Death notice in local paper

[vladcjelli]

What is it for?

Not something I'd seen before, but a member of our extended family died recently, and such a notice has been published this week in our local paper.

Is there something regarding their estate that we need to know about?

[Corpulent Tosser]

vladcjelli said:

What is it for?

To let people know about the death ?

[Dave Hedgehog]

i think they have to do it if someone dies with no will and no immediate family

[vladcjelli]

Corpulent Tosser said:

vladcjelli said:

What is it for?

To let people know about the death ?

Not like an ad taken out by the family to say, "sorry to announce the passing of...", this is from solicitors asking for anyone who has a claim on the estate to come forward. Or words to that effect.

Dave hedgehog said:

something about immediate family

What do they class as immediate family. No marriage (long term partner), no kids but a few surviving siblings.

[pherlopolus]

usually to find someone to pay for the funeral arrangements... or an Heir Hunters type company...

[anonymous-user]

vladcjelli said:

Is there something regarding their estate that we need to know about?

Yes, a bunch of made up people on a car forum will really know about the estate of some un named person. Yep, all the details are right here on file. Good job you were sensible and called us first rather than doing anything stupid like ringing up the people listed in the notice.

O/T: When I am King, no one will be allowed to inherit anything except personal mementos. All the loot will go to charidee. The idea of getting money for nothing because someone had died has always struck me as daft. OK, I am exaggerating, but only a bit.

[vladcjelli]

Not specifically their estate Breadvan, but there must be a more likely scenario that people have experience of.

In all honesty when I posted, it was your name I was hoping to see amongst the replies, as a learned man of letters.

Not quite the tone of reply I was looking forward to, but beggars can't be choosers, can they?

[SK425]

Breadvan72 said:

O/T: When I am King, no one will be allowed to inherit anything except personal mementos. All the loot will go to charidee. The idea of getting money for nothing because someone had died has always struck me as daft.

Really? Cos the idea that it might be anybody else's business who I choose to give stuff to when I've finished with it has always struck me as daft.

When were you planning you accession to the throne? I only ask because it sounds like I'm going to have plan for raising an army and sacking your kingdom, and I'm in the middle of trying to move house right now so if it was any time in the next couple of months that would be bloody inconvenient.

[anonymous-user]

Could we fit in a spell of bloody conflict followed by an uneasy peace and mutual recriminations in about six weeks? Simple rules: No dragons.


I know mostly jack about probate and inheritance and such. The basis rule is that anyone can leave whatever they like to whomever they like, but there are some exceptions, some to do with dependents and some to do with charideeze and such. Anyway, if interested in the Will of the deceased, contact the people who placed the ad.

[vladcjelli]

Breadvan72 said:

Could we fit in a spell of bloody conflict followed by an uneasy peace and mutual recriminations in about six weeks? Simple rules: No dragons.


I know mostly jack about probate and inheritance and such. The basis rule is that anyone can leave whatever they like to whomever they like, but there are some exceptions, some to do with dependents and some to do with charideeze and such. Anyway, if interested in the Will of the deceased, contact the people who placed the ad.

Awww, and I'd just had the old flame breather serviced too.

I had already suggested and drafted a short letter out for Mrs Cjelli to offer her side of the family, just as you had suggested. Just wondered if anyone else had any experience of the trials and tribulations of these sort of things.

P.S. And you smell too.

[SK425]

Breadvan72 said:

Could we fit in a spell of bloody conflict followed by an uneasy peace and mutual recriminations in about six weeks? Simple rules: No dragons.

Am visiting a selection of in-laws in about six weeks. Might have a bit of difficulty with the no dragons bit. Sorry.

[Terminator X]

vladcjelli said:

Not quite the tone of reply I was looking forward to, but beggars can't be choosers, can they?

His replies do seem to be a tad more arsey recently, perhaps an age thing ...

TX.

[7db]

Terminator X said:

vladcjelli said:

Not quite the tone of reply I was looking forward to, but beggars can't be choosers, can they?

