I am told I am executor by beneficiary

I am told by main beneficiary of a will that I am executor in UK Will. The beneficiary will not give me details of solicitor and says he wants to administer will himself as he is almost sole beneficiary.Is this ok to do.It was his family home and there are a lot of assets as well.He has no other family and will inherit everything or so he says.He sent me an unsigned copy of Will but I do not know who holds the original and he will not tell me.What can I do as I live in Ireland.

Beneficiary sounds odd. I would not take his word for anything.

Beneficiary cannot administer the will himself without your consent. But if you give your consent then it is indeed ok for beneficiary to work away without you.

So, ask your self these questions:

1. Why were you named as executor? Is it only because main beneficiary was then under age but is now old enough? If so, you could bow out without in any way failing to respect the wishes of the deceased.

2. Possibly you are not too bothered about the wishes of the deceased anyway ( who should really have told you that he\she had named you as executor, by the way).

3. Is there anyone else who benefits by this will and whose interests might need to be protected? Do you have any wish to protect those interests?

One thing you cannot easily do is to start the executor's job and then decide to quit ( intermeddling as it is called).

To make an informed decision, insist on seeing a copy of the executed will, certified to you as being a true copy by the solicitor who holds it. Insist on speaking with the solicitor to ascertain why you were named as executor. Then, if you are happy to remain uninvolved, ( and feel under no moral duty to become involved) you can sign a renunciation of your executorship.

As Executor you have an entitlement to hold the original Will. Accept nothing less.

If you then decide to pass on the job to the beneficiary it is a simple process.

But. As this is the UK you would have to take any proceedings in the UK should said beneficiary decide not to hand over the Will. He should know tho that he hasn't a leg to stand on and it is pointless fighting it.

As executor you are entitled to any outgoings that you incur whilst doing the job. If you can't get a copy of the will, which is normal unless you are the executor, try the funeral undertakers who might be able to steer you in the right direction.

You need the original Will (not a copy) for some legal stuff, like taking out Probate.

This is a very interesting question.

If someone names me as their executor and I have no wish to act as executor, do I just refuse to do anything?


Must I convey my refusal to someone? If so, to whom?

The law does not specifically say that the Executor must renounce to someone - but the next person entitled to administer the estate is the person who needs the renunciation in order to proceed. The next person in line is the residuary beneficiary (who is not necessarily the 'main' beneficiary)

MOB has dealt fully with this. Something odd about beneficiary's conduct..
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Thank you all for your advice ,I really appreciate it.I did think it was most unusual behaviour and now I know it is .I will try to get the original will.

Should the solictor holding the will not have made contact with you ?

I did not note anywhere in the OP post that the person referred to had actually died yet ? I knew for years that i was named Executor in 2 wills, probably 10 years before the persons actually passed away.

Secman