As an executor / trustee, can i be forced to reserve powers?

microbiome

Hi all,
I hope you can advise. My mother and brother are fellow trustees and executors on my father's will. They have, for several months now, refused to let me have adequate paperwork yet are trying to force me to sign paperwork for the grant of probate without adequate information.

They have threatened me a number of times eg take me to court, remove me from my mother will etc, and have now got their solicitor to write to me saying that they will reserve my power as an executor.

I have written to him explaining why I have not yet signed the documents but he says that they will reserve my powers in any case.

Please can anyone let me know what I can do regarding this? Many thanks in advance.

Tom99

Only you can agree to reserve power it cannot be forced upon you.

AnotherJoe

What is the information you require and what are the documents you are refusing to sign?
Are you being unreasonable? Because the other executors must be getting seriously frustrated and have spent a lot of time waiting if theyve gone to the lengths to start threatening legal action.

GDB2222

I’m so sorry your father has died. This is a time of grief, and people are not at their most rational. You should do your best to sort this out WITHOUT the need for lawyers. If that involves saying sorry when you don’t think you are in the wrong, then it’s best to do so.

Do consider how important it is to have the documents you want. Indeed, do you know for sure that they exist? And, as an executor, surely it’s your job to put the paperwork together, rather than demanding it from others?

Keep_pedalling

If they believe that you are just being difficult in refusing to sign the probate and IHT forms they really should be going to court to have you removed as an executor. On the other hand if you believe that they are submitting false information you should be going to court to have them removed.

Neither of those options are going to be easy and are going to be very expensive, so you really need to resolve this amicably if possible. I don’t think anyone here can give much more advice without having a bit more detail.

AnotherJoe

microbiome wrote: »

Hi all,
I hope you can advise. My mother and brother are fellow trustees and executors on my father's will. They have, for several months now, refused to let me have adequate paperwork yet are trying to force me to sign paperwork for the grant of probate without adequate information.

They have threatened me a number of times eg take me to court, remove me from my mother will etc, and have now got their solicitor to write to me saying that they will reserve my power as an executor.

I have written to him explaining why I have not yet signed the documents but he says that they will reserve my powers in any case.

Please can anyone let me know what I can do regarding this? Many thanks in advance.

Just to add, are you positive this is what a solicitors written letter to you actually says? Because that cannot be correct. Have you "translated" it for us? Because that would surely be illegal, only you can reserve powers it can't be forced on you and I'm finding it difficult to believe that's literally true. Yes you can be removed by court order but that's differently to being forcibly reserved.

Marcon

microbiome wrote: »

Hi all,
I hope you can advise. My mother and brother are fellow trustees and executors on my father's will. They have, for several months now, refused to let me have adequate paperwork yet are trying to force me to sign paperwork for the grant of probate without adequate information.

They have threatened me a number of times eg take me to court, remove me from my mother will etc, and have now got their solicitor to write to me saying that they will reserve my power as an executor.

I have written to him explaining why I have not yet signed the documents but he says that they will reserve my powers in any case.

Please can anyone let me know what I can do regarding this? Many thanks in advance.

This all sounds pretty bizarre. Isn't it time the 3 executors got round a table and talked this through before the situation gets any dafter (and more expensive)? Alternatively, why not agree to reserve your power - not the same as renouncing and will clear what seems to be a logjam with no good reason.

microbiome

I did try and discuss it with them. I went round to discuss and got screamed at 2 hours. Unfortunately my family dynamic is very abusive. I understand why you are querying what I say but unfortunately I have tried to be diplomatic and been threatened a number of times. I've had people call purporting to be from the probate registry, threatened by their financial advisor, threatened to be taken out of mother's will etc. These actions aren't really a rational way to deal with a request for information.

I have asked for the documentation that relate to their calculations they have put on the form for grant of probate. Unfortunately they have refused to give me access to the documents, refused to let me know where my father held accounts etc. so it is problematic to get this information on my own. I just want to ensure that I am signing something that I am not liable for later on when it comes out that they're fiddling the figures.

The solicitors letter says "Your mother and brother instructed us in their capacity as executors to make an application for the Grant of Probate with power reserved to you."

I hope you can advise. Many thanks

Socajam

Sounds like my sister who did a 180 after taking over my mother's estate. She was so nasty that it completely changed our relationship. If someone had told me before that she was like this, I would have called them a big liar.
I think the powers goes to one's head when in this position and turn them into the devil.

If one does not have anything to hide, why not sit down with all the relevant parties and go through the papers. This way your conscience is clear and whatever is talked about with other family members later can be verified by one party saying, that's not true, we all sat down with the documents and came to this decision.

Mojisola

microbiome wrote: »

I have asked for the documentation that relate to their calculations they have put on the form for grant of probate. Unfortunately they have refused to give me access to the documents, refused to let me know where my father held accounts etc. so it is problematic to get this information on my own.

The solicitors letter says "Your mother and brother instructed us in their capacity as executors to make an application for the Grant of Probate with power reserved to you."

I would reply - keeping it very objective - that, as an executor, until you have seen the relevant paperwork you can't sign the necessary papers and that you hope he/she will advise his clients to send you the information.

I would also state that you are not going to reserve your executor powers.

Robin9

Following on from #10 to add

"I should be pleased to attend a meeting with the other executors at your offices to add what I can to help the probate application"