Solicitor named as executor, must your family use them?
Professional executors can be invaluable, but they are not always necessary. Here is what families should understand about choice, costs and obtaining the right level of professional support.
When somebody dies, their family may assume that if a solicitor, Will-writing firm or trust corporation is named as an executor in the Will, that firm must deal with the entire estate administration.
That is not necessarily the case.
Professional executors can be extremely valuable, particularly where an estate includes trusts, business interests, overseas assets, family disputes or vulnerable beneficiaries.
However, many estates are relatively straightforward. In these cases, a spouse, child or other family member may be capable of acting as executor while obtaining professional help with the legal, probate or tax work that requires specialist knowledge.
The distinction matters because appointing a professional executor can significantly affect the cost of administering an estate.
At SRC Legal, our starting point is simple:
A professional executor should be appointed because it is appropriate for the client and the estate, not simply because the professional prepared the Will.
Do you need a professional executor?
An executor is responsible for administering the deceased’s estate and carrying out the terms of the Will. There is no general requirement for that person to be a solicitor, accountant or other professional. A suitable family member, friend or beneficiary can act.
For a straightforward estate, a family executor may deal with routine tasks such as gathering documents, contacting banks and notifying utility providers, while obtaining professional assistance with:
the Grant of Probate
Inheritance Tax and dealings with HMRC
asset valuations
estate accounts
trusts arising under the Will
final distributions
This can provide an appropriate balance between professional expertise, family control and cost.
However, appointing a professional executor may be advisable where:
no suitable family member or friend is willing to act
beneficiaries are in serious conflict
the estate includes a business or complex trust
assets are held internationally
minor or vulnerable beneficiaries are involved
significant tax work is required
litigation is likely
independence and continuity are particularly important
In these circumstances, professional executorship may represent excellent value.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s guidance says that before a solicitor appoints themselves or their firm as executor, the client should make that decision on a fully informed basis, including understanding the likely additional cost.
ICAEW’s ethical guidance for probate practitioners similarly recognises that a professional executor may not be necessary for a straightforward estate.
The appointment should reflect the needs of the client and the estate—not an assumption that the firm preparing the Will must also administer it.
Why the potential cost matters
Professional executor appointments are not inherently inappropriate. In many cases, professional involvement is entirely justified and offers valuable continuity, independence and protection.
However, clients should understand how the professional will charge and what the appointment could ultimately cost their beneficiaries.
Some firms charge according to the time spent. Others may charge an hourly rate together with an additional amount calculated by reference to the value of the estate.
Consider an estate worth £1.6 million. If a value-based administration charge were applied:
1.5% would be £24,000;
2% would be £32,000;
3% would be £48,000; and
4% would be £64,000.
These figures are illustrations only and do not represent the charges of any particular firm. VAT and other costs may also apply, depending on the charging arrangement.
They demonstrate why it is important to understand the basis of the fees before appointing a professional executor.
Where a family executor retains control and purchases specialist help only when it is required, the overall cost may be very different. However, the right arrangement will always depend on the estate’s circumstances and complexity.
A real-life example
We recently assisted a family where a married man had died leaving an estate of approximately £1.6 million.
The estate principally comprised a home, bank accounts, savings and investments. There was no family dispute, trading business or complicated trust arrangement and the residue of the estate passed to his widow.
His Will appointed both his widow and a professional trust corporation as executors and expressed a wish that a particular law firm should undertake the administration.
That arrangement may have appeared sensible when the Will was prepared. After her husband’s death, however, the widow concluded that she did not require a professional executor to control the entire administration.
She was willing and able to act herself but needed professional support with probate, taxation, asset valuations and certain aspects of the administration.
This represented a different service model: the family executor remained in control while obtaining regulated professional assistance where it added value.
What if a professional executor is already named?
A person or organisation named as an executor is not necessarily required to take an active role.
Where more than one executor has been appointed, an executor may sometimes have power reserved. This means they do not join in the initial probate application but retain the ability to become involved later.
Alternatively, an executor may agree to renounce their appointment permanently.
Renunciation is normally documented using HMCTS Form PA15. Different documentation may apply to certain professional or corporate appointments.
Renunciation and power reserved are not the same:
Power reserved allows the executor to step back while retaining the possibility of becoming involved later.
Renunciation normally means giving up the right to act permanently.
Renunciation should not be undertaken casually. It is also important to raise the issue early, before the executor has obtained the Grant of Probate or become substantively involved in administering the estate.
Families considering this option should take advice before any significant steps are taken.
Should a professional executor agree to step aside?
Not necessarily. There may be good reasons for a professional executor to remain involved, including:
serious disagreement between beneficiaries
concerns about the conduct or capability of another executor
complicated trusts
minor or vulnerable beneficiaries
substantial business interests
overseas assets
safeguarding concerns
significant tax issues
anticipated litigation
The wishes of the person who made the Will are also important. Renunciation should therefore never be regarded as automatic.
However, a professional executor should consider whether their continued involvement is necessary and proportionate, taking account of the estate’s current circumstances.
Circumstances at death may be very different from those anticipated when the Will was prepared five, ten or twenty years earlier.
A request for a professional executor to step aside is not necessarily hostile. It may simply be a sensible reconsideration of the level of professional involvement the estate now requires.
If an executor will neither progress the administration nor agree to renounce, there are legal procedures that may be available. These can include a citation or, in appropriate cases, an application to remove or substitute a personal representative.
Court proceedings can involve considerable cost and risk, so specialist contentious probate advice should be obtained before taking this route.
The better question to ask
Rather than asking:
“Should my solicitor be my executor?”
A better question is:
“Who will be best placed to administer my estate and what professional assistance are they likely to need?”
Sometimes the answer will be a professional executor.
Sometimes it will be a spouse, child or other family member.
In other cases, a family member acting alongside a professional may provide the right balance. A family executor supported by an authorised probate practitioner can also offer expertise without requiring the professional to control every aspect of the administration.
Already have a Will naming a professional executor?
It is worth reviewing the arrangement during your lifetime.
Consider:
Who have you appointed?
Why did you appoint them?
Were the potential costs explained?
Are the people you selected still appropriate?
Has your estate become simpler or more complex?
Could a family member act with professional support?
Changing an executor appointment during your lifetime will normally require an amendment to your Will or an appropriate Codicil. This is generally easier than leaving your family to address the issue after your death.
Our approach at SRC Legal
SRC Legal is authorised and licensed by ICAEW to undertake probate work.
We can support an executor with as much or as little of the administration as they genuinely require. This might include:
obtaining the Grant of Probate
dealing with Inheritance Tax
preparing the deceased’s final tax return
advising on particular assets
preparing estate accounts
assisting with distributions
managing the complete estate administration where that is the appropriate solution
When preparing a Will, we will only recommend appointing a professional executor after discussing the alternatives, likely costs and reasons professional involvement may be suitable.
Where a family member is capable of acting, we are equally comfortable saying so.
Probate advice should be a professional service, not a lock-in. Executors should be able to obtain the level of support the estate genuinely needs.
If you would like to review the executor arrangements in your Will, or need advice following a death, please contact SRC Legal.
This article provides general information about probate law and practice in England and Wales. It does not constitute legal advice. The appropriate course will depend on the terms of the Will, the steps already taken by the executors and the circumstances of the estate.