{"id":277604,"date":"2011-02-23T14:28:17","date_gmt":"2011-02-23T14:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/02\/23\/banks-to-reform-executor-services\/"},"modified":"2011-02-23T14:28:17","modified_gmt":"2011-02-23T14:28:17","slug":"banks-to-reform-executor-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/23\/banks-to-reform-executor-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Banks to reform executor services"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n 23 February 2011<\/span>
\nLast updated at <\/span>09:28 ET<\/span>
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The big four High Street banking groups have agreed to reform the way they sell will-writing and executor services.<\/p>\n

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said customers were in danger of appointing banks as executors without understanding the possible costs.<\/p>\n

When people die, executors are those who sort out the finances according to the dead person’s wishes.<\/p>\n

An OFT survey found that 43% of people appointed their will-writer or solicitor as their executor.<\/p>\n

However, the law does not state that a professional must be appointed as an executor.<\/p>\n

“The wrong decision when appointing executors could mean a potentially expensive professional service is chosen, when a family member or friend may be quite capable of handling the task either alone or with professional support,” the OFT said.<\/p>\n

“We are pleased that each of the banks has agreed to review its selling practices and marketing literature to ensure customers are getting the information they need to make informed choices.”<\/p>\n

Shop around<\/span><\/p>\n

The regulator pointed out that people can pay between \u00a33,000 and \u00a39,000 for a professional executor to sort out an average sized estate after their death.<\/p>\n

The OFT estimated that people were spending \u00a340m a year too much on executor services because they failed to shop around.<\/p>\n

Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS – the only banks to offer will-writing and executor services to their customers – have agreed:<\/p>\n