Estate Executor Not Cooperating

Mojisola

Talk to the Probate Service first - https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate. They have a reputation for being very helpful.

rpc

The best you can do is make clear to the brother that he will only ever get 20% minus legal fees. He has the opportunity to decide how big the legal fees become.

If he goes the "scorched earth" route then you will have to spend the money and go to court to have him removed. I believe that, if you can prove him guilty of maladministration, the entire legal bill could be taken from his share. It may also be possible to sting him for any additional fees/interest that is due because of the delay. Both of these are probably going to be harder than just getting the estate distributed and I don't have references to back up either. Discuss these options with your solicitor and make sure that your solicitor is an expert in difficult/contested estates.

ben9090

Thanks for eveyones advice previously, we are now 5-6 months down the line and still little progress. Things will be split as law dictates as he has never been able to back up his claim.

The next problem is as follows.

The mother in laws old house that was up for sale when she died and still up for sale now had an offer made on it. It was up for 89k and we received an offer of 79k. After 2-3 years on the market its starting to get damp and delapatated. We all agreed this is an excellent offer (including the esate agent/solicitor) and accepted.

However the trouble making brother has now blocked the sale by refusing to accept anything other then the asking price. The potentiual purchaser increased to 82k, which he is still not happy with.

The solicitor dealing with the estate appears to me to be happy to just keep billing us for the next 20 years and wont do anything. He says its not up to him and we have to seek additioanl legal advice if we cant agree. However its not that we cant agree which is why he should be removed more the fact that his maladministration is having a detrimental effect on the estates assets.

He is simply being stubborn and awkward and we need to get him off :mad:

bodge76

ben9090 wrote: »

However the trouble making brother has now blocked the sale by refusing to accept anything other then the asking price. The potentiual purchaser increased to 82k, which he is still not happy with.

So the difference is £7K making his share £2.5K. Distasteful as it may be, perhaps it would be wise to bite the bullet and pay him off rather than spend more in legal fees!

ben9090

To be honest, even if we got the asking price he would still ask for more or something else.

I think its more about stubborness then money. He doesnt get on with any of the family and is therefore desperate to stop anyone getting any money. He would rather squander and the property fally to ruin to step anyone receiving it.

Mojisola

ben9090 wrote: »

To be honest, even if we got the asking price he would still ask for more or something else.

I think its more about stubborness then money. He doesnt get on with any of the family and is therefore desperate to stop anyone getting any money. He would rather squander and the property fally to ruin to step anyone receiving it.

You may have to look into having him removed from his position as administrator.

RAS

Please talk to the probate regsitry staff; they have seen it all and can provide your with free information regarding processes even if they cannot provide advice.

zzzLazyDaisy

You can apply to have an administrator removed owing to being unsuitable to administer the estate. You have proof of his unsuitability from the correspondence, and his refusal to cooperate in the administering of the estate.


Go here and scroll down:

http://www.lawpack.co.uk/probate/articles/article7435.asp

I suggest that you contact the probate office and seek advice on having the brother removed.

EDIT - you also do not need to appoint a solicitor to deal with probate. It is simple enough, and the probate staff are used to dealing with bereaved relatives and are usually incredibly helpful. Since you do have a solicitor, though, I am not sure how you withdraw instructions as presumably this would need all three administrators to agree. So you are back to needing to remove the third sibling.

AJ1982

ben9090 wrote: »

The solicitor dealing with the estate appears to me to be happy to just keep billing us for the next 20 years and wont do anything.

Solicitors through and through. Was benefactor on a will, took 18 months to come through. Sorry, this sounds worse than mine, be prepared for a long un.

thorsoak

Executors are appointed in a Will. If there is no Will, there can be no executors. You do not need the signature of this sibling.