Executor of parents’ will refusing to talk to us

Lois_and_CK

My parents in law have both died. My husband has three siblings, the oldest of whom is the sole executor of their parents' will. This eldest brother refuses to speak to my husband and their two sisters. My husband and his sisters know the contents of the will, but they have no idea of the value of their parents' estate (there is a house and several bank accounts). It is the number of bank accounts and amount of money in those accounts that they don't know.

Is there any way my husband and his sisters can ensure all the accounts are declared and the inheritance is distributed according to the will? The main concern is the possibility of the brother not declaring some of the money or hiding some of it somehow. The will doesn't state how much money there is, just that whatever money there is is to be split equally between them.

securityguy

"Is there any way my husband and his sisters can ensure all the accounts are declared and the inheritance is distributed according to the will?"

Practically? No. If the executor simply uses their executor's powers to empty a bank account that the other beneficiaries don't know about it and pockets the money, then they run very a small risk of detection. Illegal? Absolutely. Immoral? Clearly. The sort of thing what should see you blackballed by respectable society? Of course. But in practical terms, there is little you can do about it.

Parents who leave just one child as executor are storing up trouble and mistrust. Why do they do it?

Lois_and_CK

Thanks for your reply. That's what I feared would be the answer.

ahja

As there is property it will have to go to probate, anyone can get a copy of the probate once it has been filed - there is a gov website where you can buy a copy for £10 unless it has gone up in price.

It won't tell you how many bank accounts etc, but it will tell you the amount of estate - so if the house is say worth £100,000 and the estate is worth £200,000, you know how much the difference is. There may be some extras like money owed to the estate etc, but it will give you a rough idea of how much money was in banks. Maybe useful if there seems to be a large discrepancy........

Keep_pedalling

securityguy wrote: »

Parents who leave just one child as executor are storing up trouble and mistrust. Why do they do it?

Although as we have seen in other threads where children are at loggerheads joint executors can cause problems as well.

I am the sole executor on my mum's will, but that should not cause an issue as my brother is the main beneficiary, and I get nothing.

My children get on well and they are my joint executors, but if I thought there was a chance of handling my estate causing problems between them I would have appointed a professional to do it.

Keep_pedalling

The main risk to your BIL would face in hiding money from you, would be his false declaration of the value of the estate to HMRC, and I doubt he would risk that. Chances are that the furthest he would go would be to pilfer any untraceable cash that was hanging round the house.

Sound like the not speaking to his siblings preceded him having to manage the estate, but just because he wound speak to them does not mean he is likely to fiddle them out of their inheritance, so for the time being just let him get on with it, he does not have to provide the beneficiaries with regular updates, but he will have to provide his siblings with a final set accounts assuming they are all residual beneficiaries.

Lois_and_CK

Thanks for the further replies and the tip about getting a copy of the probate.