Account found after probate wound up

GlasweJen

This is a long, complicated story.

My grand parents had 4 children, one died in childhood and 3 are alive, one does not have capacity (determined by social services).

The grand parents died without a will, it was discovered that their child without capacity was a joint owner of their home.

The daughter with capacity applied for financial and medical guardianship of the daughter without capacity and was denied. When grandfather died it was discovered that there had been over a million pounds worth of benefit fraud committed (defrauding independent living fund) and the council successfully argued that aunt without capacity was financially abused and would likely be further abused in care of the family, she's now an adult ward of the state. The family home was sold and aunt was set up in a flat with a guardian and carers going in to support her, she also attends a day centre.

My sister (who is as dodgy as the rest of them) recently had a phone call from the bank saying an account had been found with a balance of around £5000. Somehow this money has made its way to sister who is spending it on doing up her garden and various other things. She is probably the oldest legitimate grand child (there was a girl who contacted us years ago and said she is our sister but we never got it verified).

I am trying to work out if this money should have been declared to the council as I suspect it should have been split between my aunts and my father and I have no idea how my sister got it. Even if it should be distributed to our generation I have 2 cousins and my father has 3 children by our mother, 6 by another women and the possible woman who contacted us years ago.

I'm worried the council will find out at some point and come knocking for their share back.

We are in Scotland, could anyone advise where this money should have gone?

PasturesNew

If it is estate money it should still have been declared/shared in some way. Even if you all decided not to declare it, it should've been shared secretly in the same way/ratio as your original shares worked out at.

In short ... if not declared, you've at least all been "robbed" as you should've all had your shares.

She'll have got it because sometimes banks do release funds to the person they speak to, simply because it works out like that.

In short: Do you lot want to make an issue of it and say to her "you robbed us .... give us £X each" or not?

GlasweJen

PasturesNew wrote: »

If it is estate money it should still have been declared/shared in some way. Even if you all decided not to declare it, it should've been shared secretly in the same way/ratio as your original shares worked out at.

In short ... if not declared, you've at least all been "robbed" as you should've all had your shares.

She'll have got it because sometimes banks do release funds to the person they speak to, simply because it works out like that.

In short: Do you lot want to make an issue of it and say to her "you robbed us .... give us £X each" or not?

It's not so much you robbed us as you've robbed aunt M or you've robbed the council who I'm sure will want it back.

Because of the intestate the house went to the aunt without capacity but the money in the banks and the insurance was clawed back by the council and the DWP to repay the fraud (in addition to the independent living fund fraud they'd also not told the DWP that gran was 2 years dead and kept her pension, pension credit and attendance allowance claims going). The estate basically paid the funeral and then a chunk of debt (nowhere near the total balance).

Sister hasn't actually told anyone she's got this money, she told mum she won the bingo and I only got it out of her last night when she let it slip when she was drunk.

GlasweJen

I take it if the council/DWP do get wind of this and want their money they would have no recourse to sue myself or our brother for this money? That's my big worry, I'm severely disabled myself (paraplegic) and I can only manage part time work though my husband has a good income, my brother has never had much luck in the job market so lives a fairly basic lifestyle in a small rented flat with not many outgoings juggling 2 or 3 jobs on zero hour contracts.

lincroft1710

As the bank passed the money to your sister, then surely the council would chase her. Usually the executor(s) is/are responsible for handling or in this case mishandling the estate, but the law in Scotland may be different.

GlasweJen

lincroft1710 wrote: »

As the bank passed the money to your sister, then surely the council would chase her. Usually the executor(s) is/are responsible for handling or in this case mishandling the estate, but the law in Scotland may be different.

it was a lawyer who dealt with everything, he did it as he had been the one who told my grandparents that to secure their daughters future they should have her as the third owner of the house. My sister had nothing to do with the estate that I know of, she won't be next of kin either as grandad had 2 children with full capacity alive and well at the time of his death.