new to all of this.. lots of questions.

faerielight

My estranged mother died 3 weeks ago, my uncle who was also estranged is the Executor of the will. He told me that she has left her house to me, but as things are really strained, my uncle is not keeping me in the loop of things at all, so I have no idea what is happening there, and he is making it hard to ask him anything at all. I don't know anything about the processes or what responsibilities he has and I have, it's all new to me.
How long does probate usually take?

The funeral is on Friday, what happens next, will the solicitor contact me, do will reading meetings exist or will he just sent me the will? Do I need to ask my uncle for the solicitor's details? There never seems to be a good time to ask him.

Is it the executor's job to sell the house or mine? I know she didn't have any spare money, and she remortgaged £50000. If it is my duty to sell the house, there won't be any money until it has been sold, so how would I afford all the fees involved, or is it all taken out of the sale money? I don't think there will be much left when it's been sold,plus inheritance tax and all her debts, and he has to fly as his travel costs as he lives in Belfast, but if there is just enough to buy a small flat for myself, which I am hoping for, there would not be any money left over, for me to live off, where do I stand in terms of my current benefits of ESA? It's so hard to find information about this.. I read about "right to buy" does the DWP disregard buying a home? I know you can only have £6000 savings.
Also when do I need to tell DHP about the inheritance?

There is a problem in regards to my mother's ex partner. He is a known con man, running scam wedding car businesses, and he is still listing my mother's address for at least 4 of his scams.as his business address. I checked online and he has listed them everywhere, so many online pages..Will this affect the sale of the house?

Yorkshireman99

Will readings only exist in movies. The executor has to deal with everything and none of it is your responsibility. Inheritance tax only starts if the estate is worth more than £325,000 so it is unlikely that there would be anything for the estate to pay. If your uncle is employing a solicitor to do the work their should be no need for him to be flying back and forth. Probate using a solicitor will take a minimum of six months and probably a year. Take a look at the sticky pages on the forum for more information. Please ask if you need more details. You should tell the executor about the use of the address as a scam and they need to deal with it. Not your problem.

faerielight

thank you so much for the reply, I didn't realise they were stickies. My uncle is trying to deal with the ex, he has changed the locks , and threatened the police, but the con man refuses to take her address off, and there are reams of listings and adverts online in her address. my uncle is at his wits end as the ex is apparently very threatening and intimidating. One last question, is it the executor's job to sell the house?

chesky

The house can't be sold until probate is granted which Yorkshire Man has detailed in his post.

Yorkshireman99

faerielight wrote: »

thank you so much for the reply, I didn't realise they were stickies. My uncle is trying to deal with the ex, he has changed the locks , and threatened the police, but the con man refuses to take her address off, and there are reams of listings and adverts online in her address. my uncle is at his wits end as the ex is apparently very threatening and intimidating. One last question, is it the executor's job to sell the house?

It is the executor's job to sell the house. Your uncle shouldt report the conman to Trading Standards.

Robin9

"It is the executor's job to sell the house"

Is it?

Unless the will states that the house be sold surely all the executor has to do is value the house for probate and transfer the property through Land Registry.

Brighty

Robin9 wrote: »

"It is the executor's job to sell the house"

Is it?

Unless the will states that the house be sold surely all the executor has to do is value the house for probate and transfer the property through Land Registry.

But as there's a mortgage and no spare cash, the executor needs to pay it off, which will mean selling the house. OP will get whatever cash is left after the mortgage, conveyancing fees and probate/solicitor fees,

SevenOfNine

Robin9 wrote: »

"It is the executor's job to sell the house"

Is it?

Unless the will states that the house be sold surely all the executor has to do is value the house for probate and transfer the property through Land Registry.

OP has mentioned "remortgaged £50,000", so the "left the house to me" in those simple terms may well fail.

faerielight - you were estranged from mother & uncle. You are a beneficiary, but as executor he doesn't have to share information with you at this point, neither would the solicitor if he is using one. In short, you have no responsibilities.

Why there's been estrangement is of course your business, but might it be more prudent now to attempt to heal the rift with your uncle just a little & ask if there's anything you can possibly help him with?

If you only seem to ask about anything/everything connected to your expected inheritance, or concerning yourself now about the misuse of your estranged mother's address, don't be surprised if no information is forthcoming. NOTHING is more distasteful than beneficiaries with £££ signs in front of their eyes, so that is an impression best avoided.

You need not inform any benefits agency of anything, as yet there is nothing to tell.

Yorkshireman99

Robin9 wrote: »

"It is the executor's job to sell the house"

Is it?

Unless the will states that the house be sold surely all the executor has to do is value the house for probate and transfer the property through Land Registry.

How else is the mortgage going to be cleared ?

Tuesday_Tenor

The main things for you are:

1) You don't have any responsibility for anything to do with the estate.
You know that uncle is acting responsibly, changing the locks etc.
Normally, close family might be concerned about what happens to things of sentimental value, but no monetary value, like family photos, and would want to talk to the executor about those. Possibly not in your case?
So just relax.
Be aware that the executor is responsible for ensuring the property remains insured; but if he's daft enough not to do so and it burns down, he will be personally liable for not protecting the asset. You might want to ask, in the context of 'thanks for changing the locks', 'did the house insurance need changing as well?'. If a solicitor is involved in dealing with the estate, I wouldn't even ask the question.
Beyond that, there's nothing else for you to concern yourself about.


2) You don't need to tell DWP yet. Obviously you will need to inform them as soon as you do receive anything. But that may be another 12 months , or more, off yet.

3) The executor doesn't have to keep you informed. Don't hassle him (unless it's an offer to help) ; he has enough on his plate by the sound of it. He has told you you're a beneficiary. It would be good practice for him to give you a copy of the will, but he doesn't have to. Once probate has been granted the will becomes a public document and anyone/you can buy a copy for £10. So, long-term, he's not going to be 'keeping secrets' due to the estrangement. Remember also, that if uncle is not also a beneficiary he is voluntarily taking this task on purely as a service to your mother (and you) for no gain to himself, so be grateful for that. He can do the task more cheaply without a solicitor, if everything is straightforward. However, as he himself is in N.I. and he already has the hassle of the ex-partner, he may well very reasonably decide to use a solicitor for all or some aspects of dealing with the estate. The costs for this would come out of the estate.

GDB2222

Probate fees sky-rocket at end of April. If Uncle can get the papers in before that, it will save a small fortune.