Probate

Trebormint

Sadly we recently lost my dear Father, and only a few months before my Dear Mother. My father left a will leaving everything to my mother, but as she died before him this now means my brother, sister and I inherit his estate. Unfortunately there are family issues which I doubt will ever be resolved but we do need to sort out his estate.


None of us are talking saldy, and whilst the will asked for a company called Zedra to act as executors of the will, they have since relequished responsibilities due to the family conflicts.


Can a resolution be forced, i.e. the house and contents etc be put up for sale regardless if all parties agree.


I would like to understand our options if at all possible please, as at the moment as I am the only one of the 3 of us in the UK, I am being expected to sort out all of the basics re the house, i.e. checking the house weekly for insurance purposes, checking the post, making sure the heating is on and working etc etc etc. I want my own lide just like my brother and sister, yet they seem to think as I am the only one in the UK I should do it all.


Can I charge them?


I just want this sorted and they are doing absolutely nothing and idn't even bother to come to their own Fathers funeral!!


Any help would be appreciated

Yorkshireman99

Trebormint wrote: »

Sadly we recently lost my dear Father, and only a few months before my Dear Mother. My father left a will leaving everything to my mother, but as she died before him this now means my brother, sister and I inherit his estate. Unfortunately there are family issues which I doubt will ever be resolved but we do need to sort out his estate.


None of us are talking saldy, and whilst the will asked for a company called Zedra to act as executors of the will, they have since relequished responsibilities due to the family conflicts.


Can a resolution be forced, i.e. the house and contents etc be put up for sale regardless if all parties agree.


I would like to understand our options if at all possible please, as at the moment as I am the only one of the 3 of us in the UK, I am being expected to sort out all of the basics re the house, i.e. checking the house weekly for insurance purposes, checking the post, making sure the heating is on and working etc etc etc. I want my own lide just like my brother and sister, yet they seem to think as I am the only one in the UK I should do it all.


Can I charge them?


I just want this sorted and they are doing absolutely nothing and idn't even bother to come to their own Fathers funeral!!


Any help would be appreciated

Who has taken on the job of executor? If it is you then you have the whip hand, You can charge the estate for actual expenses you incur but not for your time. Who are the beneficiaries?

Keep_pedalling

It sounds like you father did not have any clauses in his will to handle the event that his wife might die first, and if that is the case he died intestate. The house can’t be sold until you have letters of administration, so the 3 of you need to put your differences aside and get this sorted.

Under the rules of intestacy the estate should be divided equally between you, so if you are arguing the toss over individual assets, then just agree to sell the lot and split the cash equally.

Mojisola

Trebormint wrote: »

None of us are talking saldy, and whilst the will asked for a company called Zedra to act as executors of the will, they have since relequished responsibilities due to the family conflicts.

I would like to understand our options if at all possible please, as at the moment as I am the only one of the 3 of us in the UK, I am being expected to sort out all of the basics re the house, i.e. checking the house weekly for insurance purposes, checking the post, making sure the heating is on and working etc etc etc. I want my own lide just like my brother and sister, yet they seem to think as I am the only one in the UK I should do it all.

It's a pity that the company stepped down - when there are family disagreements, it can be very useful to have a professional act as executor.

Who is the executor/administrator now?

You can't charge for your own time, only expenses, but you could employ someone else to do the work and pay them from the estate.

It might focus the others' attention when they realise that their inheritance is being reduced the longer the dispute goes on.

Keep_pedalling

Mojisola wrote: »

It's a pity that the company stepped down - when there are family disagreements, it can be very useful to have a professional act as executor.

Who is the executor/administrator now?

You can't charge for your own time, only expenses, but you could employ someone else to do the work and pay them from the estate.

It might focus the others' attention when they realise that their inheritance is being reduced the longer the dispute goes on.

Although Zedra are not solicitors, so they were probably looking for earning a nice fat fee for little work. If they were the company that drew up the will then they should not be touched with a very long barge pole.

Linton

The key point is that an executor or administrator must be appointed. Without this the house cannot be sold. If your father's will did not appoint another executor the courts will do so. The executor then has complete authority to meet the terms of the will (or the rules of intestacy if the will did not cover the event of your mother dying first). The beneficiaries have no say in the matter - except for asking to have the executor sacked.

I suggest you seek legal advice.

As regards checking the house, when I was an executor the Estate Agent agreed to do that for a small charge. But of course you need to have someone with the authority to sell the house.

badmemory

I would be incliined to keep it all in writing, even if only email. Remind them that every time you have to check the house (weekly) then it will cost the estate 45p a mile (HMRC rates). If they are capable of googling they can check that.

Maybe remind them that it is in their (financial) interests to co-operate in order to keep all costs down & that if you need to seek a solicitors advice it may well come out of the estate.

Sometimes (I'm not saying this is the case with your siblings) appealing to a persons greed is what gets them to co-operate. Sometimes unfortunately they just want to be bloody-minded about it.

Margot123

I am in a similar situation with regard to family conflicts after a death.

It is alright strangers tell you to 'put your differences aside' and that they will soon have a reality check when their inheritance is dwindling. In reality, we know that just doesn't happen as most will let one person sort everything, blanks the one that's doing it all, paying in the interim, spending hours keeping the property secure etc. They will just sit back and wait for any money that comes their way!

As has already been said, you cannot charge for your time but always claim for the incidentals from the estate, make a note of every penny your spend...a stamp here, a can of air freshener there, miles in the car, parking, all mounts up.

Trebormint

No one is acting as the executor at present. How is this resolved. I am happy to do this but will charge for all of my expenses as has been pointed out on here, as I do agree this will hopefully focus their attentions a little more.

Trebormint

Hi, there isn't an executor at present, and I don't know how to resolve this. I am happy to try and do this but as pointed out will charge for all of my expenses to help 'focus' their minds.

getmore4less

I would like to understand our options if at all possible please, as at the moment as I am the only one of the 3 of us in the UK, I am being expected to sort out all of the basics re the house, i.e. checking the house weekly for insurance purposes, checking the post, making sure the heating is on and working etc etc etc. I want my own lide just like my brother and sister, yet they seem to think as I am the only one in the UK I should do it all.

I suspect your best option is to get them to agree you deal with it.

if named executors have renounced then you(all of you) will be next in line

You apply for the grant with them saying they don't want to be on the grant.

Then you can get on with it and involve them as little or as much as you like.

once you have the grant you can sell the house.

you could start the process before the grant but as you were not a named executor might be best to wait before going life.


As they don't want to be involved they may just stay out of it if you make it clear that if they try butt in they will have to come to the UK and get involved properly they either do their bit or not no 1/2 way.


Was your mothers estate administered?