difficult solicitor/executor

RAS

topbanana1985 wrote: »

In the mean time I am struggling to pay all the bills on the family home so my siblings can continue to live there, this is on top of my own bills and home as Im the only one who has moved out.

Write very politely to the executor, and copy in their senior staff member if possible, pointing out that mum died in January, probate was obtained in (June?) and that you have had to support your younger siblings in the absence of any money from the estate for 9 months.

If you are having ANY financial difficulties (arrears, taking out credit) mention these briefly.

Explain that the situation cannot continue much longer and that you need an interim disbursement. Signed by all members of the family (except the youngest if you want to protect them).

getmore4less

Is the house part of the estate?

Although it is normally recommended that occupiers take over bills to simplify administration it may have been prudent to have them paid from the estate if there was insufficient income in the household.

What are the plans for the house if equal beneficiaries and a minor this cannot be a straightforward transfer.

pollypenny

So sorry for your loss, OP. These dilatory executors are making the loss even worse, if that's possible, by adding to your worries.

I'd say a formal meeting with the senior partner is the way to go.

topbanana1985

getmore4less wrote: »

Is the house part of the estate?

Although it is normally recommended that occupiers take over bills to simplify administration it may have been prudent to have them paid from the estate if there was insufficient income in the household.

What are the plans for the house if equal beneficiaries and a minor this cannot be a straightforward transfer.

The executor was insisting that the mortgage needed to be cleared before they give anything out, so told us to sell the house, which is not an option at all, besides the fact that my siblings would have nowhere to live. Not much equity in the house, certainly not enough to buy another house of the same size or anything near big enough to house them all, plus we wish to keep it in the family, all of us have lived there since birth, its also our meeting ground for all birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, ect. So we want to keep it in the family. I already have a home, so my sister has asked if she can take it over and buy us all out, when she is able.
In the mean time, I took over the mortgage.
This satisfied the executor, prevented sale of the house, continues to give my siblings a roof over their heads and gives my sister some more time to get in a position to buy us out.

Thus we have done as asked by the executor and still, nothing from them.

topbanana1985

TonyMMM wrote: »

You are not their client - they should have explained their charges to your mother at the time she chose to appoint them as her executor. It would be usual for them to charge an hourly rate, plus (in many cases) a % of the estate value.

They have no contractual relationship with you whatsoever, you are not employing them. They do not have to talk to you at all.

However, common courtesy suggests that they should respond to your enquiries, but the time taken to respond to you would be chargeable as part of their costs of winding up the estate.

If they should have given a quote to mum, would they have given her a client letter? or some sort of documentation/written confirmation of such?

If so, we have gone through ever single bit of paperwork mum had and have not found anything relating to it.

Mum was very good at keeping and organising such things, all her paperwork was neatly filed and she had paperwork dating all the way back to 1975! Also her will was still in its original postage envelope along with its cover letter (which has no mention of costs, simply says, here is a copy of your current will as drawn up in our previous meeting)
She even had paperwork pertaining to our dads estate and grandads (her dad) estate.
So I doubt she would have thrown something like a client letter away.

And yes, before you ask, the same solicitors company dealt with both dads and grandads estates, but it was a different solicitor within the company, it was a guy mum knew personally, the same guy who is named in her will, but its not him thats actually dealing with it, he had delegated it to this troublesome executor.

I have tried to speak to the guy that mum knew, but again so far I have been met with 'hes not in', 'hes in a meeting' and 'he will call you back' but doesnt. My next step was a letter to him, I just wanted to get a little advice/words of wisdom or experience, before hand.
Which has been useful, so thank you all.

Hedgehog99

Very sorry for your loss, OP, and the extended hassle you have had since.

I once had a quote from a solicitor for conveyancing. I also had the accompanying "we will contact you if charges are likely to exceed this" - type booklet. When the bill came in, it was enormous, and they hadn't warned me. I wrote, quoting their Ts & Cs back to them & they agreed. But, of course, I was the client because it wasn't to do with being the beneficiary of a will.

topbanana1985

Hedgehog99 wrote: »

Very sorry for your loss, OP, and the extended hassle you have had since.

I once had a quote from a solicitor for conveyancing. I also had the accompanying "we will contact you if charges are likely to exceed this" - type booklet. When the bill came in, it was enormous, and they hadn't warned me. I wrote, quoting their Ts & Cs back to them & they agreed. But, of course, I was the client because it wasn't to do with being the beneficiary of a will.

