How do I find out the solicitor my mum made her will with?

teabag29

I wont go into detail it's a long horrible story but i'm a benificery to my mothers will along with my 5 siblings. My brother is the executor. I haven't spoken to them since they stopped me seeing my mother 6 months before she died and didn't tell me of her death until a month after, once the funeral was over in the cruelest possible way which they deemed funny.

I have moved counties to escape their abuse and recently been diagnosed with a serious life long health condition that is seeing me decline quicker than i could've imagined. Stress makes this condition worse which is the main reason i moved away from it all.

Now suddenly 3 months after her death My brother has decided 2 plague me with drunken calls saying he cant hold off the will any longer (my mothers house is to be sold and split between her 6 children) and that the rest of them have all decided to rent it to my homeless sister instead but the solicitor says for this to happen we must all agree. My brother basically said to me either he does it above board (whereby I put it in writing that I agree to this) or he does it his way and make out I agreed to it or that he cant find me. He refuses to give me the name or number of the solicitor firm mum used for her will and there are so many solicitors in the city I havent a clue how to try and find it.

It will be a long time before the will reaches probate as they only opened it a few days ago but we all knew what was in it anyway, they have been holding off and I suspect the reasoning being is that they were spending mums savings. He mentioned he has to explain where mums savings went and he doesnt know what to tell him (my brother was drunk and kept slipping up telling me things he probably otherwise wouldn't have done).

Between the 5 of them (4 being alcoholics) they have it in their head (and this is not a joke they really believe this)....that my sister will be able to rent it for life, claiming housing benefit off the government which will be paid to my brother but split between the 6 of us each month and therefore they can have their cake and eat it, on top of that i'm expected to keep quiet about this arrangement so as not to interfere with my disability benefits im now on and as a token of gratitude they will pay me cash in hand each month my split of the housing benefit...... I kid you not this is what they've come up with and expect me to agree to, oh and to forget about the years of abuse i suffered and the fact they denied me the chance to say goodbye to my mother. Apparently if we all agree to renting then the will doesn't have to go ahead until we all decide to sell BUT he wants a contract drawn up stopping us being able to change our minds..... they obviously think im a sandwich short of a picnic.

Now I have asked over and over for the solicitor details so that I can let my views be known and leave contact details for any part of the will i receive (as for my own safety i dont want my family having my address or new number) but my brother gets angry when i ask this and refuses me the details and said if i dont play ball he will tell the solicitor to just find me as he cant (he knows my old number, i still have this phone but he is basically saying he will tell the solicitor he cant get into contact with me any how).

how do I go about finding mums solicitor?

rosy798

I cant help on finding your Mums solicitor but couldnt just read and run. Firstly sorry for your loss and the way you are being treated. Sadly people do terrible things when money is concerned. Someone will be along soon who will be able to help you I am sure x

RAS

Start by calling the Probate office for advice. I think that if the executor does not execute the estate within a reasonable time you could administer it anyway (with will).

If you contact one of the larger solicitor's offices in the town they can put out a plea to other legal offices asking if they have been asked about a deed of variation (which is what they are trying to organise or disorganise) with respect to your mother's will. Will be a bit more difficult because you are not an executor.

TBagpuss

You could place an ad either in the Law Society Gazette (there is a "wills and whereabouts" section) or search to see if there is a local law society and see whether you can place an ad on their website or in their newsletter.

However, it might be easier to ask your brother to get the solicitor to send the agreement to you for you to reviiew. You don't have to say that you will agree, but he may make that assumption.

If he asks you again about agreeing then simply say "you'll need to ask the lawyer to send me anything you want me to sign"

You would then get a letter from the solicitor and can write to them directly confirming that you wish the house to be sold and that your brother has threatened to forge your signature to get agreement to defer a sale and that you would therefore ask that the solicitors contact you directly to verify any documetn they are giving purporting to have been signed by you.

You could also set up a standing search with the Probate registry to see whether probabte has been applied for and if not, ensure that you are notified when it is.

PennyForThem_2

You can place a caveat on granting probate. If there is a house involved then probate 'should' be applied for. However the brother could just let the house as he intends.

https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/stopping-a-grant-of-representation


The best advice is the stealth method of finding out which solicitor holds the will but then if you are not an executor not sure what actions you can take unless probate taken out.

(The more I learn about wills the more 'unsafe' they appear for final wishes - possession of the will seems to trump most concerns anybody mentioned in the will may have. (Scotland exempted, I think)

KMA

Good evening. I'm sorry for your loss.


You could commission a Certainty Will Search for around £120 inc vat. This will contact all solicitors in a given geographical area to identify which solicitor, if any, has your mothers will. If they do they will make contact but would probably require proof of identity and the death certificate, which you should be able to obtain yourself.


I have used this service myself to search for a possible will for my father who died intestate just to check that there was actually no will. It takes around 1 month to conclude.


Hope this helps

FreeBear

teabag29 wrote: »

...that my sister will be able to rent it for life, claiming housing benefit off the government which will be paid to my brother but split between the 6 of us each month

The first question the DWP will ask before paying any housing benefit will be about the relationship between the claimant and the landlord - In cases where the tenant is a close relation to the landlord, the DWP will not make any payments. If the sister fails to divulge all information and ends up getting paid housing benefit, the DWP will eventually chase her to get the money back. It could well end with a conviction for fraud on top of a hefty fine.

If you are claiming benefits, any rental income would have to be declared, so you could use this as an opportunity to distance yourself from any fraud - Inform the DWP of the source of the income, and let them do their bit.

rogerdee1936

Hi, firstly, I sincerely apologise for having to add this question on the end of someone elses post, but im new to this forum and arnt sure exactly how to use certain things on it?!
I am an 81 year old man, who's elder brother has recently passed away. As he had no will, my younger sister is ...'apparant;y', sorting everything out regards his assets, moderst property, savings, etc.
The thing is, firstly, I though 'I' myself, as the now eldest sibling (my brother had no partner/wife/kids) wouldve been the person having to 'take charge' of everything?
Also, as my sister and I do not speak to one another, she is refusing to tell me whom the solicitor is she's using to deal with the issues, and I also have found out that she is 'going crazy' with one of my brothers bank accounts...shouldnt they all have been 'blocked/frozen' as standard surely?
She is an extremely dishonest person, so if it needed her to voluntarily give up his bank card, etc. then she certainly has not done so, and I fully believe that she is purposely denying me the solicitors details, etc. to defraud me out of my share of my brothers estate. (which is well under £200,000 in total value)
As Ive already said, I am 81 yrs old, and only receive a basic pension, so I certainly couldnt afford a soliciotr of my own to find out these things, which she knows, and while she's 'living it up' wildly spending money that she has no right to touch at this point, I am having to attend regular foodbanks, just to survive.
I hope to god someone out there can help me. Thank you all so much for reading this.
Many Regards, Richard

Yorkshireman99

Do you know who he banked with? If so tell them he is dead. You can also lodge a caveat against her getting Letters of administration. The CAB may be able to help and it is free.

Chris25

the Funeral Home may have details of the deceased's solicitors.