Solicitor's letter 7 months after Probate / Estate closed and finalised

childofbaahl

Afternoon,
I was hoping for some advice as to whether or not to respond to a solicitor's letter I have received this afternoon. My Mum passed away a while ago and I administered the estate as there was no will. The beneficiaries were my Sister and I and everything was going smoothly (apart from the usual family squabbles,) until I found out that my late Mum hadn't taken my dad off the house deed after they divorced. As they owned the house a certain way it transferred to him instead of becoming part of the estate and transferring to her children.

Long story short, my Dad transferred the house into my name so I could get a mortgage and provide my Sister with a sum of money in addition to what he got from the estate. Even though I guess legally he & I didn't have to do this. Anyway, that's all been done and my Sister got her money in the first quarter of '17, having fully signed off on the estate and everything.

Now I receive a letter from a solicitor with fully signed authority to communicate form and 25+ points that need answering along with requests for what amounts to 75 pages to be photocopied and sent up to them at their request. I provided my Sister with full and frank estate accounts with copies of all bills, receipts and so on but it seems like they're asking for a photocopies of everything and not just the relevant details. I.E full survey report and not just the valuation page.

She's signed off on the accounts and never even asked any questions even though I told her to take her time and I would answer it all. I fear that she might not like her share and now she has the funds (on benefits with no job,) she might try taking me to court even though I have been the one to do all the work for the estate, bore the brunt of the costs up front and didn't have to send her the money from the house.

• Should I / Could I ignore the letter as it's been over 6 months since she agreed to everything?

• Can I reply asking they forward payment for the costs of complying to their demands?

• Do I have to answer everything? Some of the questions are asking for bank details for moneys held in trust (partly from my Sister's share), in case of CGTax bills for 5 years. They are asking for account details / signatories of the money I held in a separate account for her and the money I set aside from my own finances!

• This may be a fishing exercise and as such should I be vague, i.e. answering that the point in question was covered in my letter to my sister dated the blah blah....?

I've kept it brief but if there are any questions then feel free to ask and I'll do my best to keep it simple and to the point for brevity's sake as I know a lot of you are busy and I appreciate any and all advice you can offer.

Margot123

I have heard of this happening before. Some months/years after finalising the estate, people can realise they may have a slight chance of either claiming more money or just simply causing upset.
These sorts of solicitors' letters are deliberately constructed to be very intimidating, and quite frankly I'd be inclined to ignore them if they arrived on my doorstep. The only time you are legally obliged to respond is when the Court asks you to do so.

Could it be that your sister had her benefits stopped and has realised the cash can cause problems unless it is enough for a house purchase?

childofbaahl

I don't believe her benefits are means-tested nor was the sum I gifted her enough to buy a house. As she has no job a mortgage is out of the question too. I think she's come to the opinion that she deserves more from the value of the house despite it not forming part of the estate and she's jealous of my living in it and my life.

She didn't get half of the value of the house as she had tried to get my Dad to sell the house from under me at a largely discounted rate so she could get money quickly. She got the value from me that she had tried to get from my Dad and now she may be trying to get more after frittering it away on holidays and other stuff.

Margot123

Perhaps you should call her bluff? As I said, you are only compelled to respond and provide evidence if a court order is issued (and you would receive court papers in good time).
You appear to have done everything lawfully, so you have no worries, but I doubt it would go further than it already has.

Mojisola

childofbaahl wrote: »

My Mum passed away a while ago and I administered the estate as there was no will. The beneficiaries were my Sister and I

childofbaahl wrote: »

She didn't get half of the value of the house as she had tried to get my Dad to sell the house from under me at a largely discounted rate so she could get money quickly.

She got the value from me that she had tried to get from my Dad and now she may be trying to get more after frittering it away on holidays and other stuff.

That's shocking!

You were equal beneficiaries and you should have divided all the assets between you.

You can't 'punish' another beneficiary for behaviour that you didn't like!

Keep_pedalling

Mojisola wrote: »

That's shocking!

You were equal beneficiaries and you should have divided all the assets between you.

You can't 'punish' another beneficiary for behaviour that you didn't like!

As I read it, the house did not form part of the estate as it was owned as joint tenants by the OPs mother and father, and on the mother's death was gifted to the OP by his father. The OP then released equity through a mortgage and gifted that to his sister.

If that is the case, it might not be fare but perfectly legal, provided the actual estate was split 50/50.