Yes, another reason that I am quite worried that they will charge the earth and we wont be able to do a thing about it.

getmore4less

topbanana1985 wrote: »

The executor was insisting that the mortgage needed to be cleared before they give anything out, so told us to sell the house, which is not an option at all, besides the fact that my siblings would have nowhere to live. Not much equity in the house, certainly not enough to buy another house of the same size or anything near big enough to house them all, plus we wish to keep it in the family, all of us have lived there since birth, its also our meeting ground for all birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, ect. So we want to keep it in the family. I already have a home, so my sister has asked if she can take it over and buy us all out, when she is able.
In the mean time, I took over the mortgage.
This satisfied the executor, prevented sale of the house, continues to give my siblings a roof over their heads and gives my sister some more time to get in a position to buy us out.

Thus we have done as asked by the executor and still, nothing from them.

If you have just taken over the payments then you are in limbo until someone can buy the house and redeem the current mortgage .

The executor is unlikely to want to distribute other assets, that are insufficient to cover the debt(based on keeping the property).

How close to getting a mortgage is the sis?
She has had plenty of time to get on top of this.

Is she dealing with a broker because having other residents can be an issue especially if the purchase will be dependent on using part of their inheritances.

How big a mortgage, income and deposit available?

TBagpuss

I'm sorry for your loss. You mum won't have had a client care letter about the cost of the administration of the estate, only about the cost of preparing the will.

It is good practice or solicitors to treat beneficiaries as 'quasi clients' and to keep them informed.

I would suggest that you and your siblings (including the legal guardian(s) of any who are still minors all sign any letter you send, and perhap that you say to the executor that you nominate one person to be their main point of contact, in order to avoid unnecessary costs.

I would put any concerns in writing. (paper and ink) not e-mail - in many forms, e-mails will go directly to the individual concerned so the partners will not be aware of it. Address your letter specifically to the individual your mum names, and in the letter be clear both what your concerns are (if you can, give dates you rung or emailed, been told you will get a response, and haven't had one, for instnace)

Also state that you requested that the executor renounce and that they refised to do so and ask them why that was, bearing in mind that the Law Society's guidance is that they should consider such requests, taking into account the reasons the testator gave for appointing them, any changes in circumstnaces, and what is in the best interest of the estate (or instance, if all of you were still children when the will was made, there has been a major change in circumstances)

Be clear about what, specifically, you now want them to do (e.g. provide you with (a) details of what has been done to date, (b) what remains to be done and how long this is likely to take (c) what the current costs are, and whether that includes any value element, and if so, on what basis (d) what the estimated total costs will be (e) confirmation that the estate will not be charged either for work done in addressing the complain, or for the poor service and in particular the chasing calls and e-mails made necessary as a result of their failure to respond.

in the letter, set a time-scale for a response - e.g. 7 days. You are unlikely to get a comprehensive response in that time but it would be reasonable for them to have acknowledged the letter and let you know how quickly you will get a proper response.

State specifically that you have requested details of their complaints procedure and it has not been provided.

topbanana1985

getmore4less wrote: »

If you have just taken over the payments then you are in limbo until someone can buy the house and redeem the current mortgage .

The executor is unlikely to want to distribute other assets, that are insufficient to cover the debt(based on keeping the property).

How close to getting a mortgage is the sis?
She has had plenty of time to get on top of this.

Is she dealing with a broker because having other residents can be an issue especially if the purchase will be dependent on using part of their inheritances.

How big a mortgage, income and deposit available?

I have not just taken over the payments, the mortgage is in my name and mortgage company have already expressed that they have no preference on whos name the house is in and that they are happy for it to be put in all our names, as per the will, which the executor has agreed.

Currently sis is jobless, hence her trouble getting a mortgage herself at the mo.

I am happy to help my family where I can, but with both sisters jobless, 1 bro fresh out of college and in a very low paid apprenticeship and the other bro still in school, I am getting little to no financial help. Thus having the estate wound up.. or at the very least an idea of the date it may be done, at least then I can plan ahead to make sure I am able to cover all the bills, until this time.
But without knowing, I cant really plan if I am able to cover it all myself until then, or if I need to use credit cards or get a loan, in turn figuring out if the repayments are going to be affordable, since I dont know how much I would need or for how long it would be needed.

Im completely in the dark.