His replies do seem to be a tad more arsey recently, perhaps an age thing ...

TX.

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

[Red Devil]

vladcjelli said:

Corpulent Tosser said:

vladcjelli said:

What is it for?

To let people know about the death ?

Not like an ad taken out by the family to say, "sorry to announce the passing of...", this is from solicitors asking for anyone who has a claim on the estate to come forward. Or words to that effect.

Standard fare for any experienced executor/administrator of the estate of a deceased person. There is usually a time limit stipulated. The lack of a will, per se, is irrelevant but that is when it most often occurs. Where a firm of solicitors is appointed as executor (either directly by the will or instructed by one who doesn't want the admin burden) it will invariably place such an advert.

Its purpose is to protect the executor/administrator who might face a wholly unexpected late claim from a creditor. Without it, the former would be personally liable for the full amount owed long after the estate distribution had been completed.

vladcjelli said:

Dave hedgehog said:

something about immediate family

What do they class as immediate family. No marriage (long term partner), no kids but a few surviving siblings.

In the case of intestacy there are specific rules about who is entitled to claim on the deceased's estate and in what proportion. Don't forget that they differ depending on the jurisdiction (don't forget that Scotland is another country!).

If nobody comes forward it will end up Bona Vacantia and the Treasury Solicitor will deal with it (where there is/are no claimant(s) the Government pockets anything left over after debts and funeral expenses are paid). If the estate is substantial enough heir hunters will be sniffing around to see if they can find some long lost relative they can tap for a commission percentage.

[vladcjelli]

Thanks for the info Red, a very thorough reply.

In the event of there being no will, who appoints the executors of the deceased estate? As far as we can tell, none of the blood relatives have engaged the services of the solicitors named in the notice. If it is the long term partner who has contacted them, could they be trying to ensure they are sole beneficiary to the estate?
How thorough are executors when checking the correct intestacy, when they have potentially have someone standing right in front of them expecting to inherit?

There are underlying sub plots to this, as I expect there are in many cases of this type, and I would just like to know that there are no sharp operators exerting influence where they shouldn't be at a vulnerable time.

[Mike_Mac]

Breadvan72]O/T: [Snip said:

The idea of getting money for nothing because someone had died has always struck me as daft. OK, I am exaggerating, but only a bit.

Pretty much sums up my feelings on Death Duties...

Oh! Your loved one has died? Well, in the middle of sorting out a funeral, the estate and trying to grieve we'd like to demand you pay a large percentage of the money they'd earned, saved and already paid tax on, to us, for no reason other than they're dead and we set the law of the land.

To me it's totally ethically indefensible (but a very nice money spinner).

'The only thing certain in life is death and taxes' - and the cheeky sods tax death as well!!

[anonymous-user]

Joking apart, why should we expect to obtain wealth on the death of loved ones? I also think it's odd that we expect to gain wealth just by owning property and surviving for a period of time. I think that these things distort our views of stuff.

[pork911]

Do you disagree with ownership and gifting during life?

[anonymous-user]

No, and I am not really opposed to all inheritance. I am putting forward a debating idea. I raise the question (seriously) of whether our expectations of ways of becoming wealthy have a distorting effect on how we go about things. One of the Rockefellers, I think it was, who said that you should give your children enough to do anything but not enough to do nothing.

[SK425]

Breadvan72 said:

Joking apart, why should we expect to obtain wealth on the death of loved ones?

I think of it the other way around - from the point of view of the person whose wealth it is. Why should we not expect to be able to choose who to give our stuff to? If I have some stuff and I want to give it to my relatives, or to Battersea Dogs Home, or to you, why shouldn't that be where it goes?

But I wouldn't go campaigning to abolish inheritance tax because that reasoning could probably be applied to any tax. If I've agreed with an employer that in exchange for a certain amount of money, I'll do some work for them, why should anybody else get any of that money? I think trying to justify the principle behind any particular tax is a dead end. The only justification for any of it is that Governments need tax. And I quite like having roads to drive on when I need to get to work.