Legacy Management: latest developments April 2023
Insight
Death, debts and donations…
In this month’s update we focus on the role that debt plays in an estate. In doing so, we consider:
- Alleged debts owed to attorneys and executors and the rights of fiduciaries to charge for their time.
- The rights and duties of beneficiaries and creditors following the death of a debtor.
Separately we also consider the risks to both charity and donor of “tainted donations” and how these can affect those in the legacy sphere.
We hope you find these articles interesting and informative.
Estate debt owed to executor or attorney
Charities may sometimes find that an estate is saddled with an alleged debt owed to the testator’s attorney or executor.
In this article we consider the rights of attorneys and executors to charge for their time, and the potential for charities to challenge their costs.
Death of an individual borrower: considerations for executors and lenders
Charities will no doubt have come across the situation where a testator, who has left a charitable bequest, has died without having paid off lifetime debts.
In this article Bethan Waters, Ben Parish, Nandini Sur and Lucy Sharp consider the rights and duties of lenders on the death of an individual borrower. Charities will want to make sure that executors have informed the lender of the death of the borrower, so that the lender does not assume that the loan is continuing as normal, and that they understand any lending terms triggered automatically by the donor’s death.
Tainted donations
In this article, Lucy Sharp considers the risks to both charity and donor of receiving tainted donations: donations made to a charity where the donor (or a person connected with the donor) has entered into an arrangement under which they receive a financial advantage from the charity.
This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
© Farrer & Co LLP, April 2023
