Concerns over executor of a will

Suzy_M

Where has all the money gone - if it was there in the first place.

1) How old was your Uncle? - With those sort of assets if he needed care in the home he'd be paying from his own pocket which soon eats in to savings.

2) How long was your Uncle in his house? Often with older people their house and the contents has become a little run down. Getting work done is of course expensive and from what I've seen appliances etc all seem to break down at the same time and it all adds up.

3) Quite often older people get to the stage where having worked and been careful with money all their lives they suddenly stop watching the pennies. They don't rush out and spend so many hundreds or thousands but may be the extra meal out, a better brand from the supermarket, etc. - again this all adds up.

4) Finally, your sister may appear to be evasive but is merely respecting your uncle's wishes. I'm executor and have enduring power of attorney (if it is ever needed) for a couple of people. In both cases they have asked me to keep some information secret from families etc. until the last possible moment or until I have to account for something (e.g. prior disposal of assets etc).

And don't forget - older relatives with no children of their own can be cantakerous cusses. They can quite happily boast of their assets, 'you're my favourite niece/nephew', 'you'll have a tidy sum coming to you' and all the time they are just setting one against the other.

So please give your sister a chance - she may simply be complying with your uncle's instructions.

localhero

Hi CheezyBiscuit,

In line with several other posters, I would agree you should tread very carefully here. Particularly in the absence of any solid facts or evidence of impropriety on the part of your sister.

Your sister was chosen as the executor, presumably because your uncle trusted her most to carry out his wishes. She might also have been his favourite and been the recipient of his generosity in the years before he died. If she was that's between your uncle and her and irrelevant to the issue here.

Remember also your sister will have to declare on the probate forms the extent of his wealth as well as whether your uncle had made any gifts in the last 7 years of his life. Failure to disclose this information accurately and honestly incurs fines, penalties and even a criminal conviction, so she would be rather foolish to provide misleading information.

There are a number of options for any of the beneficiaries who have got genuine grounds to suspect your sister would be an unsuitable executor - one of which is a caveat. As kittieJ correctly states, this can be put in place to prevent a grant being taken out by your sister. This obviously must be done sooner rather than later, and also for reasons such as where there is a doubt over the validity of the Will.

Another relatively cheap option available at any time to any of the beneficiaries is to issue a summons for an inventory and account.

A combination of money, bereavement and petty jealousies very often bring out the worst in people, and so it would be wise to proceed with caution for the time being and keep an open mind.

Hi sturll,

sturll wrote:

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

This interested me. The OP has stated that the uncle was judged to be of sound mind when he made his last Will. Assuming there was no undue influence (no suggestion so far) and the Will was executed properly, what grounds would any other beneficiaries have in contesting the Will?

paddy's_mum

Perhaps I'm reading this all wrong but it seems to me that maybe you are going hell for leather down a slippery slope of demands and family in-fighting. In post 8, you twice use the word "confront" and refer to your sister giving you a "reasonable" explanation.

May I just point something out to you? Your uncle's will appoints your sister as (sole?) executrice which assumes he respected her honesty, maturity and faithfullness. It was for him to make that choice. Until you have some real evidence of wrong doing on her part, I strongly suspect that you will achieve nothing but stir up a hornet's nest of trouble both for yourself and everyone else in the situation along with you.

Why not just keep quiet for a bit, wait until you know the true contents of the will, and then re-assess your views in the light of evidence and not just vague feelings of suspicion.

I'm sorry but your choice of words is beginning to make me wonder if it is your character failings that are fuelling you, rather than any doubt about your sister's integrity.

sturll

localhero wrote: »

Hi sturll,



This interested me. The OP has stated that the uncle was judged to be of sound mind when he made his last Will. Assuming there was no undue influence (no suggestion so far) and the Will was executed properly, what grounds would any other beneficiaries have in contesting the Will?

Im sorry, the OP assumed only direct family members could contest the will, i was pointing out that was not true and explaining who could contest it. Not that it should be contested, in fact my opinion was the opposite and that in situations like this one the OP should be very very clear of any wrong doing before even considering anything of the sort.