A guide for new legacy officers and those for whom legacy administration is a part of their role

It’s all about perspective’ is a common nugget of wisdom often bandied about. Throughout the administration of an estate there are a number of perspectives to consider, depending on whether you’re the executor, the administering solicitor, a pecuniary beneficiary, a residuary beneficiary, an individual beneficiary or a charity beneficiary. Each has their own ideas on how the administration should progress and concerns that marry with those perspectives.

An understanding of each of these perspectives, their goals and their expectations can help a legacy officer to anticipate how each may react at certain points in the administration and how certain requests may be perceived. Obviously, each person, no matter their role within the administration of an estate, is individual and they can be greatly influenced by their life experiences, personal views and even how their day is going. With this in mind, the observations I will be making are generalised for simplicity.

The Executor’s Perspective

The executor can be a very interesting perspective to consider. If they are acting in a professional capacity, then this perspective can be substituted for that of the administering solicitor (see below).

If the executor is not acting in a professional capacity, then the perspective becomes generally that of someone who wants to get the job done right but swiftly. It can ultimately become a role of self-preservation, whether that be from personal liability if things go wonky or from that relative in the will who thinks the estate should have been wound up yesterday and wants to know where their money is.

Sometimes, the lay executor isn’t made aware of the amount of work involved when they agree to take on the role. Some seem to have the impression that the role is simply to collect in the money, send it to the right people and be thanked for such a lovely gift. When asked for information about the estate, such as a copy of the will, a schedule of assets and liabilities or estate accounts, they can find the whole situation overwhelming and stressful, particularly if they have decided to deal with the administration themselves rather than paying for professional assistance.

Extra care should be taken if the legacy officer is dealing with an overwhelmed lay executor, but they must also be clear and concise with their communication to not confuse or overwhelm the individual further.

Overall though, the executor is just trying to get the job done without any possible personal liability cropping up further down the road. Ultimately, they are looking for reassurance and future security, so when speaking with an executor it can be helpful for the legacy officer to have this in mind.

The Pecuniary Beneficiary’s Perspective

The pecuniary beneficiary’s perspective is that they can and should get paid pretty swiftly. They generally don’t kick up much of a fuss and only start to make noise if things have been running on for a very long time without explanation. The easiest way to solve their concerns is to make sure they receive their legacies ASAP.

The Residuary Beneficiary’s Perspective

The residuary beneficiary’s perspective is that the estate should be administered correctly but with the least amount of estate liability and within a decent timeframe.

The individual residuary beneficiary will generally not make much contact with an administering solicitor but can be a surprise volcano and bring a complaint right out of left field if they feel things are taking too long or that their entitlement is unnecessarily dwindling. So sometimes the individual residuary beneficiary can be a wild card, understandably so given that they have lost a loved one and they are now part of a process-driven segment of the law, that many have never been through before.

If the executor is a family member or someone the individual residuary beneficiary is close to, they are generally kept well informed on the administration and are usually happy. However, if the lay executor finds their role stressful and overwhelming, the individual residuary beneficiary may on occasion be found joining forces with the lay executor against any charity beneficiaries if they feel they are the cause of the lay executor’s stress and overwhelm.

The legacy officer will have to tread carefully in this situation and be aware of the PR risk. At the end of the day, the individual residuary beneficiary wants the administration to be done right so that they can get every penny of what they have been left by their loved one and for the memory of that loved one to be respected and honoured.

The charity residuary beneficiary will be in contact throughout, requesting regular updates, being involved in some decision making and trying to meet audit and Charity Commission requirements. The charity residuary beneficiary wants the administration to go right so that their charity can carry on the valuable work that it does.

Ultimately, whether the residuary beneficiary is an individual or a charity, they want to be kept informed and for no unnecessary expense to be made.

The Administering Solicitor’s Perspective

The administering solicitor’s perspective is that they want to administer the estate swiftly and without much fuss or interruption from the beneficiaries or other outside bodies. The overall perspective is ‘let me do my job’.

Before I qualified as a solicitor, the firm’s partner who supervised my training always said, ‘don’t write to the charities until the end of the administration. It saves the estate money, so they’ll get more at the end and you won’t have them hassling you for updates.’

Now that I work for charities, I cringe at this teaching, but it has always stuck with me. This opinion has helped me to understand the perspective of, and deal with, unresponsive solicitors. Whether they share this opinion with my old supervising partner or whether they have another reason for not responding, it doesn’t matter.

Above all, remember the administering solicitor just wants to be allowed to get on with their job and they are often at the mercy of outside bodies, such as banks, HMRC, DWP, etc. So, keep all correspondence to the point, at appropriate times and if there are a large number of charities then appoint a lead or agree to group correspondence to reduce the emails the solicitor receives and sends.

The overarching perspective for all involved in the administration of an estate is that they want the estate dealt with correctly, swiftly and without much fuss. This is where a Legacy Link consultant with their wealth of knowledge and experience can make a big difference. Truly honouring the perspectives of all the parties involved whilst not becoming blind to the overarching perspective of the group as a whole, the consultant fosters as positive an experience as possible for all.