Removal of executor for wasting and mismanaging estate

scottay2hottay

Fire_Fox wrote: »

((hugs)) Sorry to hear you are struggling, sorry again lots of questions. Can you go back to the legal ombudsman? Can you get statements from other solicitors that this amount of work should not have been necessary? Can you get quotes from funeral directors in the area that are much cheaper? Do you have a list of the number of e-mails/ letters/ phone calls that you sent that were asking for information you already asked for? Do you know who all these letters/ phone calls/ personal attendances were to?

The legal ombudsmen managed to get the solicitor to take away the charges that the solicitor was going to charge me for complaining about the sale of my dads belongings (something that they should not have even considered charging me in the first place)
This is the reply that I got from them:
" I confirm that as agreed all work relating to the disposal of your father’s belongings and your complaint have been excluded from the calculations, the former would have increased the total cost considerably.
As you will see from the invoice this is currently within the cost estimate of £5,000 (excluding VAT, disbursements and the value element of the estate)."


I found this link about a basic cremation ( which was what I was told my father would have )
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120106085150AAH9KXB
At the bottom of that page a woman stated that a basic funeral for her nan in Plymouth cost £1200, I must add my father was kept in storage for around 6 weeks and I wasn't allowed to see him.

I can PM you the emails that I sent to the solicitor, to give you a picture of how many emails I sent.

Bitsy_Beans

Looking at the hourly rates at least 5 people worked on this!

They say charges are in line with estimate given when they were instructed to become executors......do they have any written proof of this estimate?

I am not a solicitor (I just used to work in accounts) but I find that a massive bill for such a small and I presume uncomplicated estate!

scottay2hottay

Bitsy_Beans wrote: »

Looking at the hourly rates at least 5 people worked on this!

They say charges are in line with estimate given when they were instructed to become executors......do they have any written proof of this estimate?

I am not a solicitors (I just used to work in accounts) but I find that a massive bill for such a small and I presume uncomplicated estate!

The solicitors recently sent me a copy of their introductory letter which was addressed to themselves??? and in it mentions
"It is always difficult to estimate at the beginning of a matter how time will be required to wind up an estate as this depends on a considerable extent on the complexity and range of assets and debts and the amount of assistance beneficiaries request of us, but on the basis of information Mrs xx has at present, we do not expect our total costs ( excluding the percentage of the value of the estate) exclusive of VAT and payments we make on your behalf, to exceed £5000"
I doubt my father was aware of this figure

blossomhill_2

Is the funeral cost listed as a disbursement over and above the £4,259.20? (I don't know if I can help with this so don't answer if you don't want to)

I do think that if you are taking this up with the SRA you should ask the basic question of whether the company advised their client appropriately, if they predicted potential fees of £5k + VAT on an estate only worth ~£18K

Bitsy_Beans

Do they have a copy of the letter that your father would have signed?

I would insist on a more itemised breakdown, which details dates and usually a narrative about what the time was spent doing.

PasturesNew

You might like to remove your name from your posting....

Fire_Fox

scottay2hottay wrote: »

The legal ombudsmen managed to get the solicitor to take away the charges that the solicitor was going to charge me for complaining about the sale of my dads belongings (something that they should not have even considered charging me in the first place)
This is the reply that I got from them:
" I confirm that as agreed all work relating to the disposal of your father’s belongings and your complaint have been excluded from the calculations, the former would have increased the total cost considerably.
As you will see from the invoice this is currently within the cost estimate of £5,000 (excluding VAT, disbursements and the value element of the estate)."


I found this link about a basic cremation ( which was what I was told my father would have )
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120106085150AAH9KXB
At the bottom of that page a woman stated that a basic funeral for her nan in Plymouth cost £1200, I must add my father was kept in storage for around 6 weeks and I wasn't allowed to see him.

I can PM you the emails that I sent to the solicitor, to give you a picture of how many emails I sent.

I'm not doubting you at all, honey, just trying to work out what evidence you have that you can put forward. Get some quotes from local funeral directors for basic funerals/ cremations. It doesn't matter whether it's within estimate if some of the charges are the result of incompetence or fraudulent behaviour.

scottay2hottay

blossomhill wrote: »

Is the funeral cost listed as a disbursement over and above the £4,259.20? (I don't know if I can help with this so don't answer if you don't want to)

I do think that if you are taking this up with the SRA you should ask the basic question of whether the company advised their client appropriately, if they predicted potential fees of £5k + VAT on an estate only worth ~£18K

I am not sure if I understand your question. (sorry)
The funeral cost of £3722.40 was only listed on the liabilities section when the solicitors sent me the list of my Dads assets/expenditures.

Bitsy_Beans

scottay2hottay wrote: »

I am not sure if I understand your question. (sorry)
The funeral cost of £3722.40 was only listed on the liabilities section when the solicitors sent me the list of my Dads assets/expenditures.

They mean is the cost of funeral included as part of the disbursements on the invoice.
I suspect not, funeral will be paid for from monies held on client account.

scottay2hottay

Bitsy_Beans wrote: »

Do they have a copy of the letter that your father would have signed?

I would insist on a more itemised breakdown, which details dates and usually a narrative about what the time was spent doing.

Good point, I'll request that letter. The only letter that I have is a letter addressed to themselves " I am writing to introduce my self as this firms principal and to thank you for instructing this firm. Please accept my condolences on your bereavement"
It goes on for a couple of pages after that.