Executor will not acknowledge my claim

bassman47

I am owed money by a deceased person's estate - it was an unpaid bill


I know who the executor is - he is not a solicitor or accountant and I do not think he has any qualifications


I wrote to him recorded delivery detailing my claim but received no reply


This summer I went to visit him


He seemed a nice guy and apologised for not acknowledging my claim.


At the meeting he verbally acknowledged my claim, said he was still administering the estate and promised to write to me acknowledging my claim.


He did do this so I wrote to him referencing our meeting and asking for a reply acknowledging my debt.


Again no reply.


Is there anything I can do?


Is he in breach of his duties as an executor?


If so how can I pursue/start a complaint against him?


Thanks for your help

Marktheshark

Have you got copies of the will and probate ?

bassman47

no absolutely no written contact from executor at all


I am just a creditor - I did work for the deceased, sent in an invoice/bill and this was never paid


so I assume I am a creditor of the estate?

Marktheshark

You can contact the wills and probate office and get copies of the will and probate figures for a small fee.
I would start here.

bassman47

thanks but I do not see how that will help me

bouncydog1

it does sometimes take quite a long time to gather in assets for an estate - if an individual didn't keep good records, the Executor is obliged as far as I am aware, to explore all avenues to recover monies owing to the estate. This can also involve writing to many financial institutions asking them to investigate their records - we managed to recover monies from an old bank account that hadn't been used for 30 years! Add to that the red tape that has to be gone through to receive life assurance payouts for instance and the process can take some considerable time. How long since you sent in your bill? If it's several months then a written enquiry might help asking for a reply in x number of days. You may be able to issue a small claims court action against the executor of the estate, but I don't know for sure as not fully up to speed with UK law.

I'm sure one of the experience contributors to this area of the forum may be able to provide better advice.

Marktheshark

It would help because you get conformation of who the executor is and the rough value of the estate.
So you have a slightly better idea if you have any chance of getting any money.
If they died broke, there may be no estate to dish out.

g6jns_2

bassman47 wrote: »

I am owed money by a deceased person's estate - it was an unpaid bill


I know who the executor is - he is not a solicitor or accountant and I do not think he has any qualifications


I wrote to him recorded delivery detailing my claim but received no reply


This summer I went to visit him


He seemed a nice guy and apologised for not acknowledging my claim.


At the meeting he verbally acknowledged my claim, said he was still administering the estate and promised to write to me acknowledging my claim.


He did do this so I wrote to him referencing our meeting and asking for a reply acknowledging my debt.


Again no reply.


Is there anything I can do?


Is he in breach of his duties as an executor?


If so how can I pursue/start a complaint against him?


Thanks for your help

Send him a letter by r corded delivery stating you will sue him if he does notbpaybor acknowledge your claim within 14 days. Only do this if you are prepared to sue him. Be polite but firm.

BobQ

g6jns wrote: »

Send him a letter by r corded delivery stating you will sue him if he does not pay or acknowledge your claim within 14 days. Only do this if you are prepared to sue him. Be polite but firm.

He has already done this if I read the OP correctly (agree it is not clear). As I read it the bit in bold says he wrote acknowledging the claim? Or maybe OP means "He did not do this"? Not sure if the use of claim and debt is significant in the OP either.

I wrote to him recorded delivery detailing my claim but received no reply
This summer I went to visit him
He seemed a nice guy and apologised for not acknowledging my claim.
At the meeting he verbally acknowledged my claim, said he was still administering the estate and promised to write to me acknowledging my claim.
He did do this so I wrote to him referencing our meeting and asking for a reply acknowledging my debt.

OP, Some estates can take 12 months to sort out. I am not clear how long you have been waiting or how much the debt is.

If the debt is considerably more than the cost of obtaining a copy of the probate application ( £10) it might be worth getting a copy and then you would know whether it is worth suing. For all you know his debts may be much more than his estate in which case suing may be pointless. For all you know this man is not even the executor.

But the probate will indicate if he is and how much the estate is worth, in which case you can send a letter threatening to sue if you think it is worth it.

If you think probate may have been granted several months ago, you may be able to confirm it through this:

https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

getmore4less

What's the time line?
ie
date of work(payment terms)
Invoice in what form and how much was it for.
DOD
date of notification to executor(was this to the deceased address or other?)

you also be sensible to find out date of probate/LOA and establish I a section 27 notice was issued.

The mention of summer means this is not a few weeks but is running into months.

What were the terms of the business relation ship was the work with/for the person or any business they may have been running.

buglawton

g6jns wrote: »

Send him a letter by r corded delivery stating you will sue him if he does notbpaybor acknowledge your claim within 14 days. Only do this if you are prepared to sue him. Be polite but firm.

One day I may become a reluctant executor. Could I be sued by the deceased's creditors?