One beneficiary is living in the family home . Will shares the property to the three children .

LUTONTOWN1

    My sister ,with her 45 year old son is living in the family home . As far as I am aware they have paid no rent into the estate . My mum had to leave the home and went in to a care home several months ago .I do not know who has been playing the council tax etc . I suspect it was along with other bills paid  from my mothers account . Mum died in January . The account was not frozen for 3 weeks after the death . Unfortunately my sister is executor along with my brother . She is showing no wiliness to proceed with probate . I believe this is due to the fact she will have to sell the property and move out . 
                                  Basically the longer she takes to "sort things out"  the longer she can stay in a nice comfortable home rent free . Although she along with her son will be responsible for all the bills now .  I suggest she has to pay the market rent value into the estate , until it is sold . Therefore on final sale the estate value to be split 3 ways would be selling price less fees , plus the rent of how ever long it takes . 
                    Rental value in the area is £1100 per  month  ie £13200 a year . Of coarse 1/3 would be hers . I am not sure if this has dawned on her yet , but if she realised this ,it could encourage her to sort things out properly . 
                                                         Am I right in this ? Please help .     

RetSol

Hello @LUTONTOWN1.  The scenario which you describe is common and often leads to considerable problems so I think that you are wise to be considering prompt action.

My initial response is to say that, if the property was empty, the executors would be paying the bills out of the estate and there would inevitably be some delay before the property was sold.  At the moment, you are in practice no worse off than if your sister was not living there.

However, you are concerned that the situation may drag on and that your sister may prolong it.

I suggest that, rather than asking for rent now,  you ask the executors to start charging rent (and your sister to pay the bills) if your sister and her son remain in the house beyond a certain date (eg 6 months from now).  If they have been living in the property for a long time it might be reasonable to give them longer than if they have not been there for long.

That way, you put down a marker that you are not willing for your sister and her son to have a free ride indefinitely and give them them opportunity to find new accommodation. 

RetSol

Edit: I suggest asking the sister to contribute to the bills now as they will be higher as a consequence of her living in the property. 

xylophone

my sister is executor along with my brother .

What is your brother doing about the matter?

LUTONTOWN1

 My brother has buried his head in the sand . I got a copy of the will today . Does not state that it was my mum wish for my sister to remain in the house . However my sister has stated quite plainly it is her invention to do so . She seems to think it is her right to do so . I have put in place a caveat . So I can put forward my contention .
 

RetSol

I have put in place a caveat . So I can put forward my contention .

You know the ins and outs of the situation, @LUTONTOWN1, which I don't.  But, what do you intend to achieve with the caveat?  If the will is valid and the siblings are named as executors, what grounds do you have for objecting to the issue of probate?  Surely, you want probate to be issued quickly now, not delayed. 

LUTONTOWN1

I put it  in place because I feared that my sister had influenced my ill mother against me and had me removed from the will . I only just this afternoon got a copy of the will .   I needed confirmation that the estate was to be split equally 3 ways . It only cost £3 . 
 

Marcon

LUTONTOWN1 said:

I put it  in place because I feared that my sister had influenced my ill mother against me and had me removed from the will . I only just this afternoon got a copy of the will .   I needed confirmation that the estate was to be split equally 3 ways . It only cost £3 . 
 

If you'd been removed from the will, putting a caveat in place would serve no useful purpose.

LUTONTOWN1

I would have been able to contest the Will,  as my mum had dementia .But irrelevant now that I have actually seen the Will .  I have no grounds to contest it now . But still leaves the problem of her intention to remain and therefore preventing the disposal of the estate . 

xylophone

https://www.funeralguide.co.uk/help-resources/managing-your-estate/removing-and-substituting-executors

It is time that your brother took responsibility for sorting out the estate.

LUTONTOWN1

I can not share the email received along with the copy of the Will . In the email it is made clear that my brother and myself will not be considered .She intends to serve her own agender .This goes against the terms of the will .She will not be for filling her responsibility as a executor . Hopefully my brother will realise this  , she is  a control freak . Her attitude to me is unacceptable  ,and  I feel if a court were to see the messages between myself and her  could decide she is unfit to be an executor . My contention that she and her son pay rent until such time as a sale goes ahead is a fair request I feel .