I'm an executor and a beneficiary, can I change my mind after agreeing to distribution of estate?

RonsDaughter

Hi, any advice please, this is complicated...

my mother's estate is left 50/50 but the other executor/beneficiary has done his best to haggle down price of everything. I'm happy with cash rather than goods and I'm still getting 50% of the alleged value of everything, but he has been so obstructive and abusive I agreed to let him have the house for less than probate value. He refused to have the house revalued, and as I live 200 miles away it was difficult to arrange it myself.

The house is about to be transferred into his name, but last week I visited the house for the first time since the funeral and found out that he had also misled me about the number and value of contents of the property.

I realised today that the house itself has gone up in value by about £15000. I originally agreed to let him have the house and contents at a lower price than they are worth but I made this decision based on his inaccurate information and, because of his attitude I just wanted to get it over with so was willing to agree a lower house price. He and I are both executors and are both the only beneficiaries.

There is also proof that he has been storing his business stock at the property which I believe compromises the house insurance. Also the tv was also left plugged in and turned on so I assume he has been spending leisure time there too. The estate does not pay for a tv license, and I don't think he has one of his own.

I have told the solicitor about the business use and she is checking if storing his goods amounts to fraudulent activity due to a particular council tax issue.

I believe the estate to be worth £15000-£20000 more that it was valued at, otherwise I would cut my losses and move on. As the house has not yet been transferred into his name, can I ask the solicitor to suspend proceedings as I wish to re-evaluate my agreement in view of what I have found out in the last coupe of days? And can I insist on changing to the current market value of the house and contents?

If not, are there any other avenues I can use after the estate has been settled? ie suing him for monetary losses? I'd be grateful for any insights! Thank you

Keep_pedalling

If the transfer has not happened then I can’t see why you can’t change your mind on the new information available to you. It could all get pretty nasty though and could get expensive if your sibling goes all legal on you.

Marcon

RonsDaughter said:

I have told the solicitor about the business use and she is checking if storing his goods amounts to fraudulent activity due to a particular council tax issue.

I believe the estate to be worth £15000-£20000 more that it was valued at, otherwise I would cut my losses and move on. As the house has not yet been transferred into his name, can I ask the solicitor to suspend proceedings as I wish to re-evaluate my agreement in view of what I have found out in the last coupe of days? And can I insist on changing to the current market value of the house and contents?

If not, are there any other avenues I can use after the estate has been settled? ie suing him for monetary losses? I'd be grateful for any insights! Thank you

Not clear if the solicitor is acting for you personally or for both executors, but given the grief you've had so far, legal advice would be your best way forward, not least because the solicitor can then act as intermediary.

Sea_Shell

Do you really want to drag this out for months and months, at potentially more cost to the estate (if not personal cost), for an extra £7 to £10k share?

What is that as a % of the overall estate?   

CIS

RonsDaughter said:

Hi, any advice please, this is complicated...

I have told the solicitor about the business use and she is checking if storing his goods amounts to fraudulent activity due to a particular council tax issue.

I'd be curious as to what the council tax issue is ?  Is it regarding the storage of business items in the property ? (council tax is my specific area of law work).

RonsDaughter

Marcon said:

RonsDaughter said:

I have told the solicitor about the business use and she is checking if storing his goods amounts to fraudulent activity due to a particular council tax issue.

I believe the estate to be worth £15000-£20000 more that it was valued at, otherwise I would cut my losses and move on. As the house has not yet been transferred into his name, can I ask the solicitor to suspend proceedings as I wish to re-evaluate my agreement in view of what I have found out in the last coupe of days? And can I insist on changing to the current market value of the house and contents?

If not, are there any other avenues I can use after the estate has been settled? ie suing him for monetary losses? I'd be grateful for any insights! Thank you

Not clear if the solicitor is acting for you personally or for both executors, but given the grief you've had so far, legal advice would be your best way forward, not least because the solicitor can then act as intermediary.

The solicitor is acting for us both and a 3rd executor who is a solicitor at the same firm. She is supposed to be intermediary but bro won't communicate through her as he doesn't want the expense. He only communicates with me via text if he can be bothered.

RonsDaughter

Keep_pedalling said:

If the transfer has not happened then I can’t see why you can’t change your mind on the new information available to you. It could all get pretty nasty though and could get expensive if your sibling goes all legal on you.

I'd be surprised if he "goes legal" as he knows I have handed proof to the solicitor. He's more likely to try to lie his way out rather than pay for a solicitor

RonsDaughter

Sea_Shell said:

Do you really want to drag this out for months and months, at potentially more cost to the estate (if not personal cost), for an extra £7 to £10k share?

What is that as a % of the overall estate?   

total estate valued currently at just under £300,000   I'm currently in rented accommodation so the £7-£10k share is important to me as it means the difference between being able to buy a flat or a house.

RonsDaughter

CIS said:

RonsDaughter said:

Hi, any advice please, this is complicated...

I have told the solicitor about the business use and she is checking if storing his goods amounts to fraudulent activity due to a particular council tax issue.

I'd be curious as to what the council tax issue is ?  Is it regarding the storage of business items in the property ? (council tax is my specific area of law work).

He stayed as "carer" and used her house to store his market stall/car boot goods when she was alive. I asked him to move back to his own home and remove his items when she died due to compromising contents insurance.

He refused to admit he was living there (he owns his own home and said he couldn't live in 2 houses) but stayed for at least 3 months so I reported him to the council who then charged him council tax after checking for themselves.
He contested this and somehow managed to lie his way out, so he got a council tax refund and the estate was billed since probate (January 2021)

He told me he had moved his stuff, however, when I visited last week, I could see about 20% of the house contents are his market items, and at least the same amount is stored in the garden. He is clearly using the property for storage.

It also appears that that he is spending leisure time there as the tv was left on standby. Mother's tv license expired last year, I don't think he has one himself. 

xylophone

How much more will you have to spend on legal fees if you proceed with the dispute?

Manxman_in_exile

RonsDaughter said:

Marcon said:

RonsDaughter said:

I have told the solicitor about the business use and she is checking if storing his goods amounts to fraudulent activity due to a particular council tax issue.

I believe the estate to be worth £15000-£20000 more that it was valued at, otherwise I would cut my losses and move on. As the house has not yet been transferred into his name, can I ask the solicitor to suspend proceedings as I wish to re-evaluate my agreement in view of what I have found out in the last coupe of days? And can I insist on changing to the current market value of the house and contents?

If not, are there any other avenues I can use after the estate has been settled? ie suing him for monetary losses? I'd be grateful for any insights! Thank you

Not clear if the solicitor is acting for you personally or for both executors, but given the grief you've had so far, legal advice would be your best way forward, not least because the solicitor can then act as intermediary.

The solicitor is acting for us both and a 3rd executor who is a solicitor at the same firm...

A question for others contributing to this thread: if there is a third executor (acting in a professional capacity as a solicitor) shouldn't the OP be able to put pressure on them to act appropriately re the undervaluation etc of the estate property?  Surely if there is a professional executor involved they are jointly responsible (legally and professionally) with the others to ensure that the estate is valued and distributed fairly between the two beneficiaries?  They can't just sit on their hands if the brother's conduct is brought to their attention, can they?

(I'm talking more about the undervaluation rather than whether the brother is living there or storing stuff there.  I wouldn't be too worried about that unless the insurance is affected or he should be paying rent)