Estranged Father's estate

DannyBo

Ok, I shall try to keep it short whilst giving as much information as possible.

My father with whom I have had no contact for over 20 years died last May. He left no will and had 3 other children with his new partner - she died 7 years ago, they never married.

The children range in age from 13 - 19.

He owned the house he lived in, approx value £160k (I'm unaware as to whether his partner owned the house jointly)

Last June I had minimal contact with the eldest child which turned ugly after I informed her that she must inform the lawyer dealing with the estate that he had 2 further children (my Brother and myself) since then there has been zero contact.

I obtained a caveat which ran for for 6 months and I extended beginning of January. I also emailed every lawyer in the Manchester area, asking if they were dealing with the estate - no joy.

Today I received a letter saying:
I have recently made an application to the Bristol Probate Court for a Grant of Representation for the above estate.
The Probate Court have informed me that you have lodged a Caveat against the estate.
In order to resolve the matter, I would be grateful if you could inform me of your reasoning behind lodging the Caveat so that we can reach a resolution to the matter.
Yours....

I phoned the office and spoke to the receptionist as the lawyer was away - she confirmed that we are talking about the same person as my father had quite a common name - we also have the same surname.
My questions: it is my understanding that I must respond within 8 working days otherwise the Caveat will be removed? Also, I mentioned to the receptionist that their firm is representing my half-siblings, she said they aren't (???)
I intend to Email the lawyer my grounds for the Caveat, followed by a letter of the email.

If she is seeking grant of representation, is she working on behalf of the estate? The half siblings or armed with the knowledge of 2 further siblings, will she be acting on my behalf also?

I should add that since this all started I have moved to Germany and I believe that a Caveat can only be lodged by a UK resident - I have used a friend's address for all correspondence.

Should I get a lawyer of my own? Would it be wise to speak to the lawyer who wrote to me over the phone?

Many thanks for reading and any ideas on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

G6JNS

DannyBo wrote: »

Ok, I shall try to keep it short whilst giving as much information as possible.

My father with whom I have had no contact for over 20 years died last May. He left no will and had 3 other children with his new partner - she died 7 years ago, they never married.

The children range in age from 13 - 19.

He owned the house he lived in, approx value £160k (I'm unaware as to whether his partner owned the house jointly)

Last June I had minimal contact with the eldest child which turned ugly after I informed her that she must inform the lawyer dealing with the estate that he had 2 further children (my Brother and myself) since then there has been zero contact.

I obtained a caveat which ran for for 6 months and I extended beginning of January. I also emailed every lawyer in the Manchester area, asking if they were dealing with the estate - no joy.

Today I received a letter saying:
I have recently made an application to the Bristol Probate Court for a Grant of Representation for the above estate.
The Probate Court have informed me that you have lodged a Caveat against the estate.
In order to resolve the matter, I would be grateful if you could inform me of your reasoning behind lodging the Caveat so that we can reach a resolution to the matter.
Yours....

I phoned the office and spoke to the receptionist as the lawyer was away - she confirmed that we are talking about the same person as my father had quite a common name - we also have the same surname.
My questions: it is my understanding that I must respond within 8 working days otherwise the Caveat will be removed? Also, I mentioned to the receptionist that their firm is representing my half-siblings, she said they aren't (???)
I intend to Email the lawyer my grounds for the Caveat, followed by a letter of the email.

If she is seeking grant of representation, is she working on behalf of the estate? The half siblings or armed with the knowledge of 2 further siblings, will she be acting on my behalf also?

I should add that since this all started I have moved to Germany and I believe that a Caveat can only be lodged by a UK resident - I have used a friend's address for all correspondence.

Should I get a lawyer of my own? Would it be wise to speak to the lawyer who wrote to me over the phone?

Many thanks for reading and any ideas on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

If someone has applied for LOA then they are acting on behalf of the estate to get authority to deal with it. They have to represent all potential beneficiaries without any bias. Writing with a full account to the applicant is the best course of action. I am not aware UK residence is a requirement for lodging a caveat.

DannyBo

LOA is the same as Grant of representation? Then she will have been instructed to do so by the 3 half-siblings. I shall email the lawyer tomorrow stating my reasons.

When I lodged the caveat I recall reading that only persons residing in the UK could do so - also the 8 day rule after contact.

getmore4less

As a child of a parent without a will an spouse you could have applied for LOA rather than enter a caveat and wait for someone else.

