My Late Mum's Will-Worried My Solicitor might Keep My Money-Please Advise Me.

Legacy_user

My Mother died in November 2015 and I found out that she has left her house to myself and my 2 younger sisters in her will.

My sisters and my self inherit a third of the house.
So we each get a third of the money of whatever the house gets sold for.

My mother left the house to the 3 of us-myself and my sisters.
But my sisters are executives of the will not me.
So although I inherit the estate I do not have executive rights.
So I cannot sell the house or distribute the money because I am not an executor.

I have got myself a Solicitor because I cannot talk to my sisters because they don't want to know me.

And I understand that when the house is sold my sisters will send the money from the sale my share of it to my solicitor to give to me.
Because I think my solicitor has instructed this.
And I am very worried that my solicitor will keep the money for himself and not give it to me.

I know this worry seems irrational to some people but I have mental health problems. Which causes me to worry a lot and also my sisters don't want any contact with me. So I cannot talk to them as they have made it clear they don't want to see me.

But I was told by my solicitor that as a benefictor I have a right to receive the estate and inherit any money from it when sold. Because my mums has left the house to me as well as my 2 sisters.

It says it cleanly in mums will of which I have a copy my Solicitor got for me. I inherit a third of the house.

But at that time my sisters who are executives of the will would not sell the house. Because one of my Sisters Sister A was living there and was mum's carer.

My other sister is married and has her own house but she did not want to sell it either.

I posted a thread about this a few months ago which explains more-
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5413329

And I got myself a Solicitor because I cannot talk to my sisters myself because they do not want any contact with me.

My sisters have now put the house up for sale but that was only a month ago in June.
My sisters put my mums house up for sale because my solicitor made them. But we did not have to take my sisters to court because my solicitor wrote to them and must have somehow talked them round to selling.

The reason I am posting this thread is because I am very worried that when the house is sold my solicitor might not tell me and keep my share of the money from the house for himself and not give it to me.

My Solicitor knows I have mental Health problems and that my sisters don't want any contact with me.
Because I told him and that's why I got a solicitor.
Because I cannot approach my sisters myself and my solicitor knows this.

So I am very worried that when my mum's house does get sold and the money is paid( I think my sisters will send my solicitor the money) out my solicitor might keep my money for himself and not tell me the house has been sold.
What can I do to avoid this happening.
Please advise me.

Mojisola

annbarbs wrote: »

So I am very worried that when my mum's house does get sold and the money is paid( I think my sisters will send my solicitor the money) out my solicitor might keep my money for himself and not tell me the house has been sold.

What can I do to avoid this happening.

It won't happen. Your solicitor is working well for you at the moment - at least the house is now up for sale.

There's no reason not to trust him. It wouldn't be worth him risking his career by keeping whatever your inheritance amounts to.

Keep_pedalling

Although it has been known for solicisitors to run off with client money, this is an extreamly rare thing to happen, but even if it did the solicitors regulatory body the SRA have a compensation scheme for such rare events.

It sounds like so far he/she I'd doing a good job for you. The house it up for sale and you are not facing expensive court costs, so please stop worrying and let things take there course.

theoretica

Solicitors deal with large sums of their clients money all the time - does it help to know it is not at all unusual for them to handle house purchase and sale sums of money?

Mojisola

theoretica wrote: »

Solicitors deal with large sums of their clients money all the time - does it help to know it is not at all unusual for them to handle house purchase and sale sums of money?

And that the money will be paid into an separate account specifically for holding client's money?

It won't just get mixed up with the firm's general business account.

Tuesday_Tenor

Mojisola wrote: »

And that the money will be paid into an separate account specifically for holding client's money?

It won't just get mixed up with the firm's general business account.

Wouldn't it be even more likely that the executors would write the cheque in AnnBarbs name anyway? It will be sent to the solicitor due to the executors not wanting to contact her directly, but then solicitor would pass it on to AnnBarbs.

AnnBarbs will get an invoice from the solicitor for the work they've done in contacting executors etc. Seems money well spent to get the execs moving, and moving correctly.

Well done AnnBarbs, you've done exactly the right thing getting this clearly very competent solicitor to work on your behalf.

From a stalemate situation you have moved to what is now a straightforward process: waiting for house to sll, the estate to be sorted out and the beneficiaries to be paid their inheritance.

Why don't you ask your solicitor how they would expect the funds to be received, in your name or theirs? Even if I'm wrong and they would normally arrange a transfer into their own 'clients' account, perhaps they would be happy to take an instruction from you to request that the executors send the cheque in your name? Would that reassure you?

I really don't think you need worry though.
The risk of you having found a rogue solicitor is minuscule.
It's you mental health issues that are getting the risk out of proportion and fearing the worst.
Relax! It will be fine!

Robin9

I am pleased to hear that the sale of your Mum's house is proceeding - when you were on the forum earlier this year you were very concerned.

As others have said - relax and let your professional solicitor do his work.

Hopefully that SOLD sign will go up very soon.

