Contacting the solicitor etc.

barrytiptree · 30 September 2016 at 9:46AM

My wife's mother passed away around 1 month ago.
My wife is a joint executor of her mother’s will, along with her brother. Her younger sister is not listed as an executor. The brother is dealing with the legal stuff and has the will. The brother made all the funeral arrangements which has taken place.

Currently the brother is refusing to give details of the solicitor who is holding the will but has said that he and my wife are joint executors and the solicitor will be in touch. Even though the solicitor does not have our address or contact details, maybe up to the brother to supply them, (if he chooses to) who knows ! The brother said that it was his own solicitor that was dealing with things, but we don’t know who they are.

I am wondering if my brother is not divulging the solicitor details so that perhaps my wife could be removed as an executor ?

My wife’s brother and sister have fallen out with my wife and almost refuse to have almost any communication with her, possibly due to the fact that the mother died in hospital (she had a weak heart and was very poorly) and both the sister and brother were trying to get her well enough to return and die at home. Something my wife was against as the home was not suitable for her to continue living in, in her condition.

The brother appears aggressive over the phone when he does speak to my wife after she rings him.

There are various items of value such as jewellery and the sale value of the house. The jewellery has been removed by the brother.

My wife and I have helped partially clear the house but as we are 5 hours drive away we have not been able to return there too often.

My questions are:
Could the brother be looking to remove my wife as one of the executors, or under what conditions could that happen.
Having checked with the GOV website I cannot see the will showing as entered probate yet, perhaps it appear later ?
Can we read the will online somewhere ?
If we use the GOV website and apply to see the will. Will it show the solicitors details.

Any other advice would be appreciated

Thank you.

Barry

jimmy_cricket · 30 September 2016 at 9:55AM

barrytiptree wrote: »

My wife is a joint executor of her mother’s will, along with her brother. Her younger sister is not listed as an executor. The brother is dealing with the legal stuff and has the will. The brother made all the funeral arrangements which has taken place.

Currently the brother is refusing to give details of the solicitor who is holding the will but has said that he and my wife are joint executors and the solicitor will be in touch. Even though the solicitor does not have our address or contact details, maybe up to the brother to supply them, (if he chooses to) who knows ! The brother said that it was his own solicitor that was dealing with things, but we don’t know who they are.

I am wondering if my brother is not divulging the solicitor details so that perhaps my wife could be removed as an executor ?

My wife’s brother and sister have fallen out with my wife and almost refuse to have almost any communication with her, possibly due to the fact that the mother died in hospital (she had a weak heart and was very poorly) and both the sister and brother were trying to get her well enough to return and die at home. Something my wife was against as the home was not suitable for her to continue living in, in her condition.

The brother appears aggressive over the phone when he does speak to my wife after she rings him.

There are various items of value such as jewellery and the sale value of the house. The jewellery has been removed by the brother.

My wife and I have helped partially clear the house but as we are 5 hours drive away we have not been able to return there too often.

My questions are:
Could the brother be looking to remove my wife as one of the executors, or under what conditions could that happen.very difficult to do and can only be done by a court on specific grounds (I know as this is what I am planning to do, but know it will be expensive and drawn out
Having checked with the GOV website I cannot see the will showing as entered probate yet, perhaps it appear later ? [COLOR="rgb(139, 0, 0)"]all executors have to sign the probate forms and be in attendance for the interview[/COLOR]
Can we read the will online somewhere ? [COLOR="rgb(139, 0, 0)"]only when probate has been granted[/COLOR]
If we use the GOV website and apply to see the will. Will it show the solicitors details

Any other advice would be appreciated

Thank you.

Barry

Sorry, for your wife's loss.

I am going through something similar, but for me, the other executor is refusing to deal with anything, so finding it impossible to finalise the estate. I've put my two pennorth worth above, hope it helps

barrytiptree · 30 September 2016 at 10:13AM

Hi Jimmy, Sorry for your loss too, thanks for the info.

TBagpuss · 30 September 2016 at 10:39AM

It' s quite dificult to remove someone as an executor and unlikely that this is what he is planning.

