AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I think I must be in shock. How else can I be talking about such enormous sums of money so calmly, as if I do this every day? To be fair, these are sums I deal with regularly at work, but this isn’t a client’s money. It’s ours.
‘I will transfer your share into your nominated bank account within the next few days. If you don’t have any immediate plans, such as a property purchase, I would recommend you seek financial advice. Would you permit me to give you the card of an independent financial adviser that we work with frequently? She will be able to give you some ideas about how you could potentially invest some of it, either to provide a bigger lump sum later in life, or an income if you prefer.’
‘Thank you. I’d like that.’ I have no idea what to do with such an enormous sum, so professional advice sounds like a very good plan. I was quite pleased with the £8,000 I’ve managed to build up in my savings account, but this is in a totally different league.
Jonathan pushes a piece of paper and a pen in my direction. ‘If you could just fill in your bank details here, I’ll arrange the transfer. What we do is transfer a pound initially and ask you to confirm receipt. That just makes sure that we’ve got the right details. We wouldn’t want to send your inheritance to a complete stranger, would we?’
I fill in the details of my savings account, which seems more appropriate than my current account. Whatever happens, the money won’t be staying there for long. I remember the news stories showing people queueing up in the vain hope of getting their savings back when Northern Rock collapsed. I’m not prepared to trust one bank with all of it; these eggs will be spread across multiple baskets.
I pass the form back to Jonathan, who casts his eye over it and replaces it in the file. He extracts another piece of paper and slides it over to me.
‘This is a form authorising us to place your sister’s share in trust, with you as the main trustee. I hope you don’t mind the presumption, but I hoped that you would appoint us to handle this for you. If you could just sign in the places indicated.’
I look through the form, but it’s all written in legalese and doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’m sure it’s all above board, though; a company like Moorhouse & Edgerley wouldn’t get far if they weren’t scrupulously above the law. I sign in the places indicated and pass the form back.
‘Excellent. We’ll put that in motion and confirm the details with you once it’s set up. Just for our records, when does Katie turn eighteen?’
‘The twenty forth of March next year.’
He makes a note on his pad.
‘Right, that takes care of the cash assets. Now we move onto property, if you’re ready.’
There’smore?I’m speechless and just nod at him. I hope my mouth isn’t hanging open.
‘I don’t know if you’re aware, but Frederick owned the freehold of a café here in the town, near the station. The café has two residential flats above it, which he also owned. We’ve had all of it valued for probate. Valuing commercial property is a complex task, as there are a number of variables that have to be taken into account, but the café on its own was valued at three hundred thousand pounds.’
If my mouth wasn’t open before, it is now.
‘That doesn’t mean you’d get three hundred thousand pounds if you sold it, but it’s a pretty good indication of the sort of sum you should aim for. The café is currently trading; as the executor of your great-uncle’s will, I have had to step in as temporary director, and we have appointed a firm of accountants to look after the books. I have to tell you that, from what I understand, it is not a viable venture in its current state. It’s not my job to advise you what to do, but if you were to dispose of it, you could either retain the freehold and lease it to a third party, or sell it. Either approach would give you and Katie a significant further financial boost. If you sell it before Katie turns eighteen, then half of the proceeds would go into her trust fund. If you lease it, then that’s income rather than capital, and Katie can benefit from her share straight away.’
‘So, just to be clear, I can sell it, rent it out, or keep it?’
‘Essentially, yes. I have last month’s accounts here, which you’re welcome to take with you. I would advise you to employ an accountant to explain them to you. I will arrange for you to be appointed as the sole director of the business, as that is a legal requirement to give you the power to make decisions. Once Katie comes of age, it is then up to you, if you haven’t sold the business, whether you appoint her as joint director. I’ve also got the details of the accountants we’re using; you can either continue with them or appoint another firm.’
I cast my eyes over the books. He’s not lying. The café was barely breaking even before Fred died. With the cost of the accountants and the fees that Jonathan is charging to be the director, it’s currently making a thumping loss. Even in my shocked state, I realise that it needs to be my top priority, otherwise it will eat through my £400,000 terrifyingly quickly. At least I shouldn’t have to pay Jonathan’s fee for too much longer.
‘Are you okay? Do you need a break?’ Jonathan asks me. ‘There isn’t too much more to go through, but I realise this has been a lot to take in.’
‘You’re telling me,’ I murmur, before I have a chance to stop myself, and Jonathan laughs. ‘I think I’m okay to carry on,’ I continue.
‘Excellent. So, the final major assets are the two flats. As I said, Frederick owned the freehold on both of them, along with the café. He and Nora lived in one, and they rented the other one out for a number of years. However, my current understanding is that the chef from the café is living in the other one, for a nominal rent of one hundred pounds per month. The freehold of the café is tied to the flats, so you can’t sell one without the other, if that makes sense. However, you could sell the flats on a leasehold basis. Based on a new, ninety-nine-year lease, the flats have been valued at two hundred and fifty thousand pounds each. Again, if you went down this route, then Katie’s half of the proceeds would need to go into trust until her eighteenth birthday. Another option is to let them. You’d have to consult an estate agent to get a precise monthly rental, but I’m confident you would be looking at a sum comfortably north of a thousand pounds per month for each flat. Once again, as this is income rather than capital, Katie could benefit from her share of the rent immediately. I have to warn you that the flats are in need of modernisation, so you’d probably have to spend some money to bring them up to scratch before you could rent them out.’
My mind is officially blown. I’ve been keeping up with the numbers in my head, and Katie and I are potentially sitting on a total inheritance so far of nearly £1.6 million.
‘I have all the property title deeds on file,’ Jonathan continues. ‘Would you like to take them, or would you like me to hang on to them for now?’
‘Please keep them. I need time to decide what I’m going to do. I also need to talk to Katie.’
‘Of course.’ He slides a bulky-looking envelope out of the file and passes it to me. ‘These are the keys to the café and the flats. The chef has a set for the café and the flat that he’s currently occupying. We didn’t identify any other keyholders. Are you happy for me to go ahead and appoint you as the sole director of the business? You won’t be able to do anything at all with it unless I do.’
‘Yes, that’s fine.’
He passes a sheaf of papers across to me, and it takes forever to go through and sign them all, particularly as I have to get him to explain several sections. By the time we’re finished, I’ve signed forms relating to the directorship, the bank accounts, and the properties themselves.
‘There are only two other items of value that we need to discuss. It appears that Frederick lived a fairly frugal life on the whole, especially after Nora died, but he did own one item of note.’ He pulls another envelope out of the file and pushes it across the table. I open it and slide out a rather boring-looking wristwatch with a metal bracelet. It doesn’t look valuable, and I raise my eyebrows questioningly.
‘It’s a Rolex Explorer,’ Jonathan explains. ‘The funeral directors passed it on to me with his personal effects. My expert advises me that these things are worth more if you have the original box and papers. I don’t know whether they’re in the flat somewhere, but the valuation of eight and a half thousand pounds is based on the watch alone. I would recommend insuring it, if you decide to keep it.’
