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Take family member to court for discrimination?
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Fenris
Posts: 676 Forumite
Hi all,
I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now, but I'm pretty galvanised today to at least ask if anyone's done it!
Some of you may have read my other thread about how my Uncle has been treating my Mum in relation to the death of my Aunt and the whole probate situation; this kind of relates to that.
Long story short: My Aunt died in 2016, left me some money in her will and a small amount in cash, which I was given by my Uncle at her funeral. Fast forward to a few months ago when I was suddenly told I would not be getting the money left to me in the will because Uncle says I had it in cash. However, I did not get the amount of money he claims I did and outright lied that he counted it out in front of me!
Uncles two estranged daughters got both the cash and their legacy from the will.
I've been told today by my solicitor that Uncle won't budge and I won't be getting my legacy from the will.
Now, I've been discriminated against by my entire family because of my lifestyle choices and I believe this is just another example of that discrimination. And I'm sick of it. This is the last straw and I don't want Uncle to get away with the way he's treated me so I'm strongly considering taking him to court. It's less about the money, and more about the principal; why do HIS daughters get the cash gift AND the money from the will, but I don't? We know the answer, so let's say it: homophobia with a smidge of nepotism.
I've been doing a bit of Google research but the vast majority of what I've found comes under workplace or services discrimination and there's very little about discrimination by a family member past the usual verbal/mental/emotional (and sometimes, sadly, physical) abuse. I can't find anything about actually suing a family member.
I know this isn't strictly money saving, but I've had some good advice from people on these forums before and was hoping some of you may be able to point me in the right direction? I'm dipping my toe in the water at the moment, nothing's set in stone, I just want to see what my options are. So if anyone's been through this kind of thing, or if you have any advice, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks in advance,
Fen.
I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now, but I'm pretty galvanised today to at least ask if anyone's done it!
Some of you may have read my other thread about how my Uncle has been treating my Mum in relation to the death of my Aunt and the whole probate situation; this kind of relates to that.
Long story short: My Aunt died in 2016, left me some money in her will and a small amount in cash, which I was given by my Uncle at her funeral. Fast forward to a few months ago when I was suddenly told I would not be getting the money left to me in the will because Uncle says I had it in cash. However, I did not get the amount of money he claims I did and outright lied that he counted it out in front of me!
Uncles two estranged daughters got both the cash and their legacy from the will.
I've been told today by my solicitor that Uncle won't budge and I won't be getting my legacy from the will.
Now, I've been discriminated against by my entire family because of my lifestyle choices and I believe this is just another example of that discrimination. And I'm sick of it. This is the last straw and I don't want Uncle to get away with the way he's treated me so I'm strongly considering taking him to court. It's less about the money, and more about the principal; why do HIS daughters get the cash gift AND the money from the will, but I don't? We know the answer, so let's say it: homophobia with a smidge of nepotism.
I've been doing a bit of Google research but the vast majority of what I've found comes under workplace or services discrimination and there's very little about discrimination by a family member past the usual verbal/mental/emotional (and sometimes, sadly, physical) abuse. I can't find anything about actually suing a family member.
I know this isn't strictly money saving, but I've had some good advice from people on these forums before and was hoping some of you may be able to point me in the right direction? I'm dipping my toe in the water at the moment, nothing's set in stone, I just want to see what my options are. So if anyone's been through this kind of thing, or if you have any advice, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks in advance,
Fen.
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Comments
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Don't confuse the two issues.
If your Uncle (ie the Executor) won't carry out the wishes as per the valid will then sue him but only him in his role of Executor. Be prepared for it to get nasty and possibly the family being fractured beyond repair as well as expensive.0 -
I'm sure you will have more details but the first question that sprung to mind was how are you going to prove that he is keeping the money due to him discriminating against you for your lifestyle choice and not just because hes a money grabbing so and so?0
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Im a little confused. You say that your aunt left you some money in her will and some in cash.
What do you mean by it being in cash AND in the will. Usually it would say I leave X 10% of my money or whatever.
You could take your uncle to court for not distributing the estate correctly but from what you said it isn!!!8217;t clear he hasnt done that...0 -
Never mind the other stuff, as executor, uncle should have proof of what he distributed, and to whom. Without it, he could be in trouble with no defence.
Why is your solicitor not telling you this?
I suppose the other question might be, is it a sufficient amount to make the trouble it will cause securing it, worthwhile in the long run?0 -
Hope you have deep pockets - it's easy to say it's not about the money but it would need to be a very large legacy to warrant "taking him to court". As executor, he will be required to prepare accounts - has your solicitor had sight of the accounts. Ignore he said/she said, it's proof that's required.0
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A court action will be very expensive. Did your uncle as executor ask you sign a receipt for the cash he gave you? If not it it seems to me he has no evidence that he has correctly discharged his duties in connection with that part of the will. Officially he should have received receipts from all the beneficiaries.
Your description of the money left to you is unclear. How much money or percentage of the estate were you bequeathed and did you also receive other monies as well. Unless you have very deep pockets you have little chance of successfully suing for this money.
Yiu could see whether a solicitor is prepared to write to your uncle challenging him to produce legal documentation and receipts to prove the will was properly administered as a preliminary to seeing him in court but I suspect the moment you start pursuing a legal route family relations will be ruptured for ever.
What do you want most as the outcome? The money, proving the will wasn't properly administered or to make your point abiut your right to having your choice of lifestyle being recognised.?0 -
Forget the discrimation angle and just go straight to the executor not fulfilling their obligations angle. That's simpler because that is a legal obligation on them and their potrentially discriminatory reasons for failing to fulfill it are irrelevant to demonstrating that they have failed to a court. Doesn't matter if the reason was there was an 'r' in the month or your sexual preference, they've still failed to act correctly, the discrimination argument is irrelevant.
To my understanding, to argue discrimination under article 14 you would need to establish that it was happening in an area where another article applies. Intra-family relationships don't really fall within the ambit of (say) article 8. If the local council refused to give you a job because you are gay, that does fall within art.8 and would be actionable in court. If a family member won't give you a gift for the same reason, it doesn't, people are allowed to treat their family members differently without the Supreme court getting involved, at least as I understand it. If you want actual legal adivce though rather, than the thoughts of a layman, go see a specialist solicitor with extensive HRA experience.Proud member of the wokerati, though I don't eat tofu.Home is where my books are.Solar PV 5.2kWp system, SE facing, >1% shading, installed March 2019.Mortgage free July 20230 -
There would be not need to worry about get nasty and possibly the family being fractured beyond repair. I would disconnect and not give them a second thought again.0
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I see you are very upset OP.
As others have said, court action will be costly, and long winded - and more importantly, pretty stressful, at the time and the fall out
I would be tempted to walk away from the problem and keep my mental health intact....but that's just me...these days I am more about keeping as stress free as possible
Wills cause so many family upsets it is so awful as it seems a pretty common occurance, I imagine the deceased would hate it, if they realised the upset and trouble it caused.The opposite of what you know...is also true0
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