Mojisola

annbarbs wrote: »

And I understand that when the house is sold my sisters will send the money from the sale my share of it to my solicitor to give to me.

Because I think my solicitor has instructed this.

Tuesday_Tenor wrote: »

Wouldn't it be even more likely that the executors would write the cheque in AnnBarbs name anyway?

It will be sent to the solicitor due to the executors not wanting to contact her directly, but then solicitor would pass it on to AnnBarbs.

Usually - but it sounds as if different arrangements have been made in this case.

FreeBear

annbarbs wrote: »

And I am very worried that my solicitor will keep the money for himself and not give it to me.

If the money is paid to him directly, then he will certainly keep a substantial sum for himself. This will be to cover his fees for all the letters he has written on your instructions and any additional work he has had to do. Exactly how much his final bill will be, no one knows - It will depend on what your agreement was, his scale of fees, and whether he had to engage any other professional on your behalf.

You will end up with some money out of this mess - Probably no where near as much as you hoped for once all the legal fees on both sides have been settled. And yes, your sisters' legal bill (or rather, a third of it) will come out of your share as it will be an expense incurred by the executors.

System

I think you are right.
My solicitor would have a lot to loose if he kept my money for himself.
That's fraud and stealing and he would be sent to prison and would never be allowed to practice as a solicitor again.
So it is unlikely to happen.

But I worry about it.

The house is up for sale for 280k and my mother also had 77k in savings.Of which we each get a third of as well.
Which is 25 thousand pounds each.
So as well as our third of the sale of the house which is 93 thousand pounds I and my sisters each get 25k.
Which is 118 thousand pounds in total that we each will get if you include the 25k in addition to the 93k from the sale of the house.

But of course there will be my solicitors fess.
My sisters are selling the house without a solicitor but my solicitor said we each have to pay the estate agents fees for selling the house.
Which is a third each as one poster says.
So I obviously won't take home 118 thousand pounds but it could still be at least 100 thousand depending on what the house gets sold for.

I was not very close to my mum. And as my ex-social worker said-My mum could have cut me out of the will and left everything to my 2 sisters but she didn't.
So she must have loved me even if she did not show it very much.

But at the same time the inheritance has put me in a dilemma.
Because I am on benefits and cannot work because of mental health problems.

So once I get my money all of my benefits, my Housing Benefit, Council Tax benefit will be stopped.
Because once your savings go over 16 thousand pounds you are not entitled to HB ,CT benefit or ESA.
DLA as far as I know is not effected by savings so I don't think that will stop.

But my DLA is only £104 a week-High rate Care and Low Mobility Rate.
And that's not going to cover all my rents and living expenses.
And it gets worse.

My rent for my Housing Association Flat is £140 a week. But my HA charges per calendar month. So I will have to pay £608 per month plus my bills and CT.
And that will eat up my inheritance more quickly.
Also my Housing Association are not maintaining the property.

I have an ongoing repair problem which my housing association refuses to fix for me despite the fact that I have told them about it and my many phone calls to them for the past 2 months since I have had this problem..
The gutter pipe on the outside roof of my building is broken and every time it rains the water pours down the outside wall of my bedroom Window.
Making my outside wall damp.
And I told my Housing Association the problem and I told them that if it is not fixed the water will eventually come into my flat and make my walls dam.But they won't fix it and every time I phone them or go to the office in person.
they don't do anything about it and they won't give me a time or date as to when they will fix it.
I have had this same problem before when in August 2014 it happened the outside gutter/roof was leaking and they did not fix it despite the fact that I made a formal complaint and wrote numerous letter to them though their complaints procedure.
My Housing Association messed me about and they made me wait 18 months before they finally fixed the leak on the Gutter/Roof, in January this year,
So I waited 18 months before they did that repair but the builders did a botched job because 2 months ago in May it came back and it's worse than it was before.
And then 3 months later in may the leak came back and the gutter pip is broken again. So it is obvious that the Housing association Builders did not do the job properly.

Because Now the rain is running down the outside wall,Worse than before they fixed it.
But I told my Housing association this again but they won't do anything about it.

Not only that but as I am sitting here now typing this, I and the other tenants in my block and on my estate have no water supply.
My estate is new build flats that has a water pumps that supplies our water which is maintained by my housing association not the water board.
And the pump keeps on breaking down,and last time my HA made us go for 4 days without water before they fixed it and that's not right.


And when I ring my housing association and get through to repairs department as is their procedure for reporting repairs.
They are not very helpful.
The problem is that when I ring them I get put through to their repairs department which is a call center so I have to speak to a different person every time I phone them.

And many of them are not aware that I have a mental health problem and they are not very helpful they are impersonal as well as the fact that they don't seem to care which does not help at all.

And this has upset me very much and I have now decided that I will leave the housing association and g back into private rented accommodation when my mums house is sold and I get my money.
Because once the house is sold and I get my money as you know all my benefits will stop except for my DLA.
And if I stay here in my HA Flat
It is gonna cost me £608 a month rent and will eat up my inheritance more quickly.