Annisele

Are you certain a caveat is the right approach? Presumably you're not using it to contest the will, because you said there was no will.

Are you contesting your half-sibling's right to apply for letters of administration? If so, I'm not sure you'll get far unless you're prepared to act yourself.

What is your objection to having the lawyer deal with the estate? So long as the lawyer knows about you and all of your siblings, I don't see how you are disadvantaged (other than in the estate having to pay for the lawyer - but since it doesn't look like you want to act yourself, it's probably easier to have a lawyer deal with this than your half-sibling).

From your half-sibling's point of view, this all may look like you're being obstructive. Given how young they are, and that they've lost both parents, I might be tempted to cut them some slack however ugly things get. It doesn't sound as though things were easy for you either, but they've had far less time to learn to deal with things.

DannyBo

getmore4less wrote: »

As a child of a parent without a will an spouse you could have applied for LOA rather than enter a caveat and wait for someone else.

Annisele wrote: »

Are you certain a caveat is the right approach? Presumably you're not using it to contest the will, because you said there was no will.

Are you contesting your half-sibling's right to apply for letters of administration? If so, I'm not sure you'll get far unless you're prepared to act yourself.

What is your objection to having the lawyer deal with the estate? So long as the lawyer knows about you and all of your siblings, I don't see how you are disadvantaged (other than in the estate having to pay for the lawyer - but since it doesn't look like you want to act yourself, it's probably easier to have a lawyer deal with this than your half-sibling).

From your half-sibling's point of view, this all may look like you're being obstructive. Given how young they are, and that they've lost both parents, I might be tempted to cut them some slack however ugly things get. It doesn't sound as though things were easy for yeither, but they've had far less time to learn to deal with things.

Thank you for both replies. As mentioned, I was estranged - the only information I have is from googling - I did see a lawyer who requested the address of the property which I couldn't offer. I did try and involve myself but was told I couldn't 'walz in after 20 years' and expect a dime. A Caveat seemed the only option after speaking to the probate court in Manchester.

I found out about his death via Google and had limited information and no clue where to begin - hence lodging a Caveat to NOW be included in the dealings, I have no other information re. the estate although am able to hazard a guess. I emailed every lawyer in the surrounding area to try and get 'a foot in the door'.

I am more than willing to 'cut some slack' but this story involves monies made during the marriage to my Mother and a long time before the 3 half siblings were born.

DannyBo

I was basically told to 'do one' and that the matter does not involve me. As mentioned, through chance I found out about his death. I am glad to finally have a sane legal person to contact to discuss how to progress. All other avenues were long exhausted.

g6jns_2

DannyBo wrote: »

I was basically told to 'do one' and that the matter does not involve me. As mentioned, through chance I found out about his death. I am glad to finally have a sane legal person to contact to discuss how to progress. All other avenues were long exhausted.

Don't let them bully you. They are motivated solely by greed with out concern for anyone else. There is no reason why you should be disinherited.

TBagpuss

Write to the lawyer. Set out your relationship to the deceased, the names and addresses (where you know them) of any other children, and the fact that it is your understanding that your father left no will, and that as you have been told by your half siblings that you can expect nothing, you have no confidence that they would administer the estate appropriately if granted LOA.

One option might be for you (or your brother) and the eldest of the half siblings to jointly apply, another might be to jointly instruct the solicitors to deal with the estate, however, be aware that their costs will come out of the estate and dealing with beneficiaries who do not trust or speak to each other may be expensive.

DannyBo

I outlined pretty much what I put in my OP to the solicitor via Email. She emailed me back to inform me that eldest half sister is her client - she wishes to administer the estate, however HS is sure that there is a will - if they can't find it then of course the estate will be split between all children.

In the meantime I should try and contact HS and try to resolve. Otherwise seek independent legal advice.

How long is reasonable to search for a will? Surely that would be a priority given that 10 months ago I expressed my interest in the estate.

Secondly, how can the solicitor seek grant of representation whilst looking for a will? This seems contradictory to me, she wishes for me to let her proceed.

I have no contact details for the half siblings and nor do they have mine - so how exactly would they have contacted me once probate was granted?

Any further help would be really appreciated

RAS

You could ask the lawyer to pass on your contact details? They may well have already done so?