Probate advice needed please

lewiskei

In 2011 both my mother and father went into hospital. Unfortunately my mother passed away (intestate) in early 2012 and when my father came out of hospital he went to live with my brother (as I do not live locally). My brother applied for, and was granted, Letters of Administration to handle my mother's estate on behalf of my father. I believed he had sorted everything out and had transferred mum's assets to dad. When my father passed away in 2016 (also intestate) my brother didn't want the hassle of being the administrator of dad's estate so I took it on with his agreement and have been granted Letters of Administration. When clearing their house (which had not been lived in for 5 years) I found that mum had a substantial amount of money in her bank account but that money never appeared in my dad's bank account. However, it WAS paid by the bank into my brother's account as he was the administrator. I also found that my brother closed my dad's Post Office card account, which his state pension was being paid into, around a year before his death. I am now in a bit of a catch-22 situation because the Post Office will not tell me where the balance of dad's account was transferred to, and the DWP will not tell me the account where his state pension was paid into when the PO account was closed. Therefore I cannot complete the valuation of the estate fully as I don't know where that money is.
I haven't challenged my brother about this yet but my suspicions are that mum's money was kept by my brother instead of being transferred to dad's account (to which my brother will probably say that dad told him he could keep it) and I also suspect that the balance from his PO account was also transferred to my brother's account and that is where the state pension payments were also being paid into.
So, (apologies for the long preamble) my questions are:-

1) If my brother says that dad told him he could keep mum's money (£67,000 in total), does there legally need to be any evidence that dad DID actually agree to that?

2) If there DOES need to be evidence and he hasn't got any, can I legally deduct that from his share of the estate when it's time to distribute it?

3) How can I find out where the balance of his PO account went to and where his state pension payments went to?

4) If dad's state pension WAS being paid into my brother's account, how do I value it?

5) Again, can I legally deduct the value of that from his share of the estate?

If this situation is too complex for quick and easy answers and I need to go to a solicitor, please tell me
Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me.

Tom99

I think you need to ask your brother for the missing information. Any money your father gave your brother would count as a gift within the last 7 years so has to be declared as to date and to whom.

lewiskei

Thanks Tom99. The problem is that my brother is not the most honest person and, looking at all the other "strange" financial things I am seeing in dad's accounts, I am coming to the conclusion that he could possibly have financially abused my father and so will not admit to anything and will try and cover his tracks (although he isn't the sharpest tool in the box). I will eventually ask him about this but wanted to be fore-armed with the legal situation before I do.
As mum died within 7 years I realise that any gift has to be included in dad's estate for inheritance tax purposes, but I'm not sure what the legal situation is regarding whether it is counted as part of his estate for distribution purposes.

Tom99

lewiskei wrote: »

Thanks Tom99. The problem is that my brother is not the most honest person and, looking at all the other "strange" financial things I am seeing in dad's accounts, I am coming to the conclusion that he could possibly have financially abused my father and so will not admit to anything and will try and cover his tracks (although he isn't the sharpest tool in the box). I will eventually ask him about this but wanted to be fore-armed with the legal situation before I do.
As mum died within 7 years I realise that any gift has to be included in dad's estate for inheritance tax purposes, but I'm not sure what the legal situation is regarding whether it is counted as part of his estate for distribution purposes.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Any past gifts are not part of the estate over which probate is granted nor do they come within the distribution you will be dealing with as administrator of your father's estate but they do come within the estate for IHT purposes and will increase IHT if any is payable.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Presumably your brother is expecting 50% of your father's estate so maybe there is a leaver there to obtain the correct information.[/FONT]

lewiskei

Yes, he is expecting 50% of the estate but I need to know whether any documentary evidence of gifting that amount of money is required or not as it should really have gone to dad. I will be challenging him about it but don't know where I stand from a legal viewpoint.

troubleinparadise

Documentary evidence would provide your brother with proof that your father wanted him to have the money; but it is not legally required - the situation ends up being his word against yours.

You have said yourself that your brother is not the most honest person, and whilst you might suggest he isnt the sharpest tool in the box, in this instance I would suggest that the evidence shows he has been very sharp in filling his own coffers with your father’s money, and confirms your thoughts about his lack of honesty.

Be strong and tackle him; you already suspect that he has taken the money, it would be very difficult to pretend to yourself that he has done otherwise - he has already damaged the relationship between the two of you by his actions. You cannot make that any worse.

lewiskei

Thanks troubleinparadise, that's exactly what I am planning to do, but I hoped that I would have some "legal ammunition" to help me. Seems like that may not be so after all.

Margot123

I'm puzzled as to why your Brother wouldn't take on the role of administrator. Perhaps he is attempting to push the burden of tracing the money onto you, rather than having to explain it himself as someone who clearly had close financial control. He may be a much sharper tool than you think.

lewiskei

The reason why is because mum was a compulsive buyer and hoarder. Not only is my brother dishonest, he is also very lazy. Most of the rooms in the house were stacked up 4 - 5 feet high with allsorts of junk and there were several rooms we could not physically get into as it was stacked right up to the door. It has taken us 5 months to clear it all. Throughout the house there were just thin "tracks" for them to get to the places they needed to be, everywhere else was stacked up with stuff. I know he really isn't a sharp tool (due to things which have happened in the past), he thinks I am gullible and he doesn't think I will find out about anything he has done. I'm 100% sure he will be shocked by what I have found through my detailed investigations into dad's financial affairs. That's when the fireworks will start

Margot123

You sound very determined, and I wish you every success in doing what you can in your parents' memory. The wrong-doers never quite manage to cover all their tracks, and once you uncover one thing it will lead to another.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Whilst I am not sure of your legal footing, you could say to your brother that unless he provides proof that the £67k and other were gifts meant to favour him over you, that you will treat them as part payment from your father's estate and therefore reduce his 50% of the residue.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You can mark some figures as estimated in your probate application and maybe once you have probate the PO and others will be more amenable to giving you information about the money trail.[/FONT]