Do I have to pay?

Molly4

Good Morning, 
I will try to be as brief as possible but this may end up "war and peace" so bear with me. Before I begin this comes under Scottish Law which is different to English Law.

I have been estranged from my father for over 50 years having had no contact at all since he left my mother and the family home when I was a child. 
My mother died nearly 40 years ago and I am an only child. 
I found out by chance in 2018 that my father had died in 2017. 
I have a keen interest in family tree research and found out in 2019 that my father had siblings whom, up until that point, I never knew existed. 

It turns out my father died intestate and a genealogy company had been acting on behalf of the other family members as they did not know I existed either. The funds from my fathers estate were placed in the hands of a firm of solicitors acting on behalf of the genealogy company and the other family members. The genealogy company and the solicitors were about to settle the estate with the other family members when I suddenly appeared on the scene so to speak. 

I have now proven that I, as my father's only living child, am the true, sole legal beneficiary to his estate. 
I have engaged a different genealogy company and firm of solicitors to help me prove this and I have now been made Executor of my father's estate. Things are progressing albeit very slowly.

The firm of solicitors acting for the other genealogy company and family members are trying to charge me for the work they have done on my father's estate. They will not release the estate funds until they receive payment. They want payment for the works carried out from my fathers death in 2017 to date. This firm of solicitors did not know I existed until earlier this year, 2020, and were going to settle the estate on the wrong family member/s based on the inaccurate and incomplete information given to them by the other genealogy company. Despite doing over 2 years work on the estate the other genealogy company failed to find me, my father's only child. It was me who found them. 

Do I have to legally pay the other firm of solicitors for work they have carried out that I, or anyone acting on my behalf did not authorise? They want me to pay for three years work when they have only known about my existence for a few months. 

I hope this all makes sense and is not too confusing. 

Regards
molly57

Keep_pedalling

I doubt whether they can, but as you have already engaged your own solicitor I think this is a question you need to raise with them.

Good luck.

Molly4

I have already raised it with my own solicitor and am waiting for an answer. I will obviously be paying my own solicitor and feel as it was the other genealogy company who misled the the other solicitors then the other genealogy company should be paying for this. 

TonyMMM

Whoever engaged the other firm are the one's who would have to pay (probably the heir hunting company) ....

Have you used any of their previous work on the estate in your own application  ?

Molly4

No I have not had anything to do with the other genealogy company or their solicitors and they have not carried out any work on my behalf. As above I think as the other genealogy company misled their own solicitors that they should be paying for the work their solicitors carried out. It was only by "good timing" on my part that they were not able to settle this with the other relatives.  

Flugelhorn

hopefully they have some sort of indemnity policy in place to pay up if a closer heir turns up - they probably would have done if they paid out to siblings.
definitely don't think you should pay up - the heir hunters will have to mark that one down as a loss

Dox

molly57. said:

I have already raised it with my own solicitor and am waiting for an answer. 

No point posting here - wait and get an answer based on a much fuller understanding of the facts.

Molly4

Dox said:

molly57. said:

I have already raised it with my own solicitor and am waiting for an answer. 

No point posting here - wait and get an answer based on a much fuller understanding of the facts.

I posted as I was wondering if anyone might have had a similar experience. I am also worried that because I am now the Executor of my father's estate that I am going to be responsible for "everything" regardless. 

Flugelhorn

I think it is really a quite unusual set of circumstances - suspect the lawyers have gone "oh heck" having spent £££££ and are now hoping that you will pay them - whereas they haven't a hope

getmore4less

Unless a very simple estate the inventory and account that the other solicitors will have prepared for their clients may be useful