executor not doing as we want??

worrypants

Can anyone advise please
in brief the state is to be spilt equally 5 ways between 5 siblings

one of the siblings the eldest brother is the sole executor and had refused two very good offers on the property of the deceased

his greed is holding things up considerably
there is also some cash that has not been released or distributed yet death was in November.

is there anything we can do as equal beneficiarys? we havent even got or seen a copy of the will, are we able to get a copy?

complete realtionship break down so cant contact the executor directly

does the solicitor who is handling the state have any obligation to us to provide a copy of the will, update us etc dont even know who the solicitor is but could find this out
can we have any say in the sale of the property?
any advice most gratefully received

CFC

Yes you may see a copy of the will and I suggest you do so. I also think you might want to discuss the situation with a solicitor if you are concerned.

Letters of administration or probate (and wills for that matter) are public documents, so can be seen by anyone. You don't have to ask the solicitor to show it to you - you can see it at the probate registry. If the letters of administration haven't been granted yet you can put something in place called a standing search. This will mean that you are notified when they are granted. The value of the estate will be included on them. Follow the link to the courts service leaflet below for details of how to do it.

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1226.htm

mountainofdebt

To be honest you have my sympathy - OH and SIL are in exactly the same position with my FIL's estate.

The 3rd beneficiary has refused 2 cash offers on a property (so would love to know what they are thinking today!) and it seems that the executor is more interested in her opinion that my OH or SIL's.

My SIL did express her disgust at the way that the executor has acted so I don't know whether this will have any future bearings should any future offers be made.

mountainofdebt

I can appreciate everyone's comments regarding the fact that it is the job of the executor to decide what is the best offer but in these days of rising interest rates - which will no doubt have an effect on house prices - surely a bird in the hand (especially when it is a cash offer as in our case) is better two that might never even land on the the bush?

In my case, imo, the 3rd beneficiary is being a silly bovine as she has employed her own solicitors who are chariging her to correspond with the executors and as she gets a %age of the net proceeds, she is paying twice.....as well as having to maintain the property and pay insurances etc.

RadoJo

What would the executor get out of delaying this that the other beneficiaries would not benefit from? How is the information about the stauts of the estate being passed to you? By which I mean, is it possible that there is more to it than you know - maybe the people who made offers made it clear that they wanted to develop the land, or something similar which was something the deceased would not have wanted. And surely if he is trying to get a better deal, wouldn't that benefit everyone, rather than just being a case of his greed.

I am not trying to say that you are in the wrong, just that there may be more to it than meets the eye, particularly if there has already been a relationship breakdown between the interested parties. I have just agreed to be executor to a will, and I would hate to think that my trouble would be rewarded by people thinkingI was on the take, expecially if there was already animosity in the relationship!