Expert answers will and probate question

One person has asked a wills and probate question regarding their brother's inheritance from their parents.

The reader wrote to Thisismoney.co.uk saying that their brother was facing bankruptcy and that their parents had decided to make a will that divided their assets between their two children.

They asked what would become of their brother's inheritance if their parents passed away when he was bankrupt.

In response, Phillipa Bruce-Kerr, a partner at a solicitors, said that the reader's brother was not in an unusual position and that many others had the same issue.

She said that if the reader's sibling was in formal bankruptcy at the time of his parents' demise the trustee in bankruptcy would receive his share of the estate to cover his debts.

Ms Bruce-Kerr said that if this action was not carried out the role of the executor would not have been met and they could be personally liable.

She recommended that the reader's parents search for advice and change their will to stop their estate going towards paying off their son's debts.

People in a similar situation as the reader's sibling should also be aware that they are legally obliged to declare that they have been given an inheritance if this is bequeathed to them while they are bankrupt.

Published by Hannah Carr