Left The House In My Late Mum's Will But My Sisters Refuse To Sell It-HELP!

jouef

annbarbs wrote: »

My solicitor given me an estimate of their fess in dealing with my case until conclusion of my case which is between £2000 to £3000

Annbarbs, this sounds like their charge for monitoring what your sisters do in the expectation that their attention will prompt them to act responsibly. If your sisters did not and you took them to court, the costs could rocket. If you lost the case and had the other side's costs awarded against you, you could have to pay out more than your whole inheritance.

The issue before you is that you are a beneficiary who does not trust the executors. We cannot understand this without the facts. How do you know they do not want to sell or vacate the house? You say you have no contact, so who told you this? Where did this information come from? What evidence is there for it? Do you currently have a case to prove they are unfit executors?

System

Surely the more pressing risk is that she may be denied her inheritance by her sisters, or may lose some, most or all of it in legal costs.

No that won't happen. Because my mum has left her estate to me and my 2 sisters. So we are each entitled to a third each if sold the house now belongs to the 3 of us.

So if the house is sold I will get a third of the money from the sale the same as my other sisters will.

The only way I could be denied my inheritance is if my sisters go to court and contest the will.
But even then it is unlikely that my sisters would win if they did that.

It's too soon to be thinking about what to do once you have the money, even though it's tempting. Try not to think about it until everything is sorted, which will take a long time.

We don't know that and neither do you. If my sisters put the house up for sale now then it could be sold in a few months and I could get my money this year.

But as my sisters do not want to sell the house, they are obviously delaying things.
My solicitor has not written to my sisters yet because as far as we know my sisters solicitors are acting for my sisters. And we don't know if or not my sisters are dealing with the estate themselves. So my solicitors is writing to my sisters solicitors who have told my solicitor my sisters are not ready to sell the house yet.

So it seems my sisters are ignoring things at the moment. And if my sisters continue to ignore things and delay seeing the house, then it could take longer.
But it's early days yet so we don't know that is going to happen but of course it could do. And as my solicitors told me we may have to take my sisters to court if they continue to ignore things.

But as I said it's early days and we have not got to that stage yet. And my sisters might change their mind and sell the house when they are faced with the threat of court.As they will be eventually if they don't do anything about getting the house up for sale.

Annbarbs, this sounds like their charge for monitoring what your sisters do in the expectation that their attention will prompt them to act responsibly. If your sisters did not and you took them to court, the costs could rocket. If you lost the case and had the other side's costs awarded against you, you could have to pay out more than your whole inheritance.

Very unlikely.
I don't think any legal bill will cost 1114 unless we spend years and years going to court. But if that happened which is also unlikely most people would give up.
As you would not want to spend the next 10 years in and out of court fighting your sisters or your family.

The issue before you is that you are a beneficiary who does not trust the executors. We cannot understand this without the facts. How do you know they do not want to sell or vacate the house? You say you have no contact, so who told you this? Where did this information come from? What evidence is there for it? Do you currently have a case to prove they are unfit executors?

Try reading this thread again.

fairy_lights

annbarbs wrote: »

But as my sisters do not want to sell the house, they are obviously delaying things.
My solicitor has not written to my sisters yet because as far as we know my sisters solicitors are acting for my sisters. And we don't know if or not my sisters are dealing with the estate themselves. So my solicitors is writing to my sisters solicitors who have told my solicitor my sisters are not ready to sell the house yet.

How do you know they are deliberately delaying things? All you have been told is that they are not ready to sell the house yet, which could be for many reasons - clearing out your mothers belongings, doing any maintenance work that needs completing, because they're still getting valuations from estate agents etc.

missbiggles1

fairy_lights wrote: »

How do you know they are deliberately delaying things? All you have been told is that they are not ready to sell the house yet, which could be for many reasons - clearing out your mothers belongings, doing any maintenance work that needs completing, because they're still getting valuations from estate agents etc.

And, particularly because they've only lost their mother a couple of months ago, a fact that the OP seems happy to ignore.

Mojisola

annbarbs wrote: »

I don't think any legal bill will cost 1114 unless we spend years and years going to court.

I think you have a very unrealistic idea of the amount a solicitor charges!

itsanne

itsanne wrote: »

It's too soon to be thinking about what to do once you have the money, even though it's tempting. Try not to think about it until everything is sorted, which will take a long time.

After it has been sorted, or just before, come back and ask for advice about what to do.

annbarbs wrote: »

We don't know that and neither do you. If my sisters put the house up for sale now then it could be sold in a few months and I could get my money this year.

But as my sisters do not want to sell the house, they are obviously delaying things.

Okay, strictly speaking that's true. I would be surprised if you get the money this year - but you might. The problem is that you're worrying about things now, whereas even if they happen as quickly as possible it will take months. That means that you do not need to decide anything right now.

The problem with trying to decide now what you will do with the money is that it keeps you thinking / worrying about your sisters and the house sale and it would be better if you could stop doing that. (Better so you wouldn't feel so worked up about it and better so you wouldn't be likely to make / let the solicitor's charges increase.)

