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Barclays (named executors) lost only copy of my dad's will
Dear Legal Beagles
When my mum died in 2014, we discovered a payment coming out of her bank account and we didn't know what it was for. It was a kind of safety deposit box provided by Barclays but no one could tell us what was in it unless we cancelled the service and retrieved the goods inside. We cancelled the service, thinking it could be my mums Will, it turned out to be my dad's Will. Since then dads Will was kept at home. We meant to have it put back into a safety deposit box but never got round to it.
Well Dad passed away in February 2017, so we began to sort out his affairs. Barclays were named as the sole executor. We didn’t know what that meant at the time. We took the Will to the Barclays local branch for them to send a certified copy to their Wills and Probate department which they did, or was supposed to have done. Four weeks later and we didn’t hear anything back from the Wills department. I called them to chase it up and they said they hadn’t received the copy and I would have to resend another certified copy. I went into the local branch to find out what happened and they said the certified copy must have been sent in the external post (royal mail) instead of the internal post as they could not track it. Now we can’t find the original Will anywhere. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as a solicitor told us that without the original Will or certified copy Barclays could not execute the Will and this would save us tones of money.
Since then, I decided not to peruse Barclays regarding the Will and have applied for probate myself, due to Dads estate now being intestate. Because the estate is intestate the law decides on the beneficiaries and the division of the estate, which is no different from what was in the Will anyway, us three daughters getting equal share of the estate. The only difference was that Barclays would have been quid’s in by being the ‘professional executor’.
I am completely happy to administer the estate myself, it is a very simple estate and in fact have already applied and been granted probate or letters of administration to be specific. There was no inheritance tax due because we gained mums nil band rate which doubled dads allowance to £650000. The whole estate is valued at about £450000 and we got a surveyor to evaluate the property so that we knew we had a proper valuation for inheritance tax purposes. All that’s left to do now is to sell the property, pay the liabilities, and divide the remainder by 3.
A company called Zedra have been calling me once or twice a week to get another copy of dads Will, I believe they act on behalf of Barclays. I have avoided talking to them, I don’t really know what to say. Is there a way they can find a copy of the Will and prosecute me for my actions of applying for probate? Should I be thinking about complaining to Barclays for losing their copy of the Will and potentially receive compensation? I did a search on Google for any similar stories but can’t find anything, this is how I realised how much Barclays would have made out of my dad’s estate.
Although in this instance the circumstances have meant that we are better off, unknowingly to them, I can’t help thinking “what if dads Will was different” what if he had left all of his money to someone specific, this would mean that this person could have lost out on hundreds of thousands of pounds because of the negligence of Barclays. Another issue is data protection surely, they have misplaced a very sensitive, confidential and legal document, surely they should be liable for damages or something. I know it's like the pot calling the kettle black but the information belonged to us and they are a professional financial institution who we trusted with this valuable document and the information contained within it.
What should I do? Your advice would be much appreciated.
When my mum died in 2014, we discovered a payment coming out of her bank account and we didn't know what it was for. It was a kind of safety deposit box provided by Barclays but no one could tell us what was in it unless we cancelled the service and retrieved the goods inside. We cancelled the service, thinking it could be my mums Will, it turned out to be my dad's Will. Since then dads Will was kept at home. We meant to have it put back into a safety deposit box but never got round to it.
Well Dad passed away in February 2017, so we began to sort out his affairs. Barclays were named as the sole executor. We didn’t know what that meant at the time. We took the Will to the Barclays local branch for them to send a certified copy to their Wills and Probate department which they did, or was supposed to have done. Four weeks later and we didn’t hear anything back from the Wills department. I called them to chase it up and they said they hadn’t received the copy and I would have to resend another certified copy. I went into the local branch to find out what happened and they said the certified copy must have been sent in the external post (royal mail) instead of the internal post as they could not track it. Now we can’t find the original Will anywhere. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as a solicitor told us that without the original Will or certified copy Barclays could not execute the Will and this would save us tones of money.
Since then, I decided not to peruse Barclays regarding the Will and have applied for probate myself, due to Dads estate now being intestate. Because the estate is intestate the law decides on the beneficiaries and the division of the estate, which is no different from what was in the Will anyway, us three daughters getting equal share of the estate. The only difference was that Barclays would have been quid’s in by being the ‘professional executor’.
I am completely happy to administer the estate myself, it is a very simple estate and in fact have already applied and been granted probate or letters of administration to be specific. There was no inheritance tax due because we gained mums nil band rate which doubled dads allowance to £650000. The whole estate is valued at about £450000 and we got a surveyor to evaluate the property so that we knew we had a proper valuation for inheritance tax purposes. All that’s left to do now is to sell the property, pay the liabilities, and divide the remainder by 3.
A company called Zedra have been calling me once or twice a week to get another copy of dads Will, I believe they act on behalf of Barclays. I have avoided talking to them, I don’t really know what to say. Is there a way they can find a copy of the Will and prosecute me for my actions of applying for probate? Should I be thinking about complaining to Barclays for losing their copy of the Will and potentially receive compensation? I did a search on Google for any similar stories but can’t find anything, this is how I realised how much Barclays would have made out of my dad’s estate.
Although in this instance the circumstances have meant that we are better off, unknowingly to them, I can’t help thinking “what if dads Will was different” what if he had left all of his money to someone specific, this would mean that this person could have lost out on hundreds of thousands of pounds because of the negligence of Barclays. Another issue is data protection surely, they have misplaced a very sensitive, confidential and legal document, surely they should be liable for damages or something. I know it's like the pot calling the kettle black but the information belonged to us and they are a professional financial institution who we trusted with this valuable document and the information contained within it.
What should I do? Your advice would be much appreciated.
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