Stop Executor selling Estate

Jonathan58

Hi, needed some advice if you can, thanks.

My mother passed away but she never left a will, so it was understood the 6 siblings would each have an equal share in the property, that was in the 90s, my brother decided to go and apply for letters of administration and become executor on the estate back in 2004, he didn't tell anyone and no one knew until this past week when I had a look into it. Out of the 6 of us one lives in the house and has done his whole life, the other 5 live in their own property, the one brother who became executor is now saying he wants to sell the house and there's nothing anyone can do. The rest of the siblings don't want a sale, they want to keep the house as it is and ofcourse one of the brothers still lives in the house, he's mentally disabled and has a care worker, he simply doesn't want to be asked to sell and leave.

Is there anyway the 5 siblings can stop the one who went behind there backs and made himself the executor to sell the house and take his share out, the problem as well is the executor is only doing it for his benefit, he wants the money even though the other 5 siblings are just about making a living while that one brother is looking at buying his second home and that's why he wants to sell the house to get some more money for his second home.

The 5 siblings looked at buying him out but like I said, we simply have nothing, no savings etc., and the one looking to sell said he doesn't want a payment plan he wants the money upfront otherwise the house is gone. My brother who lives there right now already has mental health issues and this is really stressing him and the rest of us out.

Is there anything any of us can do? Can we remove the brother from being the executor as he is literally only doing this for his benefit, and another thing to point out, the brother who is the executor is also on mental health benefits, is there a case to say he should not be the executor because he not thinking right. I'll also add he made himself the executor/applied for letters of administration without telling anyone even though he has not lived or was living in the house anytime in the last 30 years. He has not contributed anything, bills, council tax, maintenance etc., yet he is the one deciding what to do with the estate. He even threatened to call the police if we don't let the estate agent into the house to survey it.

If I can get any advice that would be very helpful, thank you.

Yorkshireman99

Jonathan58 wrote: »

Hi, needed some advice if you can, thanks.

My mother passed away but she never left a will, so it was understood the 6 siblings would each have an equal share in the property, that was in the 90s, my brother decided to go and apply for letters of administration and become executor on the estate back in 2004, he didn't tell anyone and no one knew until this past week when I had a look into it. Out of the 6 of us one lives in the house and has done his whole life, the other 5 live in their own property, the one brother who became executor is now saying he wants to sell the house and there's nothing anyone can do. The rest of the siblings don't want a sale, they want to keep the house as it is and ofcourse one of the brothers still lives in the house, he's mentally disabled and has a care worker, he simply doesn't want to be asked to sell and leave.

Is there anyway the 5 siblings can stop the one who went behind there backs and made himself the executor to sell the house and take his share out, the problem as well is the executor is only doing it for his benefit, he wants the money even though the other 5 siblings are just about making a living while that one brother is looking at buying his second home and that's why he wants to sell the house to get some more money for his second home.

The 5 siblings looked at buying him out but like I said, we simply have nothing, no savings etc., and the one looking to sell said he doesn't want a payment plan he wants the money upfront otherwise the house is gone. My brother who lives there right now already has mental health issues and this is really stressing him and the rest of us out.

Is there anything any of us can do? Can we remove the brother from being the executor as he is literally only doing this for his benefit, and another thing to point out, the brother who is the executor is also on mental health benefits, is there a case to say he should not be the executor because he not thinking right. I'll also add he made himself the executor/applied for letters of administration without telling anyone even though he has not lived or was living in the house anytime in the last 30 years. He has not contributed anything, bills, council tax, maintenance etc., yet he is the one deciding what to do with the estate. He even threatened to call the police if we don't let the estate agent into the house to survey it.

If I can get any advice that would be very helpful, thank you.

If the applicant for LOA followed the rules and was granted it then he is entirely within his rights to sell the property though why he has waited so long to do so is puzzling.

Flugelhorn

Is there anyway the remaining siblings (?4 - presumably not the current resident of the property or the administrator) can raise one fifth of the value of the house between you to pay off the administrator?

Having said that it will be a complex sum involving 2 decades of maintenance costs / capital gains etc etc ..

Agree with YM , the surprise is why it has taken so long for him to do this! As it was any one of you could have been made administrator and once someone has LOA then it is very hard to get rid of them.

TBagpuss

He is quite correct to be looking to sell the house so that the estate can be distributed. He would only be acting improperly if he was trying to get more than his 1 sixth share. (and in fairness, i f one or more of the other siblings had applied for LOA they would still have an obligation to follow the rules of intestacy so would have had to give your brother his share, even if that meant selling the house.

If you and your other siblings can raise the funds to buy him out then you could do so, and equally, if the others of you chose, you could sell the house and the remaining 5 of you could buy somewhere for your disabled brother to live, and make sure that you have an appropriate declaration of trust set up in relation to the ownership. Depending on the value of the house , it might be possible for him to have a flat partly funded by you as his siblings, and for you each to also have part of your share of the funds.

