Appointing an executor - how to avoid an unexpected bill for thousands of pounds.
The Office of Fair Trading warns that consumers are paying millions of pounds too much for professional executors to sort out their affairs.
According to the Office of Fair Trading, consumers in the UK are spending £40 million a year more than they need to because they’re not shopping around for a will or – more importantly – for an executor who will sort out their financial affairs after they have died. Around one in three adults dies without a will and many people put it off for as long as we can. So perhaps it’s not surprising that, once we’ve decided to arrange one we just want it sorted as quickly as possible. And that’s how we can end up missing out.
Many women are unaware of the bereavement benefits that they're entitled to.
Many aspects of the state benefit system are complicated and bereavement benefits are no exception, but if you don’t claim benefits within the time limits you could lose out.
Dealing with the emotions of losing someone close to you can be incredibly difficult, but if you’ve lost your husband or partner, there are bound to be financial as well as emotional consequences of their death. If you were married or in a civil partnership, you will be entitled to some bereavement benefits, but if you were living together – the sad fact is – you’re likely to lose out. But many women who are entitled to bereavemement benefits following the death of their husband or civil partner aren’t aware of the benefits that are available.
Have you been badly treated by a financial company when you’ve been bereaved? If so, you're not alone.
John McFall MP takes up the cause of people who’ve been recently bereaved and urges the Financial Services Authority to look into the way they’re treated by financial companies
If you’ve ever had to deal with financial companies or service providers after you’ve been bereaved, the chances are that at least one company made a stressful time far worse. That was the experience of Ingrid Facius, whose husband died a year ago. Ingrid contacted me after she spent almost a year trying to get her late husband’s ISA company to pay up. Despite repeated letters and telephone calls from Ingrid and her solicitor, the ISA administrator, Equiniti, still hadn’t transferred £20,000 from her late husband’s account. And it seems Ingrid is not alone in facing problems.
