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Why you must make sure your will is accessible
Posted on: 18th Dec 2019 by: CamOuse Financial Management Limited
Do you know where your will is? Even more importantly, do the people who will act as your executors, in the event of your death, know where your will is stored?
The recent discovery at Lloyds Banking Group that 9,000 wills had been left in storage and not passed on to customers serves as a stark, cautionary tale. The bank is now desperately trying to match envelopes with the relevant families.
The wills were kept in the bank’s ‘Safe Custody’ service – an ironic name given that the custody actually proved too safe, with no one knowing about the wills’ existence. The service closed to new customers in 2011.
The error means that some executors may have administered a deceased’s estate using what turned out to be the wrong will, unaware that the right one was stored at Lloyds. As a result, some families are having to re-examine old bequests years after they were thought to have been settled.
Not only will this have caused great inconvenience, it will also have been incredibly distressing for those involved.
Michael Culver, chairman of Solicitors for the Elderly, commented that the processing failure could lead to estates being wrongly distributed, contentious probate claims, negligence claims against executors and administrators, issues with tax payments and, ultimately, the last wishes of the deceased not being honoured.
The bank, however, has said that it was only in a small percentage of cases that they did not trace the will when a customer died. According to their spokesperson, 90 per cent of the newly discovered wills had already been superseded by a later will or there were copies available elsewhere. In some cases, the estates were declared intestate but had been distributed in line with the deceased’s wishes anyway.
What action can be taken? Families affected should make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman and a counter claim against Lloyds directly. Compensation will be offered, including legal costs, and LLoyds have promised that it won’t claw back assets given to the wrong people.
As for the future, what lessons can be learnt? It is recommended to always register a will. This case illustrates that it is often better to use a solicitor, who will be specialised in making and storing wills, rather than a high street bank. You can also register a will with the Probate Service for a one-off fee of £20.
The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) advises against safety deposit boxes for wills as it means the executor cannot get access until they get probate and this cannot be granted without a will, so it becomes a bit of a Catch 22 situation.
If you do have a will stored in a safety deposit box, consider moving it elsewhere to ensure it is accessible. Make sure its whereabouts is known to your executors. It may not be something you or your family want to think about right now but it could save a lot of stress and worry at a difficult time later.
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Understanding the true cost to your business
Pension arrangements must be available for all employees. There are three categories of employee:
Eligible
Aged between 22 and State Pension Age (SPA) with qualifying earnings over the Auto Enrolment earnings trigger
Non-eligible
Entitled
Important Notes
- Eligible jobholders must be auto-enrolled
- Non-eligible jobholders are allowed to be auto-enrolled if they want to
- Entitled workers are entitled to join a pension scheme, but the employer doesn't have to contribute
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Qualifying Earnings lower threshold |
£5,772 |
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Qualifying Earnings upper threshold |
£41,865 |
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Automatic Enrolment earnings trigger |
£10,000 |
Minimum contribution level options:
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8% of Qualifying Earnings of which |
3% is employer's (starting at 1%) |
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9% of Basic Salary of which |
4% is employer's (starting at 2%) |
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8% of Basic Salary of which |
3% is employer's (starting at 1%) |
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(Where basic salary is at least 85% of total earnings) |
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7% of gross earnings of which |
3% is employer's (starting at 1%) |
Pay reference period
Essentially the frequency that the jobholder is paid e.g. monthly, weekly etc. but with reference to the tax month, week etc. therefore it may not be the same as the payroll period.
Deduction and payment of contributions
It is the employer who is responsible to calculate, deduct and pay all contributions to the AE scheme. NOTE – the first and last contributions are likely to be for less than a full pay reference period and should be adjusted accordingly.
Payroll services
It can be seen that it is very important that the payroll system synchronises with the AE scheme otherwise the employer will not be carrying out all requirements and then penalties will be incurred.
Staging date
Based on the employer’s payroll size as at 1 April 2012 and can be found at www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers using your PAYE reference. The Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme must be registered with The Pensions Regulator within 4 months of the staging date.
Compliance and communication
Postponement
Auto-Enrolment can be postponed for up to 3 months:
- For current eligible employees
- For workers that meet the criteria in the future for the first time e.g. avoid joining temporary or lower paid workers
Opt-Outs
All eligible employees must be auto-enrolled, but can, with the correct notification, opt-out within one month of joining the scheme and be treated as never having joined. They can opt back in and will automatically be auto-enrolled every 3 years in any case!
Communication
There is a wide range of information that must be provided to all employees at certain times, such as:
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- That non-eligible jobholders have the statutory right to opt in
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Salary sacrifice
Contributions can be paid by effectively reducing salary, which saves on NI contributions, but employee must choose to do this – they cannot be forced, so a contractual variation will need to be implemented.
Default investment fund
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