Claimant not beneficiary Court Case

photoman4

Hello, I am an executor,not a beneficiary in a will as I am a family friend. The other two beneficiaries and joint executors have fallen out over one buying the other out (The house). So to court for a judge to decide what to do with the house.

I have been told that I should be a claimant as it strengthens the case, but is this a good idea as I could be liable for costs and would an indemnity help.

Thank you

Yorkshireman99

photoman4 wrote: »

Hello, I am an executor,not a beneficiary in a will as I am a family friend. The other two beneficiaries and joint executors have fallen out over one buying the other out (The house). So to court for a judge to decide what to do with the house.

I have been told that I should be a claimant as it strengthens the case, but is this a good idea as I could be liable for costs and would an indemnity help.

Thank you

What stage has the executorship go to? If possible I would resign as executor. I would not act as claiment. Effectively the other two are going to be suing themselves. I think they may have a nasty shock if they get to court. It is quite possible that the judge will bang their head togther and even remove them as executors. They really are being teminally stupid!

photoman4

Sorry for delay in replying I lost my password. One is being deliberately impossible, the other which I support is being reasonable and going to court to get an order how the house will be dealt with. The next stage is we are awaiting the hearing at court. If the judge see the insults and false accusations in my Witness Statement of the impossible brother, it should be clear. He walked out of a hotel without paying is one scenario. Thank you for your comments, look forward to hearing from you.
Best

dresdendave

photoman4 wrote: »

Sorry for delay in replying I lost my password. One is being deliberately impossible, the other which I support is being reasonable and going to court to get an order how the house will be dealt with. The next stage is we are awaiting the hearing at court. If the judge see the insults and false accusations in my Witness Statement of the impossible brother, it should be clear. He walked out of a hotel without paying is one scenario. Thank you for your comments, look forward to hearing from you.
Best

Firstly I agree with the poster who suggested resigning as executor, if the beneficiaries are arguing, walk away and let them deal with it.


Secondly, what relevance does the remark about doing a runner from a hotel have on the house issue?

photoman4

Hello and thank you for replying.
I have been a friend of the family for over fifty years and to walk away is not for me what I want to do.
The barrister or solicitor (not sure which ) thought that the dishonesty would make the difficult one less credible. Regards

Yorkshireman99

I would be very wary of bringing in character issues. Stick to the facts alone. It should be a straightforward issue for the judge to order the sale. Judges don't like the court's time being wasted. The civil procedure rules make it clear that mediation should have been tried first and court action is the very last resort.

photoman4

Yes, your points taken, the brother that behaved, did all he can, this is the last resort. Many thanks for your help.

Margot123

Being in a similar situation, with my brother basically laying siege to the house I have jointly inherited with him. I would advise you that it could become an impossible situation for you as a 'neutral' party in this. It could go on for years, and do you really wan that? No matter what your loyalties to the family, you must think of your own well-being, and that of your own immediate family. I fear it would cause upset that needn't be there.