Concerns over executor of a will

CheezyBiscuit

sturll wrote: »

I am a solicitor and this is the area i work in, Equity and Trusts, This is not advice but my opinion so treat it as such.

There are many things which can effect the size of someones estate. For a start you say 'as far as you know there are 6 beneficiaries' There could be more, have you read the Will? Even if it is proven there are 6 Beneficiaries how do you know a Secret Trust wasn't communicated to your sister? If it was then you would have no clue the amount or where the money had gone and your sister does not have to tell you anything about it.

Do you know what the will says? If it says "all to X (your sister)" then unless you can prove your sister has fraudulently made herself become sole beneficiary then you cant lay claim to a penny. On the other hand if the will says "All to X for her to distribute equally amongst my children" then she must as prescribed in law do this, to withhold any funds for her own use would render her liable to you.

The problem is Wills can be extremely complex instruments and quite often whilst they look straight forward they may not be.

If this was something of concern to me i would go and see the solicitor who at present may well be the trustee whilst the estate is being prepared.

Failing that you could always contest the Will. But be warned, this often tears families apart and would only be something to do if you believe irreparable damage had already been done. It can also be quite costly so you should seriously consider whether incurring huge costs and ripping your family apart would be worthwhile over what essentially may be a few pound or nothing.

Hi, my sister has mentioned how many beneficiaries there are so that isn't under question....
I have not seen a will to date as we have not been to the will reading yet, nor has a date been set. I'm reliant only upon what my Sister says at the moment.
You mention a "secret trust", i've never heard of it, how does that work? surely it would have to be on the will.
I'm not looking to rip the family apart nor to incur huge legal expenses by contesting, i am however looking at options to try get to the bottom of a vanished "being loaded" scenario...... also no one included in the will could legally contest because none of us are dependants, spouse nor children of the deceased......
You mention seeing the solicitor who is trustee whilst the estate is being prepared, i plan on seeing them at the will reading if the will only contains £200,000 assets......
Thank you for your input.

ceebeeby

Have been in a similar situation quite a few years ago.

IMHO I did the best thing which was to 'ignore' my suspicions and get on with being happy about what I was very generously given (which was much less than you've mentioned).

I haven't regretted that opinion once - as I was sure that my relative would far rather I behaved that way, than start a quarrel. If your sister is being dishonest, it will catch up with her one day, if she's not, you've saved a bitter arguement.

CheezyBiscuit

ceebeeby wrote: »

Have been in a similar situation quite a few years ago.

IMHO I did the best thing which was to 'ignore' my suspicions and get on with being happy about what I was very generously given (which was much less than you've mentioned).

I haven't regretted that opinion once - as I was sure that my relative would far rather I behaved that way, than start a quarrel. If your sister is being dishonest, it will catch up with her one day, if she's not, you've saved a bitter arguement.

I understand what you're saying and i just want to quell my suspicions without causing a quarrel, that's why i'm looking at all the options, if confronting my Sister in 3 weeks fails to resolve my suspicions then i will be asking the trustee Solicitor for advice.

sturll

CheezyBiscuit wrote: »

Hi, my sister has mentioned how many beneficiaries there are so that isn't under question....
I have not seen a will to date as we have not been to the will reading yet, nor has a date been set. I'm reliant only upon what my Sister says at the moment.
You mention a "secret trust", i've never heard of it, how does that work? surely it would have to be on the will.
I'm not looking to rip the family apart nor to incur huge legal expenses by contesting, i am however looking at options to try get to the bottom of a vanished "being loaded" scenario...... also no one included in the will could legally contest because none of us are dependants, spouse nor children of the deceased......
You mention seeing the solicitor who is trustee whilst the estate is being prepared, i plan on seeing them at the will reading if the will only contains £200,000 assets......
Thank you for your input.

No, a secret trust is just that - Secret. Ill give you a classic example.

If your uncle had been having an affair he might have wanted to make sure his mistress got something without the whole family knowing she existed. So he would have told your sister about his requests and there would be absolutely no mention of it on the Will but it would be a valid gift.
There is also a half secret trust, you'll know if this exists if your Uncle has created another trust for X with your sister being trustee.

Any beneficiary can contest the will whether you are dependents or not. Or even if you believe you are a beneficiary.

kittiej

Has probate been granted to your sister yet?

If not, you may be able to get a caveat put in place giving you more time to get your sister to explain herself.

She will not be able to do anything with the estate until this is lifted.

sturll

kittiej wrote: »

Has probate been granted to your sister yet?

If not, you may be able to get a caveat put in place giving you more time to get your sister to explain herself.

She will not be able to do anything with the estate until this is lifted.

No she needs to hear the will before anything is done.

kittiej

Look on hmcourts-service, the info is there.

A similar thing happened with my exH mother's estate.

His sister directed his sick mother when she was ill and the caveat stood as long as exH kept renewing it until a satisfactory outcome was reached.

sturll

kittiej wrote: »

Look on hmcourts-service, the info is there.

A similar thing happened with my exH mother's estate.

His sister directed his sick mother when she was ill and the caveat stood as long as exH kept renewing it until a satisfactory outcome was reached.

I do this for a living. How can she possibly force a caveat if she doesnt even know what is actually on the will?

hardpressed

I don't think formal 'reading of the will' happens much nowadays, except on tv.

whatatwit

You mentioned that your uncle wrote a new will, I always thought that amounts of money were not really mentioned, unless it was a named bequest, and that the will would read that the residue of the estate is to be split equally between.......
Or that 50% to J Smith and 25% each to A Smith and B Smith.

But, even in the old will 6 years ago, there would not have been a mention of totals of money, as things can change.