Kept Assets

Kept Assets Wills, Trusts, Lasting Power of Attorney and Probate

27/05/2026

Executor List

Is there a list of the tasks that I have to do as an Executor?

It is almost impossible to list all the tasks that could be part of an Executors role until you know the estate that the Executor is going to be working on and even then, new tasks can appear during the process. In most estates you can be expected to find the Will that gives you the authority to do your job. You are likely to have to arrange the funeral which normally takes priority over a lot of the tasks. The next step is often applying for probate which will involve valuing the estate, sorting out their finances, paying any Taxes and bills that are due, collecting any debts that are owed to the estate and dealing with all the assets to achieve the distribution of the estate that the Will requires. These are very much just the major highlights of the role to the get a much more detailed understanding, download our Executor Training course.
If you are an Executor and want to know more follow me for more insights or just get in touch for a 1-2-1

20/05/2026

What are the rules of engagement if I become an Executor?

Processes need to be followed, timescales need to be kept, and details really matter.

If this describes how you do things, then we are off to a good start.

If you have ever experienced the death of a close family member, do you recall how you reacted?

It will be important that you are able to continue to think straight and function normally. If that is you, then good now you need decide if you have both the knowledge of what is required and then the skills to do the job.

To get the knowledge of what you are doing then I suggest you take our Executor Training course and only after you have completed that will you be able to decide if you have the skills required.

The last element is almost always an unknown, will you have the time to do the job come the time you are needed?

Hopefully you will be unable to answer that question but having completed the training at least you will know if you are capable.

If you are an Executor and want to know more follow me for more insights or just get in touch for a 1-2-1

13/05/2026

What qualifies me to be an Executor?

If you have full mental capacity and are over 18 years old, you qualify. You are able to do the role even if you are going to inherit from the estate. Most commonly you are the spouse or child of the nominator but not always as the person may not have these people to call on. This is where things get tricky as spouses and children don’t necessarily always have the skills required to do this role but get nominated anyway. Which is one of the main reasons we have developed an Executors Guide to help educate people in this difficult position, ideally before the person passes so they can talk to each other.
if you are an Executor and want to know more, follow me for more insights or just get in touch for a 1-2-1

06/05/2026

Are there things you should know before excepting the role of Executor?
As an Executor you will be legally responsible for handling this persons estate when they die. This means that you can’t say I didn’t know that as a defence if anything goes wrong, as you are expected to know. If the Will has been constructed properly then you shouldn’t be on your own there should be up to 4 of you to share the load and the nominator should have picked people you are able to work with and agree with.
You are going to be responsible for the deceased money, property and possessions from the day they pass until the estate is distributed to the beneficiaries, which could be 6-9 months.
But the most important thing you should know is that you will be doing all this work for free.
If you are an Executor and want to know more follow me for more insights or just get in touch for a 1-2-1

29/04/2026

What should I know before agreeing to be somebody’s Executor?

Being asked to be an Executor of a Will is a very important role and can feel like an honour.

Being asked is also unusual as many people are just nominated, often by parents, and not aware until the Will is signed or about to be read, by which time it is awkward and expensive to get it changed so people don’t.

It is common for people to do the role only once in their lifetime and therefore have little clue what they have been put forward for.

Due to the subject, death, many people don’t talk to the nominator before they die about what they expect of them.

The simple answer to the question is “LOTS” so if you are an Executor and want to know more follow me for more insights or just get in touch for a chat and I can help you understand your role

22/04/2026

Do you like to plan?
What you need to know before writing a Will?
You need to know loads of things but giving you a list before you start is not the way forward as at this stage you haven’t explored all things you don’t know with a professional Will writer that is trained to ask you questions linked to your specific circumstances. Engage with an independent Will Writer so they can guide you through the things that matter in your Will to achieve what you want when you pass. We don’t know what you want so we can’t possibly tell you want you need to tell us until we talk.
Once the conversation starts it will become clear what you are looking to achieve and then we can guide you through the details we need from you to make it happen.
It is a simple and enjoyable process where you get to create and act of love for your important people so that they suffer less when they lose you as you have taken the time to make things clear in your Will.
Give me a call to book a slot in my diary to get this underway

15/04/2026

Do you have Crypto or NFT’s?

On the 2nd December 2025 the Property Act (Digital Asset Law) gave legal status to digital assets and ensured that they can be included in personal estates. Until this point the Law only recognized Physical assets or Rights enforceable by Law.
To be clear this doesn’t make every online item an inheritance asset. Social media, Email accounts and Subscription services for film and music all have usage licenses rather than ownership rights so they remain unaffected by this new Law.
Having recoginsed them it also changes what Executors and Trustees of estates have to do in the management of these items as they need to be able to access the secure private keys.
If you need to know more about the manage digital asset inheritance and secure ways of transferring them through the generations then get in touch

08/04/2026

Are you managing the estate of a family member that recently passed?

Executor Safety, is that something you have considered?

If you, as an Executor, have never heard of the London Gazette then you may be interested to know that it is a way of insuring that you don’t get held personally responsible for debts to the estate that turn up late in the process.

The London Gazette is the recognised place where you place a notice to inform everyone of the deceases passing.

You can embellish your post to include local newspapers.

The Gazette under the Trustee Act of 1925 states that you should name the deceased and the Executor/administrator so that a claim if valid can be made against the estate.

The claim is not made on you directly it is logged through the Gazette so you have an official record.

The notice ensures that if nobody responses within the allotted time you are then not personally responsible for any debts to the estate that are then discovered.

Not doing this mean that time on the estate is never called and a claim can be made at any time in the future.

If you would like to know more about this and costs involved then do get in touch

01/04/2026

Have you inherited something that could be better used elsewhere

How does a deed of variation work

A deed of variation is something that a Beneficiary of an estate is able to use within two years of the deceased passing to correct unintended consequences, correct errors, distribute things in a way that suits the current family circumstances or just make better inheritance tax planning possible.
It can be used if there is a Will or if the estate is intestate.
It only affects the individual beneficiary wishing to make the variation it doesn’t change anything for the other beneficiaries so they do not need to be involved or agree with the variation.
The change, when made, is treated as if the deceased made the instruction themselves.
If the are any immediate Tax implications then you may need to involve the Executors/ administrators of the estate.
If you are considering making a change then get in touch and we can talk you through what is involved

25/03/2026

Do you know that a change of rules could affect your pension?
Passing on your Pension
If you had planned to grow a pension pot that would definitely see you live your retirement comfortably and leave some over for the kids you may not be so happy with the governments plans to change this come April 2027.
Currently investing in a pension is recoginised as a very cost effective way of maximizing your tax benefits to grow a fund to provide for a more comfortable retirement. This doesn’t completely change in 2027 only one part of it does which is the bit where you could leave the residual pension pot to your children if you died before you used it all up. That now becomes part of your estate and is potentially going to be subject to inheritance tax at 40%. Nobody knows when they will pass so over provisioning for a longer life is the normal planning advice you are given, which means that many people statistically will have residual pension funds left when they pass.
Planning takes time so if you want to know what your options are going to be, get in touch for a chat

Address

2 Inches Yard
Newbury
RG147DP

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441635959111

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Kept Assets posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Kept Assets:

Shortcuts

Share

Category