What does the 'net value of such estate does not exceed'? mean?

RAS

If you go to a solicitor, they will ask you about the value of the estate.

If you do not know how the house was owned, you cannot tell them. Go to https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry and download the information.

Or pay a small fortune to a solicitor to do the same.

getmore4less

If a house was owned as joint tenants 1/2 the value will still appear in the net estate even though it does not form part of the distributable assets.

Tuesday_Tenor

getmore4less wrote: »

If a house was owned as joint tenants 1/2 the value will still appear in the net estate even though it does not form part of the distributable assets.

Yes, thank you, that's true of course, and could help explain a difference between net estate £200K and distributable assets £30K.

However, in this case, OP's understanding of the will so far is that all assets would be liquidated, and so become distributable assets. [I believe the house has been sold?]

So she would expect more than £10K is such a scenario.

theoretica

What are you being asked to sign? Something which says that you have recieved a cheque for £10k (true) or that you have recieved your share of the estate?

pixiescar

theoretica wrote: »

What are you being asked to sign? Something which says that you have recieved a cheque for £10k (true) or that you have recieved your share of the estate?

I am being asked to sign a document that says that I have received my third of the estate. I have just had one of the executors on the phone to me asking if I have "trust issues" as they have received a letter from the solicitor asking whether they are able to divulge the estate accounts to me.
I told them that I would like to see the accounts before I sign anything but I am being pushed to "cash the cheque". I have been told, yet again, that I am able to see the estate accounts once it is all finished. But I can't seem to understand, if I have my cheque, hasn't everything been finished already?

g6jns_2

pixiescar wrote: »

I am being asked to sign a document that says that I have received my third of the estate. I have just had one of the executors on the phone to me asking if I have "trust issues" as they have received a letter from the solicitor asking whether they are able to divulge the estate accounts to me.
I told them that I would like to see the accounts before I sign anything but I am being pushed to "cash the cheque". I have been told, yet again, that I am able to see the estate accounts once it is all finished. But I can't seem to understand, if I have my cheque, hasn't everything been finished already?

You are right to be suspicious. There can be no valid reason for a beneficiary not to see the estate accounts in the circumstances you have outlined. Don't be bullied into signing something you are not happy with.

RAS

g6jns wrote: »

You are right to be suspicious. There can be no valid reason for a beneficiary not to see the estate accounts in the circumstances you have outlined. Don't be bullied into signing something you are not happy with.

Totally agreed; and you still need to get the deeds.

Tuesday_Tenor

g6jns wrote: »

You are right to be suspicious. There can be no valid reason for a beneficiary not to see the estate accounts in the circumstances you have outlined. Don't be bullied into signing something you are not happy with.

I absolutely agree, too.

If you absolutely need to pay in the cheque then send your own letter to the solicitor acknowledging receipt of the £10K cheque as part of your inheritance. Do NOT sign any wording from them about the 'one-third of the estate'. Personally I wouldn't pay the cheque in until I had got to the bottom of all this.

>>> asking if I have "trust issues"
Well, who wouldn't when asked to sign that they've received £10K as their one-third of the estate when they have received no details of the total estate, and the probate estinate said the estate value was £200K !!!!!

>>> the solicitor asking whether they are able to divulge the estate accounts to me.
This is rather odd, as it would be normal practice for a solicitor to send estate accounts to all major beneficiaries with any final distributions from the estate. As a one-third inheritor you are definitely a major beneficiary.

Good luck - you are right to be making enquiries, as something seems amiss here.

Tuesday_Tenor

pixiescar wrote: »

I have been told, yet again, that I am able to see the estate accounts once it is all finished. But I can't seem to understand, if I have my cheque, hasn't everything been finished already?

The stance the executors are taking makes no sense to us here on the board. We don't understand it either. [Think I can speak for several of us ?]

You do understand correctly that (as Mojisola said in a previous post):

Either the estate has been finalised, the accounts can be viewed and you can receive a one-third cheque.

Or

There aren't accounts yet as there are still things to finalise, and in which case they can't issue you a 'one-third of estate ' cheque.

The execturos are at best very muddled. More likely there is something peculiair going on, as you suspect.

Tuesday_Tenor

RAS wrote: »

and you still need to get the deeds.

Is this actually true, for the question that needs to be asked?

Dad's estate was initially valued at £200K.

It doesn't actually matter whether the estate comprised
- a whole house and other assets
- part of a house and greater other assets
- no house at all (e.g. as already given to wife or son) but £200K worth of other assets.

Whatever it was, it was still initially valued at £200K which seems to have shrunk to £30K.

OP or their solicitor can still ask for an explanation of this without needing to know anything about the details of any of the assets.
The question needs to be asked, in order to get the details of the assets.

Something definitely seems to be amiss here.
Either the executors made a massive mistake on the probate application, by including a major item (house?) which was NOT actually part of the estate.

Or thay have somehow 'lost' a big chunk of the estate.

Either way, an explanation is needed.