Inheritance

Biggles

wotsthat wrote: »

- forcefully remind the executors that they have a legal obligation and that letters from solicitors are opinion and not legal fact

The legal obligation of the executors only involves the father's assets. The £61k doesn't form part of those assets as things stand.

The worst-case scenario, for the OP, is that she raises the issue through the courts and fails, and has to pay legal expenses.

But, to add insult to injury, the DWP would want to recover the overpayment of benefits from her father's estate, leaving her with a very much reduced inheritance. The only winner would be the sister, who would remain the owner of her 'gift' of £61k.

SailorSam

I think if she were my sister, whatever the outcome whether she paid it back or not, after trying to pull a trick like this i'd never have anything to do with her again.

Money_maker

TheDancingQueen wrote: »

I think she is claiming that she was going to buy a house but decided to stay with my dad to "look after him".

So is she living in the family house (if he owned one)?

Was she the one who looked after him on a day to day basis?

Methinks her side will reveal some very interesting information - do not prejudge the sister.

property.advert

Kohoutek wrote: »

You also have to be mindful that what your father and sister were doing was very likely to be illegal and if you brought some kind of legal claim against your sister, that would be revealed.

I'm not sure if HMRC or DWF have any power to clawback benefits from a deceased person's estate if they can prove benefit fraud, but it is a possibility.

What your sister was doing is probably a criminal offence like "conspiracy to defraud". Perhaps a quick way of resolving this problem might be to remind her of that...

It is this very point which I would bring to the sister as leverage. Either she keeps half or loses the lot, plus costs.

In my opinion, she has spent it. The OP does not say why the father did not just split it 50/50 when hiding the money in the first place.

I'd screw her over for every penny and then throw her to the taxman.

Reaper

wotsthat wrote: »

If this were me I'd...
- take some legal advice but try not to spend too much money on it.

Check your home insurance and other policies, even your work contract. Quite often there are legal telephone helplines or free initial consultations available which can be used for any issue.

It could be useful to find out if you have a good legal case before you start spending any money on it.

bendix

What a lovely family.

The father is hiding money from the authorities to maximise government handouts. The sister is stealing it and telling lies to her sister. Even the OP is culpable, in the sense that she is seeking to benefit from the father hiding his assets.

Nice. Very nice.

Reaper

weary wrote: »

i have a similar situation have posted before but have not had a reply

Probably because both times you tacked it onto the end of a thread rather than starting a new one.

my situation slightly differs in that i am an executor along with sister and brother have not received any belongings or keepsakes and have a handwritten note stating a loan to sister of a large amount but this was all done 2 yrs ago have i left it too late to do anything i have a copy of the will and solicitors details.

You said 3 years ago last time. By the sounds of it as one of the executors you had the option to be involved (obligation even) but left it all to your sister. I doubt that makes any difference legally but you may get less sympathy for your claims it wasn't done correctly.

As to using a solicitor - you previously said there was little or nothing of value in the estate. Solicitors cost a lot of money, particularly if it ends up going to court. Without knowing the facts my guess is it is not worth it. However if you are determined to try you could follow my earlier suggestion to see if you qualify for any free initial consulations to see if they think you have a case, and if so whether it would make any economic sense to pursue it.