You also don't know for sure how much money you will end up with once everything is sorted and the solicitor has been paid. It would be better to know the exact amount before asking for advice. People trying to help you will want to know the amount and you might get very frustrated because they can't answer all your questions. As you don't have any money yet I think it would be better if you wait until you know what you have rather than worry about it just now.



You are worrying about two things (the house sale and what to do with the money) so you are still saying the same things that you did before. It must be very hard to not keep thinking about it all. Remember that people here and your own solicitor have advised you to be patient. Now that you understand how the solicitor works you don't need to worry when things don't happen in a rush.

System

Okay, strictly speaking that's true. I would be surprised if you get the money this year - but you might.

Okay I will print here what the Solicitor has told me in writing in his letter to me.

Names Have Been removed by me as this is a public forum.
So no names.

Solicitors letter:

On the question of time scales, even if the property is placed on the market today, by the time a purchaser has been found and the sale completes, it is likely to be March or April before we are in any position to conclude the Estate. There are of course certain things which lay in the future which we cannot control. All I can do is to ask you not to worry unnecessarily concerning these.

I would remind you that there is a concept of the Executors year. It is reasonable for you to expect to receive the money from your Mum’s Estate at the latest by the 1st Anniversary of her death. I will obviously chase the solicitors and keep you advised.

Yours sincerely,
Solicitor.
(Name Removed)

You also don't know for sure how much money you will end up with once everything is sorted and the solicitor has been paid. It would be better to know the exact amount before asking for advice.

Well the house is work 342k. At least that's what the High Court has valued it as.
But 342k is only an estimate, it does not mean we will get that when the house is sold.

It does not mean it will be sold for that either.
House prices or values increase or decrease also it does not mean that my sisters will find a buy to pay they.

So we may more money for the house.
We may get less money.
Or we may get the same money as estimated.

It depends who buys it on on what the estate agent will value it at.
If the property is run down or the estate agent does not think the house is worth that much then it will be sold for less money.
As I said and you pointed out
The 342k is only an estimate, it does not mean we will get that when the house is sold.


When I had my first consultation with my Solicitor I did ask him how much it is going to cost me if I agree to let him take my case on.
He told me between £2000 and £3000.
He never said it would be 114k.
But you and some poster on here are saying it will be or will cost me most of my inheritance.
That's 80k.

Well if that's the case that would mean that either my Solicitor has not told me the truth about the costs or some of the posters here have got it wrong.

In other words that means that one of you is lying.
The Solicitor or some of the posters here.


If that's the case that the Solicitor has lied to me about the costs and is going to charge me 114 but has not told me.
Then I might as well quit and let my sisters keep that house.
Since if they sell it I won't get that money anyway if the Solicitor gets all of it.

So how do I find out if the Solicitor is telling me the truth about the costs?

Because if it is true and the costs are going to be 114k then the solicitor should have been honest and told me before I hired him.

So what do I do about it. Because if the Solicitors charges are going to be 114k then I cannot sort this out though a solicitors.
The only free service I know that Might help me are the CAB but they would not take my case on.
The told me I would have to get a solicitor.
So now what?
As I cannot do it on my own because my sisters won't sell the house and won't talk to me as you know.

Caroline_a

annbarbs wrote: »

Okay I will print here what the Solicitor has told me in writing in his letter to me.

Names Have Been removed by me as this is a public forum.
So no names.

Solicitors letter:

On the question of time scales, even if the property is placed on the market today, by the time a purchaser has been found and the sale completes, it is likely to be March or April before we are in any position to conclude the Estate. There are of course certain things which lay in the future which we cannot control. All I can do is to ask you not to worry unnecessarily concerning these.

I would remind you that there is a concept of the Executors year. It is reasonable for you to expect to receive the money from your Mum’s Estate at the latest by the 1st Anniversary of her death. I will obviously chase the solicitors and keep you advised.

Yours sincerely,
Solicitor.
(Name Removed)





Well the house is work 342k. At least that's what the High Court has valued it as.
But 342k is only an estimate, it does not mean we will get that when the house is sold.

It does not mean it will be sold for that either.
House prices or values increase or decrease also it does not mean that my sisters will find a buy to pay they.

So we may more money for the house.
We may get less money.
Or we may get the same money as estimated.

It depends who buys it on on what the estate agent will value it at.
If the property is run down or the estate agent does not think the house is worth that much then it will be sold for less money.
As I said and you pointed out
The 342k is only an estimate, it does not mean we will get that when the house is sold.


When I had my first consultation with my Solicitor I did ask him how much it is going to cost me if I agree to let him take my case on.
He told me between £2000 and £3000.
He never said it would be 114k.
But you and some poster on here are saying it will be or will cost me most of my inheritance.
That's 80k.

Well if that's the case that would mean that either my Solicitor has not told me the truth about the costs or some of the posters here have got it wrong.

In other words that means that one of you is lying.
The Solicitor or some of the posters here.