And I am not even going to be getting the service I am paying rent for.
It will still be the same the HA won't do the repairs and some of them are not very nice to me anyway.

My neighbors are fine and are quite friendly and my flat is lovely and in a good area.
But my housing association are very slow to do repairs and I find their system very impersonal.
And I am not gonna pay £608 for that.

So I am gonna use my money when I get it to move out and get myself a private flat up North in Liverpool with a private landlord or letting agency where the rents are about £386 a month.
Where I will be much happier. I am unhappy here.
And so I am not going to stay here.

Yorkshireman99

annbarbs wrote: »

I think you are right.
My solicitor would have a lot to loose if he kept my money for himself.
That's fraud and stealing and he would be sent to prison and would never be allowed to practice as a solicitor again.
So it is unlikely to happen.

But I worry about it.

The house is up for sale for 280k and my mother also had 77k in savings.Of which we each get a third of as well.
Which is 25 thousand pounds each.
So as well as our third of the sale of the house which is 93 thousand pounds I and my sisters each get 25k.
Which is 118 thousand pounds in total that we each will get if you include the 25k in addition to the 93k from the sale of the house.

But of course there will be my solicitors fess.
My sisters are selling the house without a solicitor but my solicitor said we each have to pay the estate agents fees for selling the house.
Which is a third each as one poster says.
So I obviously won't take home 118 thousand pounds but it could still be at least 100 thousand depending on what the house gets sold for.

I was not very close to my mum. And as my ex-social worker said-My mum could have cut me out of the will and left everything to my 2 sisters but she didn't.
So she must have loved me even if she did not show it very much.

But at the same time the inheritance has put me in a dilemma.
Because I am on benefits and cannot work because of mental health problems.

So once I get my money all of my benefits, my Housing Benefit, Council Tax benefit will be stopped.
Because once your savings go over 16 thousand pounds you are not entitled to HB ,CT benefit or ESA.
DLA as far as I know is not effected by savings so I don't think that will stop.

But my DLA is only £104 a week-High rate Care and Low Mobility Rate.
And that's not going to cover all my rents and living expenses.
And it gets worse.

My rent for my Housing Association Flat is £140 a week. But my HA charges per calendar month. So I will have to pay £608 per month plus my bills and CT.
And that will eat up my inheritance more quickly.
Also my Housing Association are not maintaining the property.

I have an ongoing repair problem which my housing association refuses to fix for me despite the fact that I have told them about it and my many phone calls to them for the past 2 months since I have had this problem..
The gutter pipe on the outside roof of my building is broken and every time it rains the water pours down the outside wall of my bedroom Window.
Making my outside wall damp.
And I told my Housing Association the problem and I told them that if it is not fixed the water will eventually come into my flat and make my walls dam.But they won't fix it and every time I phone them or go to the office in person.
they don't do anything about it and they won't give me a time or date as to when they will fix it.
I have had this same problem before when in August 2014 it happened the outside gutter/roof was leaking and they did not fix it despite the fact that I made a formal complaint and wrote numerous letter to them though their complaints procedure.
My Housing Association messed me about and they made me wait 18 months before they finally fixed the leak on the Gutter/Roof, in January this year,
So I waited 18 months before they did that repair but the builders did a botched job because 2 months ago in May it came back and it's worse than it was before.
And then 3 months later in may the leak came back and the gutter pip is broken again. So it is obvious that the Housing association Builders did not do the job properly.

Because Now the rain is running down the outside wall,Worse than before they fixed it.
But I told my Housing association this again but they won't do anything about it.

Not only that but as I am sitting here now typing this, I and the other tenants in my block and on my estate have no water supply.
My estate is new build flats that has a water pumps that supplies our water which is maintained by my housing association not the water board.
And the pump keeps on breaking down,and last time my HA made us go for 4 days without water before they fixed it and that's not right.


And when I ring my housing association and get through to repairs department as is their procedure for reporting repairs.
They are not very helpful.
The problem is that when I ring them I get put through to their repairs department which is a call center so I have to speak to a different person every time I phone them.

And many of them are not aware that I have a mental health problem and they are not very helpful they are impersonal as well as the fact that they don't seem to care which does not help at all.

And this has upset me very much and I have now decided that I will leave the housing association and g back into private rented accommodation when my mums house is sold and I get my money.
Because once the house is sold and I get my money as you know all my benefits will stop except for my DLA.
And if I stay here in my HA Flat
It is gonna cost me £608 a month rent and will eat up my inheritance more quickly.

And I am not even going to be getting the service I am paying rent for.
It will still be the same the HA won't do the repairs and some of them are not very nice to me anyway.

My neighbors are fine and are quite friendly and my flat is lovely and in a good area.
But my housing association are very slow to do repairs and I find their system very impersonal.
And I am not gonna pay £608 for that.

So I am gonna use my money when I get it to move out and get myself a private flat up North in Liverpool with a private landlord or letting agency where the rents are about £386 a month.
Where I will be much happier. I am unhappy here.
And so I am not going to stay here.

It sounds like you should go and see the CAB and get some advice from them.