How to claim money owed from an estate?

Capt._Calculator

Hiya,

Strange one this. I am owed over a thousand pounds from a lady that died. She was quite a wealthy woman and i did quite a lot of work for her.

Her daughter has confirmed that she has received my final bills but she disputes that I should receive my money and she will not disclose to me who is administering the lady's estate so I cannot send my bills to them (I am assuming it's a solicitor who will pay them, I have a signed authority from the dec'd lady).

Is there anyway I can find out who is dealing with this? If I have to take them to court, who do I take to court!?? I am very confused so all any and all advice would be useful.

SailorSam

Perhaps if you phoned the local Probate office and explained to them.
It's there job to clear the Will as Ok, which would include paying any debts that were due.

getmore4less

SailorSam wrote: »

Perhaps if you phoned the local Probate office and explained to them.
It's there job to clear the Will as Ok, which would include paying any debts that were due.

That is not what they do,

They have nothing to do with the administration of the estate other than getting the nod from HMRC that IHT has been paid before issuing the grant.



You can check with the probate office if the grant has been issued with a standing search
http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate/standing-searches

SailorSam

I thought they wont sign off the Will until the executor can show he's done everything the deceased wanted or had to do. Which would include paying their debts.

Probate : What is a Warning to a Caveat ?
A Caveat prevents a grant of probate being issued, and lasts for some 6 months. If the Executors of the estate object to the Caveat and wish to seek it's removal, then a Warning can be issued against the person who has issued the Caveat. This requires the person who has entered the Caveat to state their interest in the estate as well as a short sentence stating why the caveat has been issued, in a legal document called an Appearance. This must be filed within 8 days of receipt of the Warning. If not filed the person filing the Caveat can apply to the Court for the Caveat to be removed.If you need help with a Caveat we have a dedicated team that handle all issues arising from Caveats. Call us now on 0844 740 0948

dzug1

SailorSam wrote: »

I thought they wont sign off the Will until the executor can show he's done everything the deceased wanted or had to do. Which would include paying their debts.

No no no


The executor cannot even start on paying off debts until he has probate


A caveat is something entirely different - it's objecting to the will being valid and thus preventing probate being granted until the issue is resolved. Debts still can't be paid until probate has been granted. Or if they are it's at executor's risk.

madbadrob

I would get a standing search form and pay the £6 if they wont cooperate. If the will goes to probate then you will know who the executors are. You could also subscribe online to the London Gazette because if solicitors are the executors they will post a section 27. Saying that they will also place it in a paper that is local to where the deceased died. Alternatively have a solicitor write to the person you have been talking to asking her to inform them who the executor or administrator of the estate is.

You could of course go down the small claims route and cite the estate of and use the daughter as the point of contact for mail until such time as she sees fit to divulge the information. I would though go down the solicitor route until you have exhausted this.

The lady involved can of course dispute the debt and you will have to prove the debt

Rob

TBagpuss

The estate must pay the debt.The start point would be to get a copy of the will, to establish who the executors are, and forward a copy of the bill and the authority from the lady, to the executors.
How recently did the death take place? Probate can take a while to sort out, particularly if the estate is complex.
If there are professionals involved (i.e. if there are solicitors dealing with the estate) they will probably have arranged for post to be forwarded from her home, so writing to "The Executors of [Deceased's name] " at the address she last lived at may get your letter to the executors.

getmore4less

dzug1 wrote: »

No no no

The executor cannot even start on paying off debts until he has probate
.

Yes they can if there is a will

The authority to act comes from the will.

In practice you can start even without a will.

The risk is you get it wrong and subsequently don't get the grant you can become liable.

Capt._Calculator

Ok, thanks for this, I have learned a lot! Still no further forward, the daughter won't even engage with me hoping I go away, which I will not of course.

How much will a solictor charge me? Is there any point if the costs of engaging a solicitor exceed the £1100 odd I am owed?

Any and all advice is helpful, thank you.

Crabapple

I think it's best that you try and get a copy of the Grant or put in a search so you get a copy when it is issued.

This will name the Executors and if a solicitor was involved they will be named down the bottom of the document.

You'd probably need to look at a small claims court application for your funds, I think you could issue to 'the estate of x' but perhaps have a look into that online. There are other sections of this forum where you would probably find better advice on how to issue a small claim yourself.

BobQ

Capt._Calculator wrote: »

Ok, thanks for this, I have learned a lot! Still no further forward, the daughter won't even engage with me hoping I go away, which I will not of course.

How much will a solictor charge me? Is there any point if the costs of engaging a solicitor exceed the £1100 odd I am owed?

Any and all advice is helpful, thank you.

I think you are.

First send a letter to her last known address and address it to the Executors of the estate of .............. enclosing your invoice. Send it with a signed for delivery or send two copies with a certificate of posting from different post offices.

If the daughter lives elsewhere and you know where send her a copy (also signed for etc).

If she died some months ago apply for a search to obtain a copy of a Grant of Probate that may have been granted. If one has been granted it will tell you who the Executor is.

If it turns out to be a firm of solicitors write to them.

If it turns out to be the daughter who is the executor then she will be on very shaky ground if does not either pay your invoice or dispute it in a reasonable way. A solicitor would probably be more cooperative but is still bound to execute the will in law.