It does sound like it was a horrible DIY job, and the OP should now take legal advice.

childofbaahl

Mojisola = The estate was divided equally and fairly, everything was identified, receipted and recorded. She received the estate accounts which catalogued everything and all transactions, signed off on it and put an end to it. I would never presume to do anything beyond what my mother's wishes were so it was split straight down the middle 50/50 as per the rules of intestacy.

Keep Pedalling = As for the house, it didn't and doesn't form part of the estate you are correct - My sister tried to force my Dad to sell the house before he transferred it to me and split the proceeds 3 ways between all of us without my knowledge. She tried this as she didn't want to wait for the mortgage process and wanted her money ASAP, even if that meant taking a large reduction. As she had consented to that 3rd of the value of the property, that is the value which she received and the rest from her half was given to my Dad.

She had originally thought to gift him a large sum and that has been done now but my Father would only relinquish the house on the proviso that I guarantee the payment as she has an extensive history of debt, DROs and money issues.

She was given every opportunity to question and was fully aware of the sum that she was getting well in advance of the mortgage payout. 7 months alter it comes to this... I can honestly say, hand on heart that I did my best by my late Mother and believed the payouts to be fair and equitable.

Keep_pedalling

childofbaahl wrote: »

Mojisola = The estate was divided equally and fairly, everything was identified, receipted and recorded. She received the estate accounts which catalogued everything and all transactions, signed off on it and put an end to it. I would never presume to do anything beyond what my mother's wishes were so it was split straight down the middle 50/50 as per the rules of intestacy.

Keep Pedalling = As for the house, it didn't and doesn't form part of the estate you are correct - My sister tried to force my Dad to sell the house before he transferred it to me and split the proceeds 3 ways between all of us without my knowledge. She tried this as she didn't want to wait for the mortgage process and wanted her money ASAP, even if that meant taking a large reduction. As she had consented to that 3rd of the value of the property, that is the value which she received and the rest from her half was given to my Dad.

She had originally thought to gift him a large sum and that has been done now but my Father would only relinquish the house on the proviso that I guarantee the payment as she has an extensive history of debt, DROs and money issues.

She was given every opportunity to question and was fully aware of the sum that she was getting well in advance of the mortgage payout. 7 months alter it comes to this... I can honestly say, hand on heart that I did my best by my late Mother and believed the payouts to be fair and equitable.

Is the house the thing that is being queried?

childofbaahl

I would guess so - The letter and questions are quite extensive. There are questions about points from the estate and estate expenses, all of which were valid and thoroughly documented in the accounts. (I.E. why replacing a frozen/stuck water stopcock came out of estate expenses and for a pest controller to come out.)

To bits about the house and why my Father didn't transfer the house into both our names or asking for details of my Fathers and my bank accounts where we are keeping some of our own funds in case of CGTax further down the line. There is mention of the funds my sister agreed upon with my father being less then what she would be entitled to if the house formed part of the estate but also being less then her entitlement to an interest in the property if it is taken separately... As well as wanting to know why my sister wasn't included in the mortgage process since when the house was transferred to me alone she would have an interest in it? I'm at a loss as to see any interest in the property when it is considered outside of the estate. The house became my fathers on the passing on my mother and as such it was his to do with as he pleased. So what interest could she be claiming now?

Keep_pedalling

If the house was out of the estate, then things like the stop !!!! should not come out of estate, that should have been paid by the owner.

You father may have a CGT issue,but that is entirely down to him and nothing to do with your sister or her solicitors.

childofbaahl

The stopcock and such were paid out before we discovered the house wasn't part of the estate - The house was the last thing I checked as it was believed that my mother had removed my dad from the deeds. This is 5 months later once the rest of the estate had been collated and accounted for. (Interestingly I found out that my sister had been doing some digging of her own and found out my father was still on the deeds but didn't tell anyone.) As such when the plumber / pest controller were done the house was believed to be part of the estate, though I see where you are coming from, looking back with hindsight and all.

The CGTax issue is my father's liability but there was no incentive for him to transfer the house without mitigating that liability. He's retired and works part time with no real disposable income or savings to speak of, as such it would be unreasonable for him to shoulder such a burden alone with no means of paying it. The funds he received as the remainder of my sister's payout as agreed with her would have just covered it with little to nothing to spare. Otherwise he could have just sold the house, paid the CGTax and done what he wanted with the proceeds of his house! My sister wouldn't have been able to do anything as she had no funds and it would be up to me to sue my dad for anything, not sure I would have gone there, to be honest.