my fathers will

ricardo62

Hi im hoping for some honest advice, to put it bluntly my sister who is my dying fathers appointed executar of his will and also has power to deal with his bank and building society accounts , has basically hinted that when he passes away ,the isa ,s yhat he has left me in his will she will cash in and pay them to herself leaving me with nothing. she has already had her inheritance early , he gave her money out of the sale of his house to pay off her mortgage, my share is left in bonds and isa,s what can i do to stop her doing this? im sorry if i appear naive , but i am really worried that she can do this and once she has i will be left with nothing , am i basically powerless to stop her any advice would be appreciated ...

Savvy_Sue

When he dies, I recommend that you contact your local Probate Office and ask about registering a caveat on the will.

savingmummy

Sorry to hear about your dads illness
Its bad enough losing someone close and the grieving process can be long and hard so to have this added is very unfair!

Has he written a will stating your to recieve these things? I don`t think she can do this if it is stated in the will that your to recieve these finances.

ricardo62

Er tell me more how will that stop her just ringing them up or going into the building society and paying them into her bank also one other thing, i can actually lay my hands on the passbooks if i took possesion of them and they have been left to me its in the will? does me having the passbooks stop her ? ie does she need the actual building society booklets to gain accsess to the money or can she do it wivout them because if thats the case she needs them i can take them and store them in a safe till the time comes ???

savingmummy

You really need to speak with a solicitor about it - only they know the law 100%

I would imagine to get access she will need a death certificate and bank details. I`m not 100% certain but when my nan passed (over 10yrs now) my mum had to have a solicitor letter to close her bank accounts aswell as ID even though she was in full control of the finances.

ricardo62

savingmummy wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your dads illness
Its bad enough losing someone close and the grieving process can be long and hard so to have this added is very unfair!

Has he written a will stating your to recieve these things? I don`t think she can do this if it is stated in the will that your to recieve these finances.

yes he has a will stating this , and thank you for helping , but even if its written in the will whats to stop her physically from doing it? its a bit late once shes paid the money into her account it might say in the will thats its left to me but there only words if you get my point ?

ricardo62

savingmummy wrote: »

You really need to speak with a solicitor about it - only they know the law 100%

I would imagine to get access she will need a death certificate and bank details. I`m not 100% certain but when my nan passed (over 10yrs now) my mum had to have a solicitor letter to close her bank accounts aswell as ID even though she was in full control of the finances.

thanks er sorry to appear a bit dense! but she will have a death certificate obviosly,and id so if thats the case theres nothing physically stopping her is there??? its a bit late once its in her account , i think the point im trying to make is what barrier is ther to stop this ? am i right in thinking none? she can do what she likes with no comebacks ?

mountainofdebt

I don't want to sound callus but talking about an inheritance before the poor person is even dead seems totally wrong to me.

dzug1

If she is determined to break the law, either by getting probate and ignoring the will or by lying to the banks and getting the cash without probate then there's not a lot you can do to stop her.

Not necessarily 'with no comebacks' though.

Getting the passbooks, etc, might help. Whilst she can always tell the bank they have been lost, it is an obstacle in her path.

Liquorice_Twirls

You seem to be saying your sister has Power of Attorney for your Dad at the moment. My understanding is that on his death that ends and his will comes into play.

This is taken from the Direct gov website:

If the person who has died leaves a will

In this case one or more 'executors' may be named in the will to deal with the person's affairs after their death. The executor applies for a 'grant of probate' from a section of the court knows as the probate registry. The grant is a legal document which confirms that the executor has the authority to deal with the deceased person's assets (property, money and possessions). They can use it to show they have the right to access funds, sort out finances, and collect and share out the deceased person's assets as set out in the will.

If the person who has died didn't leave a will

If there is no will, a close relative of the deceased can apply to the probate registry to deal with the estate. In this case they apply for a 'grant of letters of administration'. If the grant is given, they are known as 'administrators' of the estate. Like the grant of probate, the grant of letters of administration is a legal document which confirms the administrator's authority to deal with the deceased person's assets.

Applying for a Grant of Letters of Administration

In order to be able to administer someone's estate you normally need to apply to the Probate Registry for a 'Grant of Letters of Administration'. You can ask your solicitor to help you with applying for a grant or you can make a personal application.

On receipt of the grant you become the 'administrator' of the estate. The grant provides proof to banks, building societies and other organisations that you have authority to access and distribute funds that were held in the deceased's name. The overall process is often referred to as 'obtaining probate', though technically this term applies where there was a will.

Note that if Inheritance Tax is due on the estate some or all of this must be paid before a grant will be issued. Read the detail in our related articles 'Applying for probate' and 'Valuing an estate for Inheritance Tax'.

When a grant may not be needed

If the deceased's estate is below £5,000, and doesn't contain any land, property or shares, then it may be possible to deal with it without obtaining a grant. Also, a grant might not be needed if the whole of the estate is held in joint names and passes automatically to the surviving joint owner.

I've cut and paste from a couple of places there to hopefully make it clear what would happen.

If your Dad has a will the executor/s named will have to follow that. They can't just keep the money - isn't that theft?

ricardo62

thanks but shes the appointed executor !!!!!!!!!!!! so wivout sounding thick is it as simple as ringing the police and reporting her for theft of my money ?? another ? what if she destroys my dads will before he dies because ive seen it its in the lounge with all the documents ??