Inheritance money and property.

Yorkshireman99

Marisco wrote: »

As far as I can gather, and when she knew I was going to ask on here, she gave me the full SP. There are no other dependants, the will left all the estate to be equally divided between her and her brother, including the house. Neither of them want the house (brother lives abroad) so decided together to sell it. Probate has been granted, and she found a buyer for the house, that had nothing to do with the solicitor.

All the assets minus house has been collected, and according to the solicitor, they have to wait until the house is sold before the money is distributed. What she wanted to know is, is this correct, does the house have to be sold first, or can they dish out the money now, and then dish out the house sale money at a later date, when the house is sold? It's all to do with exchange rates for the brother apparently.

Keeping it until the house is sold might be easier for the solicitor, but is it a legal requirement, or can they insist that the assets, minus house, is divided up now? I think I've covered the points she made.

The beneficiaries have no right to insist. Executors are usually allowed a year to do the work. Your friend should ask the solicitor for a clearer explanation. Based on what you have said the solicitor is not being unreasonable.

AnotherJoe

Marisco wrote: »

What would the reasons be? Everything is straightforward, that is what my friend cannot understand. She tends to be more cynical than me (and that takes some doing )

She reckons the solicitors are keeping it in their accounts to make as much interest as possible out of it, as the amount is quite substantial (but just below the inheritance tax threshold)

Its not the solicitors money, any interest will accumulate to the estate so she should try a different conspiracy theory.

Savvy_Sue

Marisco wrote: »

the amount is quite substantial (but just below the inheritance tax threshold)

If it's just below the IHT threshold, then it's possible that if this sale falls through and another buyer is found, it will be at an increased price and therefore IHT could be due.

That would certainly be a reason not to distribute early.

getmore4less

If HMRC are not asking for money and the house sale changes that then any tax due can come from the sale, could well be CGT by then.

There can be many good reasons the solicitor wants to hold onto the money but waiting to liquidate all assets is not one of them.

If the main concern is forex then a request to convert now would be reasonable although the solicitor will probably charge extra.

Marisco

Thank you for your answers, it's always difficult to ask for others as you never know the whole SP, but she has told me what she knows, apart from exact figures obviously.

She did say it's under IHT and that includes the house, so it sounds as if it would be well under without the house. She, and her brother, cannot understand why they just cannot distribute the assets and leave the house until later. The sale is underway but could take a while yet. So if the sale did fall through, they'd have to wait even longer if the solicitor is hanging on until it's eventually sold.

She's coming over later, so I'll show her this rather than try and explain, all I can say is, thank god I'll be going with sod all to leave, it sounds a right hassle!

Mojisola

Marisco wrote: »

Probate has been granted, and she found a buyer for the house, that had nothing to do with the solicitor.

So who exactly is the executor?

If it's the solicitor, I can't see how your friend has sold the house - the executor would be the only one who has the legal right to do that.

pollypenny

We had an interim payment from my father's estate before the house was sold, with no problem.

Sounds a bit odd to me.

Mojisola

pollypenny wrote: »

We had an interim payment from my father's estate before the house was sold, with no problem.

I paid out an interim payment to one beneficiary who had a particular reason for wanting some money early. I was using a solicitor to help with the work and he was quite happy that the payment could be made.

I did discuss it with the other beneficiaries and offered the same to them but they decided to wait for one final payment.

pollypenny

To clarify, all three of us, my sisters and I, received interim payments.

Ironically, the house sold immediately, so we could well have waited.

Marisco

Mojisola wrote: »

So who exactly is the executor?

If it's the solicitor, I can't see how your friend has sold the house - the executor would be the only one who has the legal right to do that.

The executors are the two of them i.e my mate and her brother.