Beneficiaries' right to see estate accounts

John_Pierpoint

The probate paperwork does give a bald figure of the net value of the estate BUT this might not be the IHT liability figure, as it only includes the asset legally owned by the deceased - ie it excludes being the beneficiary of trusts etc.

If probate has not yet been granted you can enter a caution against the grant of probate to allow you time to take your case to court.

If you discover you are dependent on the deceased but been ignored in the will or intestacy then you have 6 months from probate to make your claim.

Pinehead

The English Law is a s s , a crooked solicitor is hard to beat, he will wiggle and turn and wiggle and turn, he will respond with ridiculous answers and it justs costs the estate money, do not trust solicitors that are executors, they know what they are doing, also do not let the executor sell properties on the estate, keep an eye on them, they have friends waiting to purchase the property at under the going price then they get a drink for their effort, The legal ombudsman is a waste of time, the people there are laymen, when the solicitor answers back to the complaint you have made they are baffled and pretend they know what they are talking about, the law is complicated enough with out having laymen challenging a solicitor for your complaint, you have no chance, also the SRA cant give advice as they are laymen too so you need to spend money on a solicitor which will work together with the other solicitor

madbadrob

In Scotland once confirmation has been granted then the executor has to follow the will and as with English law the only estate accounts that have to be given are to those who are residuary beneficiaries. Yes Confirmation in Scotland does give a lot more information that the English equivalent.

I do believe in Scotland the will is attached to the confirmation similar to the will that is lodged with the probate office in England. Therefore you should have an idea of what debts were against the estate and what bequests were left. This will allow you to estimate what your mother is likely to receive.

What other options has the solicitor laid down to you? I agree with him that the costs involved in removing the executor are very high and you have to be able to prove that he is not carrying out the duties to the letter of the law. Not answering your demands for accounts is not sufficient and to be fair until he is ready to pay out the bequests these may not have been prepared yet anyway

Rob

4nnabella

This is an old thread...

dd1976

Ok I have a few issues I am hoping to be cleared up. My aunt passed away and her sister is the named executor. My father is the brother of the deceased sister (my father is also deceased). My aunt left a will and a trust. I have yet to be shown any of these but I am led to believe that I am in each of these. The trust has my brothers, my aunt, her two sons and my nephew stated in it.

I contacted the lawyers to voice my concerns that I do not believe my aunt, as executor, is acting in the best interests of all the beneficiaries. I have asked my aunt three times for a copy of the will and trust to no avail, which makes me believe something is going on that she doesn't want to tell us. A new nephew has arrived recently and I'm sure she is trying to hide his inheritance as I'm sure this was stated in a will I had a glance over whilst in a meeting, but cannot be sure. It stated that any new great nieces or nephews shall be entitled to a share also. As a beneficiary, can I demand a copy of these or do I have to make an appointment with the lawyer as advised? This will cost a lot of money and I don't really want my aunt finding out that we have went against her and visited the lawyers.

Am I legally entitled to see these documents? I am told by my aunt that she is not entitled to release the trust document (I think this is nonsense) as the lawyer has told her not to as it is not customary. Surely as a beneficiary it is reasonable enough to request this or will it be sent to me when the estate has been dealt with? Can anyone shed any light on this please?

Thank you

G6JNS

dd1976 wrote: »

Ok I have a few issues I am hoping to be cleared up. My aunt passed away and her sister is the named executor. My father is the brother of the deceased sister (my father is also deceased). My aunt left a will and a trust. I have yet to be shown any of these but I am led to believe that I am in each of these. The trust has my brothers, my aunt, her two sons and my nephew stated in it.

I contacted the lawyers to voice my concerns that I do not believe my aunt, as executor, is acting in the best interests of all the beneficiaries. I have asked my aunt three times for a copy of the will and trust to no avail, which makes me believe something is going on that she doesn't want to tell us. A new nephew has arrived recently and I'm sure she is trying to hide his inheritance as I'm sure this was stated in a will I had a glance over whilst in a meeting, but cannot be sure. It stated that any new great nieces or nephews shall be entitled to a share also. As a beneficiary, can I demand a copy of these or do I have to make an appointment with the lawyer as advised? This will cost a lot of money and I don't really want my aunt finding out that we have went against her and visited the lawyers.

Am I legally entitled to see these documents? I am told by my aunt that she is not entitled to release the trust document (I think this is nonsense) as the lawyer has told her not to as it is not customary. Surely as a beneficiary it is reasonable enough to request this or will it be sent to me when the estate has been dealt with? Can anyone shed any light on this please?

Thank you

Has probate been obtained? If so you can get a copy of the will. Until then you have no right to see it but no reasonable executor would refuse to let you see.

dzug1

You are not entitled to see the will until after probate.


Less sure about the trust but I suspect the same applies - you can't see it until it's up and running.


Your aunt (primarily) does not have to act in the best interests of all the beneficiaries - she has to act in accordance with the terms of the will - which may not be in the best interests of all the beneficiaries

sneekymum

Have a look if it's on https://www.probatesearch.service.gov.uk
If it's there you can buy a copy to print out. It takes a few days to appear after you order it.

theoretica

dd1976 wrote: »

I contacted the lawyers to voice my concerns that I do not believe my aunt, as executor, is acting in the best interests of all the beneficiaries.

An executor does not need to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries - he or she needs to do what the will says. They aren't always the same thing.

dd1976

Ok thanks for your feedback. Probate has yet to happen. I'm assuming once this has happened, we will then be given a reading of the will unless I am given a copy before then by my stubborn aunt. I contacted the lawyer and they said that the will is nothing to do with them, that's up to the executor to deal with. They are only dealing with the trust. So need to hold off and bide my time!

Thanks for all your help.