Summons for inventory and account

Malthusian

If the OP is an ex wife and the deceased's last valid Will was pre-divorce, it is still valid but the OP is treated as having died and would be neither beneficiary nor executor.

Intestacy laws may apply if the Will doesn't account for what happens in that case. As well as if there was no Will at all.

If there is no named executor (including if he named the OP as executor but they subsequently divorced) his children would have first refusal to apply to be administrator, followed by his parents. If his children are minors his mother would have every right to be administrator. If she declined then her son (the deceased's brother) could be next in line.

There's a lot of ifs there but I thought it might be helpful to clarify why the OP might be mistaken that the mother / brother have applied fraudulently.

It would be helpful if the OP could clarify what their exact relationship is to the deceased, whether there is a Will and what it said.

andreak said:

Yes, I am not only a creditor but the sole beneficiary...unfortunately the deceased's family fraudulently applied for and were granted probate.

If it was actually fraudulent then surely you should be applying to have them removed as executors, not asking for an inventory and accounts.

msb1234

OP, unless you give the full information, you’re not going to get an appropriate answer. 

Did you and your ex get divorced?
Have you seen the will? If so, who are the beneficiaries in the will?
How old are your children?

andreak

Hi...sorry. it was my ex partner.  I have a lot of money owed to me including child Maintenance.  His mum and brother are well aware of his children. They are 12, 14 and 17. He was a very abusive individual. He died intestate.  A grant of probate was issued in Dec 2000 to his mother with her remaining son as legal representative. I managed to get a firm of solicitors to contact her son. He admitted knowing about the children and did say he would willingly surrender the Administration of the estate but then nada. I managed to get the grant revoked myself in February of this year but the district registry now require this summons and affidavit for them to produce all information.  As stated before no contact has been made with me or my children regarding his death or distribution of any assets. Hope this clarifies.

msb1234

As an ex partner of someone who didn't have a will, you have no claim on his estate. It will all pass to his children. As they are all under 18, their inheritance will be held in trust until they are 18. As Probate was applied for and granted, there must be a record of his estate somewhere in the system. Your solicitor will be acting on behalf of the children. If the grant was only revoked in February, its very early days for this to be settled. 

andreak

I do because I have a financial interest in the property. I am also guardian of the children so I act on their behalf. All I wanted was assistance with the wording for the forms. 

msb1234

Then it may be wise to appoint a solicitor to sort this out for you and your children. As you have a financial interest in the property then it surely wouldn’t have been possible for the property to be sold without your financial interest being taken into account. If you’ve spoken to a solicitor, what did they advise? 

By financial interest, do you mean the fact that you didn’t get child maintenance off him? There should be records of this non payment held by the CMS. 

If you haven’t yet seen a solicitor, you can get a free hour session with a local solicitor - I did when I needed advice regarding my mum’s will and it was very helpful. 

andreak

Unfortunately it is a lot more than just the child Maintenance.  I did appoint a solicitor but I have borrowed everything I could so far. Unfortunately there does not seem to be any local solicitors offering that sort of service ...not from lack of trying. 

Malthusian

andreak said:

Hi...sorry. it was my ex partner.  I have a lot of money owed to me including child Maintenance.  His mum and brother are well aware of his children. They are 12, 14 and 17.

This confirms there was nothing fraudulent about her or the deceased's brother applying for probate. As he had no spouse and no children over the age of majority, his mother was first in line to administer the estate. His brother was next after her so she was free to pass the job to him.

If his grant of probate has already been revoked, then if we can discount the possibility that any grandparents / aunts / uncles would stick their oar in, the way seems to be clear for you to take over, as you say you are a creditor.

As msb said you should talk to your solicitors. If you've taken over the estate their fees can come out of the estate.

If the money he owed you is a legally valid debt then it has second call on the estate (along with any other unsecured creditors) after funeral costs and solicitors' fees. The children get the rest.

 If by "financial interest in the property" you mean you have a debt secured on it, then that comes above all else, and as msb said, it shouldn't be legally possible to sell the property without repaying it.

All I wanted was assistance with the wording for the forms. 

Have you asked the district registry who asked for it in the first place? If I insisted on representing myself that would be the first place I'd try, not something downloaded from the Internet.

But as discussed above I can't see why you can't use a solicitor - the way is apparently clear for you to take over the administration and they can bill the estate.

andreak

Unfortunately this is not quite the case. There was no spouse so children are next in line. If the children are under 18 then it is the person with parental responsibility who has the right...I.e. me. 
You have to declare on the application for Letters of Administration that there are no other people who would be considered next of kin. Given this is my children's grandparent and uncle, and being fully aware of mine and their existence, you would have thought at least some notification of the death would have been appropriate. 
Unfortunately every solicitor I have contacted wants the money upfront.