Published on: 10th July 2023

When to Appoint a Replacement

When considering your Estate Planning, it is vital to not only think about your ideal wishes, but also to contemplate what you would like to happen if your original plans were unable to go ahead. For example, many people who do not take any professional advice when creating an Estate Plan will just appoint their spouse to act in roles such as their executor within their Wills. This may seem fine, but it must be considered what would happen if your spouse were to pass away before you. Who would you want to act in their absence?

The solution to this is to appoint someone to step in and act in the instance that your primary appointment is unable to act due to being unwilling or unable to. When writing a Will with Casey & Associates, if a client expresses the desire to only appoint one individual as their executor, our consultants will always listen and ensure a Will that reflects the clients wishes is written for them. However, during our free of charge consultations, the consultant will be able to go through your options, such as appointing an adult child, a sibling or a friend as a reserve executor. This acts as an insurance policy, of sorts, that ensures that if your ‘first choice’ appointment cannot act, there is still someone that you trust that can step in.

Wills are not the only area of Estate Planning where appointing a replacement can be advantageous. Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) are important documents that allow an individual (the donor) to appoint those that they trust (the attorneys) to take care of their affairs when they are no longer able to, perhaps due to the loss of capacity. We have heard stories from clients who have created LPAs without taking advice from a legal practitioner, and again, there is a clear pattern of a sole appointment of spouse being appointed solely, with little consideration to who may act on behalf of the surviving spouse when the first of them passes away. As with Wills, there is a way around the LPA becoming of little use after the ‘first choice’ attorney is unable to act. A donor may appoint replacement attorneys, who only step in to act when the attorney has passed away or is incapacitated themselves.

A very important consideration for parents with children under the age of 18 is who they would wish to care for their minor children in the case they passed away before their children reached legal adulthood. People very often appoint their own parents or siblings, but again do not consider what would happen in the case the appointed guardian could not act. Parents can appoint a replacement guardian, too. There is a common misconception that the way around this is to nominate two people together. For example, a testator may appoint their mother and father, or their sister and brother-in-law. But what happens in the case that the couple that have been appointed divorce? The orphaned child may potentially have to go through a custody battle after the loss of their parents. Without the advice of professionals, people fail to consider the ‘what-ifs’ and a back up plan for the Estate Plan.

Without the input of a legal practitioner, individuals interested in creating a Will often make one leaving everything to spouse on first death, and everything to children in equal shares on second death. But what about if your children predecease you? It is uncomfortable to think of, but it is always a good idea for a testator to consider where they would like their estate to go in the instance that none of their beneficiaries are able to inherit. These are reserve beneficiaries who would only inherit in the case that the primary beneficiaries were unable to. A consultant will be able to go over options with a client, such as leaving their estate to charity close to their heart, or to a particular person who would not inherit via intestacy.

These are just a few of the things that our consultants can raise during a free of charge appointment. If you would like an appointment with one of our consultants to discuss your Estate Planning or if you have any questions, please telephone 01732 868190.

======================================

If you wish to give instructions or require general information about our Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, or Trusts then we will carry out a telephone or Zoom appointment.

However, if you wish to give instructions to one of our Consultants and you feel that you can only do this at a Face to Face meeting we are offering, at our Consultant’s discretion, a limited number of Face to Face appointments in most of the areas we normally cover (subject to Government advice). To see the areas we normally cover please click here.

To arrange an appointment please telephone 01732 868190 or click here.

======================================

Back to all news