the case that it’s the beneficiaries who end up paying hefty fees later on as some of these
organisations advise clients to appoint them as executors and levy fees of up to 4.5% on the estate on death.
Considering many of our clients have assets in excess of £1 million their beneficiaries could potentially be paying as much as £45,000 which is a vastly inflated expense on what it realistically should be.
Barclays Bank is one of the worst culprits who charge up to 4.5% as an executor. This is an exorbitant fee considering a highly experienced solicitor can do it for a quarter of the cost. What makes Barclays tactics particularly unsavoury is that they allegedly out source some of their work to an unregulated firm which charges clients with much larger estates 1% if they are instructed directly.
Also, be aware of will writing companies and banks insisting on writing themselves in as joint or sole executors in the hope of getting a fee for the estate work later on.
Really it’s far better to have a trusted family member and friend as an executor. If you are an executor and find that the complexity and responsibility of it is overwhelming and you need professional support, agree a fee in advance that you consider fair. It certainly shouldn’t be in the realms of 4% of the estate value.
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