Executor living in property and refusing to sell

EalingElectrical

Thankyou in advance for your time, I have what I think is an unusual problem. Following the death of my Grandmother in 2016 things have become very complicated regarding her property. The beneficiaries of the will are my Mum and my Uncle. My mother died some years before so it seems my sister and I will inherit a quarter each directly. At the time of her death my Uncle and his family were living on the site in another building. Before she died they got my Grandma to write a note saying they could continue to live at the Property after her death, but this is not witnessed or made part of the will. At Grandma's death my Uncle had himself appointed as executor, moved into the main building and has been living there ever since, rent-free. My sister and I left this for a while but as time has passed we have looked further into the legal situation and are unhappy. When pressed my Uncle said, by email, that he did not intend to sell at least until 2025, citing various arguments about possible rises in local property prices.
This seems unacceptable but ss far as I can see I have few options except engaging legal help to have him either pressured by the court or removed as executor - all very expensive. I am worried about issues of insurance on the property, responsibility for council tax. The land does need planning permission applying for to achieve its full value but I have offered to help with this. My uncle will only communicate saying he is the executor and he will decide. As an added variable, the buildings themselves are not going to be worth any money, just the land, so there is no incentive to maintain it. Currently I am half inclined to invest in a sledgehammer and render it uninhabitable - but that may be unwise!
If anyone has any suggestions I would be extremely grateful. So far it has meant many sleepless nights.
Thankyou,
Chris

Tom99

Who is the current registered legal owner at the Land Reg? Are there any restrictions or charges listed on the title?

Keep_pedalling

No one can just get themselves appointed executor, either he was named as executor or he wasn’t. If the appointed executor was no longer alive or was unwilling to act as such then as your GMs nearest living relative he has the right to administer the estate.

You now only have one option and that is to take legal action against him. Has probate actually been obtained?

EalingElectrical

Both him and my mother were named executor. He submitted her death certificate and probate was granted to him.

Keep_pedalling

EalingElectrical said:

Both him and my mother were named executor. He submitted her death certificate and probate was granted to him.

Then you will need to take legal action to force the sale of the house. Have you check the ownership of the house with the land registry yet?

EalingElectrical

Land Registry still in Grandmother's name.
Honestly it would be useful if anyone can highlight possible dangers my sister and I might be exposed to, to help motivate the case for legal action. Thank you so much.

Keep_pedalling

EalingElectrical said:

Land Registry still in Grandmother's name.
Honestly it would be useful if anyone can highlight possible dangers my sister and I might be exposed to, to help motivate the case for legal action. Thank you so much.

There are no dangers other than costs, if your uncle will not play ball then this is going to get very expensive if it has to go court, but hopefully it will not get that far, and even if it does it is likely that your uncle will be facing 2 lots of costs as he would appear to have met his obligations as the executor.

You need to see a solicitor for some initial advice on what to do next. Hopefully a letter from the solicitor simply threatening legal action if they fail to distribute the estate as per the will will get things moving.

Pollycat

EalingElectrical said:

Thankyou in advance for your time, I have what I think is an unusual problem. Following the death of my Grandmother in 2016 things have become very complicated regarding her property. The beneficiaries of the will are my Mum and my Uncle. My mother died some years before so it seems my sister and I will inherit a quarter each directly. At the time of her death my Uncle and his family were living on the site in another building. Before she died they got my Grandma to write a note saying they could continue to live at the Property after her death, but this is not witnessed or made part of the will. At Grandma's death my Uncle had himself appointed as executor, moved into the main building and has been living there ever since, rent-free. My sister and I left this for a while but as time has passed we have looked further into the legal situation and are unhappy. When pressed my Uncle said, by email, that he did not intend to sell at least until 2025, citing various arguments about possible rises in local property prices.
This seems unacceptable but ss far as I can see I have few options except engaging legal help to have him either pressured by the court or removed as executor - all very expensive. I am worried about issues of insurance on the property, responsibility for council tax. The land does need planning permission applying for to achieve its full value but I have offered to help with this. My uncle will only communicate saying he is the executor and he will decide. As an added variable, the buildings themselves are not going to be worth any money, just the land, so there is no incentive to maintain it. Currently I am half inclined to invest in a sledgehammer and render it uninhabitable - but that may be unwise!
If anyone has any suggestions I would be extremely grateful. So far it has meant many sleepless nights.
Thankyou,
Chris

Just flagging this up - the bit in bold.

I'm no expert but doesn't it depend on what the will says as to whether the OP and sister inherit or not?

I believe a friend of mine has written a will that leaves their assets to children but if one of the children dies, the assets are split between the remaining children rather than passing to the children of the deceased child (grandchildren).

Apologies if I've thrown a red herring into the ring.

CIS

This seems unacceptable but ss far as I can see I have few options except engaging legal help to have him either pressured by the court or removed as executor - all very expensive. I am worried about issues of insurance on the property, responsibility for council tax.

If there's someone resident in the property then they will be liable for the council tax charge - if there isn't then situation can be a bit more complicated.

EalingElectrical

Yes their family is living there. Which concerns me because it looks like the estate not the executor would be liable in the event of payments not being maintained - which means it is my financial concern too.

EalingElectrical

And thankyou Pollycat, that is a good point so I have just rechecked the will (which I do have a copy of) and it does have a substitution clause identifying in children the event of predeceasing.