Question regarding Probate

richyje

Hi All,

Just a question regarding Probate for those who may be able to help.

My Grandfather passed away a year ago, he left a Will leaving 1/2 of his assets to each side of the family (he had 2 sons). However, we have since found out that the retirement flat he owned was owned as Tennants in Common with my uncle. We dont believe this is what my Grandfather wanted (My Uncle dealt with my Grandfathers affairs - so we assume this has been engineered by my uncle when he organised the sale of my grand parents house 15 years ago and arranged for the Grandfather to move to his retirement flat)

My father and his brother do not talk and have fallen out quite some time ago. Under the rules of Tennants in Common, half of the flat now belongs to my uncle and the remaining half will be distributed according to the Will.

There are 2 executors of the Will (My Uncle and Father). My Uncle has gone ahead without the other executors (my Fathers) permission and put the property on the market, appointed a solicitor and accepted an offer for the flat.

My question is...

Can 1 executor carry on administering an estate without any involvement from the other executor ?

Kind Regards,

James

RAS

Err no, unless the other executor renounces his role. has dad done that?

Otherwise Dad needs to talk to the Probate office tomorrow and they can explain the procedures.

The house can only be sold once probate is granted. Has this happned? and although one executor can do this the other one has to renouce or sign as well.

The Probate Office will have seen the will and should have either dad's signature or signed his form of renounciation.

if dad has been completely side-lined, he needs to register a caveat with the Probate office and ring the estate agents and tell them he is an executor.

richyje

initially my uncle had probate granted in his own name, with power reserved to my dad (without my dads knowledge). My dad had not signed any form saying that he wished for his power to be reserved.

My dad later applied and has had a grant of probate issued in his name.

So there are 2 executors with grants of probate issued to both executors.

James

RAS

You need to ask the Probate Office how they came to grant your uncle probate with powers reserved, as this required your father to a sign a form. Did he forge dad's signature??

I would recommend speaking to the Land Registry and putting a marker down there.

And ring the estate agents and tell them that their client is acting without full authority.

By the way with regard to your other thread is this grandma or grandpa?
Either way, behind the basic info in the public Land Registry web-site there is a substantial record for each property; they might well be able to tell you which legal firm did the conveyancing.

Bazey

We are not allowed to discuss medical issues on the forum, you need to speak with your GP.

RAS

Bazey wrote: »

We are not allowed to discuss medical issues on the forum, you need to speak with your GP.

Precisely what medical issue has been discussed on this thread?

Bazey

Sorry I read it as prostate.

Land_Registry

RAS wrote: »

You need to ask the Probate Office how they came to grant your uncle probate with powers reserved, as this required your father to a sign a form. Did he forge dad's signature??

I would recommend speaking to the Land Registry and putting a marker down there.

Either way, behind the basic info in the public Land Registry web-site there is a substantial record for each property; they might well be able to tell you which legal firm did the conveyancing.

A variety of issues here and it will be interesting to see how the probate aspect plays out as this appears to be crucial to any sale.

If the property is in England & Wales and is registered you need to enquire as to how the property was registered in the joint names and as tenants in common I would recommend that you Contact Us using our online form initially.

A copy of the original Transfer to the joint owners and/or the application form bearing the name/address of the applicant may well be available. Your enquiry should refer to the property address (and title number if you have it) plus relevant details such as names/dates to enable us to check our records.

We would then respond within a few days to advise what information is available, how to apply and what fee would be payable.

The issue of fraud or possible wrong doing can be addressed separately. If you believe that the original registration was fraudulent in some way or you believe that a fraud is about to be committed then you can complete our fraud reporting form online

I would also recommend seeking legal advice or contacting a CAB as well as Action Fraud as appropriate. As RAS suggests 'putting a marker down' with Land Registry is an option here.

I should however stress that such a marker may not prevent the registration of any sale on it's own. If you believe that there has been a fraud committed or that your uncle is acting unlawfully under the terms of the will and/or probate(s) issued then you should seek to pursue this before any sale is actually completed. The Probate office and a legal adviser would be able to advise further on this.