You may be able to do a deed of variation to alter the shares you and your siblings (except the one who wants to sell) each have, which would mean you were gifting part of your share to your disabled brother, or you could receive your shares then use some of it to lend to you brother, or to buy a property with him for him to live in

Did your mum leave anything other than the house? If so, then you could propose that your brother have the other assets to reduce the mount he is due from the sale of the house, which would reduce the amount you and the others would need to raise to be able to buy him out.

It is possible that your brother with disabilities might have a claim under the inheritance act, if his 1/6 share doesn't make adequate provision for him given his needs, -there is, I believe, a strict 6 month limit from the date of probate to claim, and he would need proper advice . but it may be worth looking into, particularly if the value of the house and/or the value of his share is likely to mean that he will be left homeless if the house is sold. The nature and severity of his disabilities are likely to be relevant, too.

Be aware that such claims can get very expensive, so take some initial advice first about the likely outcome.

Do you have a rough idea of what your mum's estate might be worth, and how much a flat suitable for your brother might cost?

Dox

TBagpuss wrote: »

It is possible that your brother with disabilities might have a claim under the inheritance act, if his 1/6 share doesn't make adequate provision for him given his needs, -there is, I believe, a strict 6 month limit from the date of probate to claim, and he would need proper advice .

Not sure from OP's post if probate has actually been granted, but you are right about the timescale/costs and complexity of any such claim, so I fear that's a non-starter.

Completely understand that your brother doesn't want to be dislodged from his home of many years, but the brother who wants to sell is wholly entitled to do so. Perhaps 5/6ths of the house's value would be sufficient to buy somewhere for your mentally disabled brother? I appreciate that's a far from ideal solution, but it may be the only realistic one.

Yorkshireman99

TBagpuss wrote: »

He is quite correct to be looking to sell the house so that the estate can be distributed. He would only be acting improperly if he was trying to get more than his 1 sixth share. (and in fairness, i f one or more of the other siblings had applied for LOA they would still have an obligation to follow the rules of intestacy so would have had to give your brother his share, even if that meant selling the house.

If you and your other siblings can raise the funds to buy him out then you could do so, and equally, if the others of you chose, you could sell the house and the remaining 5 of you could buy somewhere for your disabled brother to live, and make sure that you have an appropriate declaration of trust set up in relation to the ownership. Depending on the value of the house , it might be possible for him to have a flat partly funded by you as his siblings, and for you each to also have part of your share of the funds.

You may be able to do a deed of variation to alter the shares you and your siblings (except the one who wants to sell) each have, which would mean you were gifting part of your share to your disabled brother, or you could receive your shares then use some of it to lend to you brother, or to buy a property with him for him to live in

Did your mum leave anything other than the house? If so, then you could propose that your brother have the other assets to reduce the mount he is due from the sale of the house, which would reduce the amount you and the others would need to raise to be able to buy him out.

It is possible that your brother with disabilities might have a claim under the inheritance act, if his 1/6 share doesn't make adequate provision for him given his needs, -there is, I believe, a strict 6 month limit from the date of probate to claim, and he would need proper advice . but it may be worth looking into, particularly if the value of the house and/or the value of his share is likely to mean that he will be left homeless if the house is sold. The nature and severity of his disabilities are likely to be relevant, too.

Be aware that such claims can get very expensive, so take some initial advice first about the likely outcome.

Do you have a rough idea of what your mum's estate might be worth, and how much a flat suitable for your brother might cost?

There is a strict time limit for a claim under the inhertance act of six months from the date of grant so this is a non starter

Tealblue

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

There is a strict time limit for a claim under the inhertance act of six months from the date of grant so this is a non starter

Post 5 has already said that, with the caveat that OP hasn't said when/if probate has actually been granted.

OP - you might also bear in mind that the house is presumably the main residence of only one of your brother (the one living there), so CGT will need to be factored in to all this.

Yorkshireman99

Tealblue wrote: »

Post 5 has already said that, with the caveat that OP hasn't said when/if probate has actually been granted.

OP - you might also bear in mind that the house is presumably the main residence of only one of your brother (the one living there), so CGT will need to be factored in to all this.

If anyone ever needed urgent paid for professional advice the OP and family do!

Dox

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

If anyone ever needed urgent paid for professional advice the OP and family do!

Not sure it would help much. The brother who wants to sell is entirely within his rights to do so.

Yorkshireman99

Dox wrote: »

Not sure it would help much. The brother who wants to sell is entirely within his rights to do so.

They would be able to get advice on buying out the one person for example. The OP is clearly out of his depth.

Malthusian

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

They would be able to get advice on buying out the one person for example.

They do not need a professional to tell them that they can't buy him out because they don't have any money. Per post #1 they already know that.

I am all for people taking professional advice rather than relying on people down the pub, but there is a point at which even going for a free half hour is a waste of time.