You won't be able to find the will/probate yet as probate is grated after the executors apply for it. Your wife will need to sign and sweara a probate oath and the oath has to have a copy of the will with it, as she will also have to sign the front of the will to confirm that it is the one for which she (and her brother) are applying for probate.

A month isn't very long, and while it may be that your brother in law is being awkward, it's also possible that he is grieving in a different way than yor wie and his ability to cope with things is moving at a diferent speed.

It might be worth your wife sending him a letter r e-mail saying something like 'I know you mentioned that the solicitor would contactme - as we are joint executors we should really be making a joitn decision abotu which solicitor to use and how to proceed, so please could you give me the details of the person you propose we use with a view to us agreing on this. I'd like the time to consider before we apppooint someone so it will avoid delay if you let e have thier details sooner rather than later"

Yorkshireman99 · 30 September 2016 at 10:39AM

The brother needs to be brought to account. As an executor he has to act properly and for the benefit of the estate not himself. I suggest a a polite but firm letter pointing out his responsibilities and asking him to get in touch so that proper arrangements can be made to execute the will. If that does not produce results then a letter saying that an application to the court. Only do this if you are prepared to take that action.

konark · 1 October 2016 at 1:35AM

It would not surprise me if your wife's brother did request your wife 'renounce' probate, not only because of their poor relationship but because she does not live nearby.

It will be inconvenient to administer the estate with joint executors when one of them lives 5 hours away. A lot of the work cannot be done over the phone or the internet but involves face-to-face meetings with bank officials, solicitors and estate agents who will be reluctant to act without both executors present and singing from the same hymn-sheet.

getmore4less · 1 October 2016 at 8:39AM

If the brother is really handing this over to a solicitor they should not go ahead without contacting you to confirm you are in agreement.

If he is planning to try something alone then the probate office should pick up the need for your consent to you not acting.

Both of those are should and not unknown for the checks not to happen properly(eg forged signature on a renounce or power reserved)

One practical option you have is caveat
https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/stopping-a-grant-of-representation

as relationships are stained once he realises this won't help but gives a bit of time to try and get some comunications before going if with threats.

brewerdave · 1 October 2016 at 8:41AM

konark wrote: »

It would not surprise me if your wife's brother did request your wife 'renounce' probate, not only because of their poor relationship but because she does not live nearby.

It will be inconvenient to administer the estate with joint executors when one of them lives 5 hours away. A lot of the work cannot be done over the phone or the internet but involves face-to-face meetings with bank officials, solicitors and estate agents who will be reluctant to act without both executors present and singing from the same hymn-sheet.

...further to the above -it is possible to effectively remove an executor by applying for probate listing that executor as "with power reserved" -I did this for my mother's estate with the full knowledge and approval of the other (three) executors - but they didn't actually have to sign or acknowledge anything - I swore the oath and listed on the paperwork was a statement that I had informed the other executors in writing - but NO checks on my honesty !
So it would be possible to obtain probate and distribute the estate in theory without the knowledge of a second executor.

barrytiptree · 1 October 2016 at 8:43AM

Hi
Many thanks for the info, very useful to know. I'm very willing to travel back to London any time to help organise things and I will make that clear to all relatives.

getmore4less · 1 October 2016 at 9:30AM

Is it possible to stay in the house?

This may be one of those situations where a week(long weekend) off and some face to face time might assist,

You can give lots of help with clearing the house go into the solicitors.

it won't be a holiday and use up some time but it is a one off and may help you move on with the rest of your lives much quicker.

barrytiptree · 1 October 2016 at 9:38AM

Hi, Both myself and my wife have been to the house to help clear things over one weekend.
We are aiming to go up for a weekend soon and will arrange to meet the other executor there, if he agrees to show up. We are always very polite and friendly to all relatives concerned, will continue trying to be nice to everyone. We don't want to go ahead and force issues (asking, as we don't known them, the Brother's solicitors details and viewing the will) yet, we are a bit wary of what the brother maybe planning and we are hoping that our fears are false ones.
Many thanks.

Contacting the solicitor etc.

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