Powers of Attorney and Executors

disinherited

On 21Nov 2018 my step mother-in-law sadly passed away. On the 6thDec2018 her brother went into Lloyds bank and closed her bank accounts(3 off) and transferred the balances into another account. The total of money transferred was £25k. There had been power of attorney held by his son and daughter but these, of course lapsed when she died. Probate was granted in Feb 2019 with the executors being the same two people as had had LPA,s.
My wife found out that she and my 2 children were residual beneficiaries after we obtained a copy of the will and probate. The house was sold in Oct 2019. We asked for statement of accounts as it would seem that beneficiaries ( there are 14 equal shares under the will) have been receiving different amounts at different times. Our letter was ignored at first but then we received a single A4 sheet of paper listing costs etc. This shows the following:-
Some £7000 has simply disappeared since the bank accounts were closed. This is after death but before probate was granted.
One of the executors paid himself £14k for exercising probate – for his time not for his expenses; further payment of some £1k were taken for admin etc etc.
There are large sums deducted for house/roof repairs ( although the property is leasehold on the ground floor in a block).
No invoices or receipts have been provided.

I asked Lloyds why they allowed her brother to close the accounts when there was neither grant of probate nor a letter of administration(if for instance there had been no will). It appears that Lloyds allows anyone to do this provided that the sum involved is less than £50k. Lloyds refuse to disclose what authority was used to close these accounts.

We engaged a solicitor who wrote to the executors. The letter has been ignored. To pursue a civil case against the executors will cost more than the value of the estate. How can it be that someone can effectively steal some £21k from the estate and no-one will do anything about it. Basically my children(residual beneficiaries) have been robbed!
I would welcome your advice/thoughts.

Primrose

Maybe you need a more aggressive solicitor if you haven,t yet received the detailed answers yiu were hoping for regarding why different beneficiaries have received different amounts if they were all entitled to equal shares.

I don't think there is any law though which says executors can't charge for their time, however unreasonable residual beneficiaries may think those charges may be.

It may be that funeral expenses account for part of the £7,000 which you believe cannot be accounted for.

getmore4less

Lay executors cannot charge for their time.

Mojisola

Primrose wrote: »

I don't think there is any law though which says executors can't charge for their time, however unreasonable residual beneficiaries may think those charges may be.

Executors can only charge for their time if they are in the role as a professional like a solicitor.

Lay executors can only claim expenses they have incurred while doing the job - postage, mileage, phone calls, etc.

disinherited

funeral expenses were itemised separately and I believe the executor is a carpenter by trade.

Keep_pedalling

The executors need to be made aware that they will end up paying all the legal costs should this go to court and they be found to have mismanaged the estate. The fact that they have admitted illegal payments to themselves puts them in a tight spot.

The building costs could be genuine because all the lease holders in the block are responsible for the cost of building maintenance, but they need to back that up with invoices from the management company.

disinherited

The problem with that is that the executor refuses point blank to admit that he has done anything wrong. To take action against him could cost far more than the value of the estate and at the end of the day I believe that the money is long gone with no assets to recover it (and costs from). I hoped that his and the brothers actions would be seen as criminal/fraudulent and I could persuade either the police or the court of probate to take some action but it appears that this is not so. Also, how can a bank allow someone to just walk in and take the money/close the accounts after the account holder dies?

Keep_pedalling

disinherited wrote: »

The problem with that is that the executor refuses point blank to admit that he has done anything wrong. To take action against him could cost far more than the value of the estate and at the end of the day I believe that the money is long gone with no assets to recover it (and costs from). I hoped that his and the brothers actions would be seen as criminal/fraudulent and I could persuade either the police or the court of probate to take some action but it appears that this is not so. Also, how can a bank allow someone to just walk in and take the money/close the accounts after the account holder dies?

The bank has done nothing wrong the will gave the executors the authority to wind up the estate including the bank accounts. The fact that they have failed to distribute it correctly is entirely down to the executors.

It is still worth pursuing the threat of legal action. If your solicitor writes to the executors giving then 14 days notice giving to either pay the residual beneficiaries the missing £7,000 plus the £14,000 of illegal expenses or you will proceed with legal action to recover the money.

Whether you chose to follow this up if they fail to cough up is down to you, but remember they will be the ones paying the legal expenses when they lose, not the estate, and your shoes I would not hesitate to follow through with the threat.

disinherited

But when the bank closed the accounts the will had not gone to probate. Also the person closing the accounts and to whom the money was paid to was not an executor anyway. he was the next of kin but had no power of attorney even before the death. I have done as you suggest re letter and 14 days notice etc but been met with silence.

Primrose

Write again and give them a five working day deadline for a response. They're probably hoping a "no response" will encourage you to go away.

calleyw

This is thread would be better in the deaths, funeral and probate board. You will get better answers.



So if a board guide could move it.


Yours


Calley x