Trouble with Executor (Sister)

scarybee

I have had some help with this elsewhere on the site but things are now moving on so I hope a new thread might find some new responses.
My situation is unpleasant as I believe my sister (the executor of my aunt's will) has helped herself to some of the money. The figures that I have had so far do not add up, there are serious discrepancies and she is prevaricating. I got a summons issued by the Probate Registrar to get her to supply an account and inventory but she did not come to court (she said she had broken down on the way - she was 15 miles away, we travelled 500 miles round trip). I got an order issued but she still has not produced the accounts although she told my mother she had them with her on the way to the court.
My question is, what happens if she simply does not file the accounts by the date on the order (16th May)? When I asked the Probate registrar I felt that further proceedings would have to be instigated by me even though she is ignoring "their" order. Is this true? What should be my next move?
My aunt died in June 2004, it was a very straightforward estate (house which sold Feb 2005, cash at bank and shares) probate granted Feb 2005 but still no accounts for the residuary beneficiaries (me, my brother and her).
Any advice gratefully received. I have tried using my mother and brother as intermediaries after my sister stopped responding to my very polite letters. She lies to them. According to her she has had nearly a dozen items gone astry in the post (incl one sent to me recorded but, surprise, she didn't have the receipt!) I feel betrayed, upset and angry. I do not understand why the Probate Court have no power to force her to produce accounts when she has a legal duty to do so having been given the grant of probate.
Thanks

pinkshoes

If you have proof that she's helped herself to some of the money, and the will says it should be split equally between you, your brother and your sister, then that's theft, and the police should be involved. HOWEVER... if that money that she's taken is part of her share, then that would surely be ok, so long as you and your brother still got 1/3 of the original total.

surely there must be some way of finding out 1) the equity from the house sale, 2)how much money was in her bank after funeral expenses and 3)how much her shares are worth/were sold for.

try the CAB for advice....

good luck!

scarybee

Hi
Thanks for your reply - the trouble is I can't find out what the real figures are because she holds the accounts. I know how much the house sold for but we have a discrepancy of £20 - 30k between the probate figure given Feb 2005 and the last figure that I prised out of her ("off the top of her head" after 9 months of asking last May (2006))
Nothing ties up - the figures she claims for IHT paid on an estate worth £265k (she says £15k when if the estate was £265k it should have been 40% of £2000), the change in the cash / shares figures. She's claimed the revenue applied the wrong threshold, that the accountant password protected the spreadsheets, that his memory stick wasn't compatible, that she didn't get post, and on and on. I just can't get the details which is why I went to court for an inventory and account.

Hapless_2

Could the court not appoint an independant executor?

scarybee

That's what I don't know given that she has already "intermeddled" as I believe it's called. She told my mother that the bank wouldn't let her open an executor's account - find that hard to believe that the banks turned away an account.....

pinkshoes

I'd go straight to the CAB for advice, as you obviously need an independent person to step in and sort this out, as you sister is obviously incompetant and not capable of doing the job given to her. They should give you the name of someone who can either give you further advice, or help you.

What does your brother think?

Keep note of all these "lies" your sister appears to be telling.

scarybee

Hi
My brother, when I contacted him in October, asked me to wait until he and my mum had a chance to talk to her at Christmas - so I did. She promised them that we'd have the accounts by the end of January. Then when she failed to be around to answer her phone at prearranged times my brother too began to smell the rats!
Actually he too was named executor but because he lives on the other side of the world he cannot act. The probate registrar said that it would not be possible for my brother to regain his powers unless he came back to the UK for an interview - sigh......
I got a solicitor to write to my sister but she just ignored that letter too.
I just don't understand why if she undertakes to act on behalf of the estate when she swears her oath to get a grant of probate, why when she does not fulfill her obligations the Probate Registry cannot pursue her. She has a legal duty but I can't find out how to hold her to account if she keeps ignoring the order or summons.
I want to avoid a Jarndyce vs Jarndyce senario with contested probate as lawyers are too expensive!

Alfie_E

When your sister talks about executors’ accounts, she’s probably telling the truth. If you go into a bank or building society and ask for an executors’ account, they’ll either tell you they don’t do them, or give you an application pack for a business account designed for a professional – a solicitor or attorney. In practice, what a lay executor does is just open a normal personal current account and/or savings account in their own sole name, to hold the money they hold in trust for the beneficiaries.

With regards figures not adding up, it should be remembered that the value of the estate passing under probate and the figure used for calculating inheritance tax are not the same. The IHT figure is increased by things such as gifts made in the last seven years and joint assets passing by survivourship. It is also reduced by the value of any debts left to be settled.

Whether your sister is being dishonest or is simply not up to the task, it sounds like she needs to be relieved of her duties. I don’t believe that “intermeddle” is the right word. She has been granted probate and so does have legal authority to administer the estate. The probate court can, still, revoke that grant. I don’t believe that a replacement administrator would have to be independent. I don’t see why you, as one of the other residuary beneficiaries, couldn’t then successfully apply to complete the administering of the estate.

scarybee

Thank you for your reply - how do you think I would go about getting probate for me to act? And how would I get all the information / paperwork back from my sister?
I know there may not be money missing but I think the likeihood is now after all these lies is that there is something fishy going on. If she would just give us the accounts it could get cleared up.