[Expat Will in birth country] What to do about executors

[hoofishtick]

Hi folks

Trying to sort out my will, both in my birth country, the UK, and here. I'll be sharing all the info I've found, collecting it on the Retire Wiki.

Today's question: What did you do about choosing executors?

In the UK, you can get a way with one. Two is often seen as better.

But, who did you ask?

Did you ask a good friend in the UK? Or did you name a professional to do it?

As I understand it, executors are allowed to claim expenses, at the very least. But if you asked a friend, did you include a financial present to recompense them for the hassle? Or did you decided not to burden friends?

Please share your experiences!

Thanks

hoofishtick

[captainspoke]

The only executor that might not get paid for the work is probably a family member who would also be an inheritor.

Get a couple estimates of what a bank or some other agent would charge and with that in mind ask the friend if they would be willing to do it--and offer something, at least.

Any expenses should of course be billed to the estate. No question.

I'm not sure about UK, but being an executor is not a trivial duty/responsibility. It should be paid work. (You get what you pay for?)

I have a good friend in the US who was considering executors. I told him no way, but that I'd offer my opinions and advice, and be a sounding board (informally) to his wife and whoever else was involved. He said fine, and tho not an official figure, an executor, he said I'd be rewarded for it.

In the US, my father's estate took 4-5 months, and that was with a trust, and him having done as much of the leg work and advance prep as possible. Everything was 'in order' when he died, no loose ends, nothing unsettled or contested, and a 'plan' laid out in advance, and everyone agreeing about everything (no dissatisfied parties).

[RetireJapan]

Estates I have seen (basically family) had family or friends as executors. I am not sure if they were paid, but in the case of some of the family members I know they were not.

My own will names my uncle and his son (my cousin) as executors. Trying to hedge my bets there

[goodandbadjapan]

Many years ago, when i was a young lawyer in Scotland, I had to do a lot of stuff with wills and estates. As far as I remember (and it was a long time ago and I wasn't very good) the lawyers basically did everything. So while there might have been executors named in the will, they really just dealt with the lawyers who did all the actual work of winding up the estate. Of course the lawyers get paid but that would come from the estate, not out of the executor's pocket. So, being an executor could be a bit of a pain as you had to liaise with the lawyers which is never much fun, but it wasn't hugely onerous unless it was avery complex estate. I wound up loads of estates, but I don't think I was ever actually a named executor. The firm probably was, though, and so If you are using a law firm to draft the will, you could name them or one of their solicitors as an executor.

[Roger Van Zant]

Just to piggy back on this.....

I have also been thinking about a will recently.
My situation is quite different from most people on this board though (or so it seems to me):

- 43 years old.
- never been married; no intention to do so; no partner.
- no kids; no intention to have any.
- I own a house and the acre of land it sits on (14 years remaining on the mortgage).
- no relatives back in the UK who have any desire to come to Japan or deal with anything to do with my house/land.

If I were to drop dead tomorrow, with no will in place, what happens to my house and land?
When I took out the mortgage, I had to also join some kind of insurance (I think it was called 団信 or something?), so I believe the mortgage gets paid off by this insurance.
After that, does the land and house just get taken up by the....Japanese government?
Does it just sit there, to become another dilapidated country house, like so many others around here?

Is there even much point in me making a will?!

[ClearAsMud]

If I were to drop dead tomorrow, with no will in place, what happens to my house and land?

The Japanese civil code calls for the estate to be divided among a decedent's statutory heirs, which include not only spouses and direct descendants (first order of precedence), but also parents and grandparents (second order of precedence), and siblings and (conditionally) nephews and nieces (third order of precedence). Moreover, the first two of these categories enjoy iryūbun (distributive share) rights allowing them them to claim a portion of the estate regardless of the existence of a will. Statutory heirs can abandon their claim to the estate, but that has to be done formally, so an attempt will be made to contact any eligible relatives regardless of whether or not they are interested in becoming involved in the process (and ignoring the practical difficulties involved).

If the decedent has not left a will and it appears that no statutory heirs exist -- or if the eligible heirs abandon their claim, or if no heirs can be located -- an executor is appointed by a family court to settle the estate (a creditor or, as a last resort, the public prosecutor can ask the court to appoint one). The executor then handles the necessary procedures, including (after public notification and a period of waiting for potential heirs to step forward) distributing portions of the estate to any claimants who can demonstrate a "special connection" to the deceased (cohabitants, caregivers, and others).

Anything left after this -- typically the process takes around 13 months -- becomes the property of the state. Inheritance specialists usually recommend that a will be written so that as much of the estate as possible can be left to a charity or some other beneficiary of your own choosing rather than to the government. You can also specify your own executor in the will (e.g., make advance arrangements with a scrivener or lawyer).

A fairly detailed explanation (in Japanese) of what happens for those without heirs or a will can be found here:
https://www.souzokuhiroba.com/wakekata/ ... nager.html

Edit: Typos fixed.

[Roger Van Zant]

Thanks for this!

Well, time to start researching about charities in Japan, I guess...!

[RetireJapan]

Thanks for this!

Well, time to start researching about charities in Japan, I guess...!

You could always leave it to RetireJapan

[TJKansai]

My experience is US-based.

Both my parents had wills and things were pretty straightforward. Some money was distributed within a month or two, but the final bit probably was 6-10 months later.

My uncle took care of my mom's estate. He got paid for transport, accommodation & board.

A cousin (retired lawyer) was co-executor of my dad's. He was given a payment of $5,000, though he said he would have done it for just expenses.

[captainspoke]

other experience: https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/c ... ce_lawyer/