Will and probate execution

Wood1980

Hi

Not sure if I'm in the correct forum.

I have been named as a beneficiarie in my grandparents will, and I will receive 25% of the estate.
Probate has finished and there is a figure in the probate which I assume I will receive 25% off.
My mother is the executor of the will, however she has not said anything about distributing anything to me, I have had to buy a copy of the will just so I know what has been said.
There is a property involved and the will states it should be sold, however she is planning to move in.
Is there a time frame that the will should be settled?
Is there any legal advice I can receive about forcing her to execute the will?
Does she have to execute the will?

Thank for your help.

lisyloo

If the will states it should be sold then it has to be sold.
I don’t think there is any issue with her buying it provided she’s paying market value (as assessed by independent values).
It can take a few months to buy a house.

What kind of terms are you on with her?
I.e. can you ask her if she’s buying it?

There is a wills and probate board where you might get more help.

AdrianC

Wood1980 wrote: »

I have been named as a beneficiarie in my grandparents will, and I will receive 25% of the estate.
Probate has finished and there is a figure in the probate which I assume I will receive 25% off.

Yes, you should.

My mother is the executor of the will, however she has not said anything about distributing anything to me

It's your money. In her capacity as executor, she owes it to you. BUT it can take a while before everything is finally settled - I'm still arguing with the DWP over my father, who died a year ago.

Ultimately, you would take her to court for payment of the money.

https://www.ibblaw.co.uk/service/problems-executors is one legal firm's summary of the situation.

I have had to buy a copy of the will just so I know what has been said.

There isn't any formal "reading of the will", like you sometimes see on TV.

There is a property involved and the will states it should be sold, however she is planning to move in.

So long as all beneficiaries get their share of the value of the estate, it doesn't really matter how it's arrived at - it's perfectly valid for the executor to distribute an asset in place of the value of it. If the value of that asset is more than the beneficiary is due, then they should be putting money back into the estate to meet that gap.

One question... How old are you? Does the will state that the money should be left to you in trust until a certain age?

lisyloo

Talk of taking her to court is very premature.
She could be moving in to tidy the place up and decorate for sale.
She may also be quite devastated with grief and and maybe not thinking straight.

The starting point is to find out her intentions.
If the property needs selling then ideally all family members who can help should be helping.

When we sold my in-laws flat all of us helped in ways we could.
Those with vans took stuff to the tip.
Those of us who aren’t as physically strong helped with the cleaning tasks but we were all on hand to help both physically and for emotional support.

It’s not clear on what is happening in your family situation but the first step would be to establish her intentions.
Often elderly people (assumption) don’t keep up with the decorating or even cleaning so often their homes needs some work before sale.

AdrianC

lisyloo wrote: »

Talk of taking her to court is very premature.

Which is why I was careful to say "ultimately".

lisyloo

AdrianC wrote: »

Which is why I was careful to say "ultimately".

Yep, good to know where you stand.
Cheers.