If that's the case that the Solicitor has lied to me about the costs and is going to charge me 114 but has not told me.
Then I might as well quit and let my sisters keep that house.
Since if they sell it I won't get that money anyway if the Solicitor gets all of it.

So how do I find out if the Solicitor is telling me the truth about the costs?

Because if it is true and the costs are going to be 114k then the solicitor should have been honest and told me before I hired him.

So what do I do about it. Because if the Solicitors charges are going to be 114k then I cannot sort this out though a solicitors.
The only free service I know that Might help me are the CAB but they would not take my case on.
The told me I would have to get a solicitor.
So now what?
As I cannot do it on my own because my sisters won't sell the house and won't talk to me as you know.

Nobody has lied to you. The solicitor has given his best estimate on what it will cost if he acts as a go between for you and your sisters/sisters' solicitor. However, why people are concerned that it will cost you more is that if you phone your solicitor and speak at length frequently, then the costs will mount up. Solicitors charge by the hour, and it can be up to £400 an hour, depending on the solicitor.

Additionally, if you have to go to court the fees will mount substantially, as your solicitor will attend with you.

So this is why people are warning you about just letting things happen for now - it isn't the time to chase, let the solicitors do their jobs and if nothing is happening in 6 months time, then it will make more sense to chase it. As others have said, putting a house on the market isn't an instant thing, your sisters may be delaying as they are clearing it out, possibly a little decorating to make it more saleable. They will then have to get estate agents in for valuations and then select the one they are going to go with. Pictures will then be taken to market the property.

When the house has been sold, all costs, including the solicitor your sisters have used for probate, funeral costs, estate agents fees and solicitors costs for conveyancing will be taken from the final money that the estate has. Until then it cannot be distributed.

Yorkshireman99

Sound advice!

itsanne

annbarbs wrote: »

Okay I will print here what the Solicitor has told me in writing in his letter to me.

Names Have Been removed by me as this is a public forum.
So no names.

Solicitors letter:

On the question of time scales, even if the property is placed on the market today, by the time a purchaser has been found and the sale completes, it is likely to be March or April before we are in any position to conclude the Estate. There are of course certain things which lay in the future which we cannot control. All I can do is to ask you not to worry unnecessarily concerning these.

I would remind you that there is a concept of the Executors year. It is reasonable for you to expect to receive the money from your Mum’s Estate at the latest by the 1st Anniversary of her death. I will obviously chase the solicitors and keep you advised.

Yours sincerely,
Solicitor.
(Name Removed)





Well the house is work 342k. At least that's what the High Court has valued it as.
But 342k is only an estimate, it does not mean we will get that when the house is sold.

It does not mean it will be sold for that either.
House prices or values increase or decrease also it does not mean that my sisters will find a buy to pay they.

So we may more money for the house.
We may get less money.
Or we may get the same money as estimated.

It depends who buys it on on what the estate agent will value it at.
If the property is run down or the estate agent does not think the house is worth that much then it will be sold for less money.
As I said and you pointed out
The 342k is only an estimate, it does not mean we will get that when the house is sold.


When I had my first consultation with my Solicitor I did ask him how much it is going to cost me if I agree to let him take my case on.
He told me between £2000 and £3000.
He never said it would be 114k.
But you and some poster on here are saying it will be or will cost me most of my inheritance.
That's 80k.

Well if that's the case that would mean that either my Solicitor has not told me the truth about the costs or some of the posters here have got it wrong.

In other words that means that one of you is lying.
The Solicitor or some of the posters here.


If that's the case that the Solicitor has lied to me about the costs and is going to charge me 114 but has not told me.
Then I might as well quit and let my sisters keep that house.
Since if they sell it I won't get that money anyway if the Solicitor gets all of it.

So how do I find out if the Solicitor is telling me the truth about the costs?

Because if it is true and the costs are going to be 114k then the solicitor should have been honest and told me before I hired him.

So what do I do about it. Because if the Solicitors charges are going to be 114k then I cannot sort this out though a solicitors.
The only free service I know that Might help me are the CAB but they would not take my case on.
The told me I would have to get a solicitor.
So now what?
As I cannot do it on my own because my sisters won't sell the house and won't talk to me as you know.

The part of your post I have coloured blue is actually very offensive to the people here who have tried to help you. Perhaps you should ask yourself why we would lie to you before jumping to that conclusion. No one here is lying. Your solicitor is not lying either.

Your solicitor is being quite optimistic about both the time scale and the eventual fee. He could be right about both, but he could be wrong too. All sorts of things could make it take more than a year even if your sisters aren't awkward. That wouldn't mean he is lying.

No one here has said that the fee will be any particular amount. The fee your solicitor has suggested will hopefully be what you will end up paying, but it is very easy for you to make it increase without meaning to. That's what people are warning you against. If things went as far as court you could end up with a very, very expensive bill. As you have said yourself, you did not know how solicitors and their charges 'work'.

The part coloured red - as everyone is advising, be patient. Things will not happen overnight, certainly not as quickly as you have expected them to.