BAIRSTOW EVES & SPIKETTS BATTRICK

MAXSMUM39

I lost my mother in lockdown , and was left with her retirement flat to sell. Due to covid restrictions, it took us 2 years to sell the flat,but we had placed the flat with Bairstow Eves Estate Agent’s, and they could not have been more helpful, in trying to sell the flat, in what was a trying and frustrating time for many. Because of what seemed like a simple option, we chose to use Bairstow Eves Convayencing services from a company called Spicketts Battrick , a large solicitors with 3 offices based in Wales.

In January 2022 we finally sold the flat, but experienced delays due to buyers at the bottom of the chain. The flat sale was finally subject to completion on the 1st of July, by which time we’d continued to pay monthly ( and not instubstantial)  maintenance fees, and ground rent to the flat management company E & M. As completion was on the 1st July, this would constitute the day our new buyer would move into the flat, and we would receive the money from the property. My brother in law had overseen probate on the flat, and the distribution of assets were straight forward as their were only two beneficiaries. Matters came to a halt, when we were Only informed AFTER the flat sale, that Spiketts Battrick Solicitors would only release money from the Will to an “executors Account”.

An executor account is an account which allows the executor(s) to gather payments due to the deceased's estate before being distributed to the beneficiaries, such as the proceeds from the sale of a house. 

This facilitated making an appointment at the bank to open the account, and then waiting a week until the appointment came around. After that we were told that to open the account would take “up to 10 WORKING days”. So in effect , this meant that we waited another two weeks. We were then told by Spiketts Battrick that the money was in our executors account, but of course we couldn’t access it , because we had no banking details. Sadly , when we spoke with Spicketts Battrick about their request ONLY to pay monies into an executors account, they were unsympathetic in the first, and their tone bordered on rude and dismissive. In retrospect, I wouldn’t have used them in any legal capacity because the solicitor to whom we spoke sounded like she had much more important things to do , than listen to our questions. Given that we were using their services via Bairstow Eves for the conveyancing on the property being sold, they appeared only to be concerned with having minimal actual contact with the vendor of the property. If anything, we were made to feel like a nuisance. Although my brother in law had obtained probate on the property we were selling, he had given Spicketts Battrick permission to speak with myself and my husband as regards our sold property. Frankly, given that Spiketts Battrick were speaking with people who had suffered a bereavemeant, their attitude was extremely poor, unprofessional, and unhelpful. 

It is now the 20th of June. We have waited the 10 working days we were told it would take to set up the account. It’s now 20 days since our buyer moved into my mothers property. It is 15 days since we saw the bank. We have no idea when ( or indeed if) the banking account details will appear.

The facts However are these - ; 

• It has now been 6 months, 3 weeks since we accepted the offer on our property 
• It is now 20 days since “completion”of the sale of the property we sold
• An executors account appears to be a vanishing facility. At the time of writing, only a couple of uk banks including HSBC who offer the facility 
• The use of a “executors Account” by any party, following the death of a relative is not enshrined in law. It is however, a part of Spiketts Battrick T&Cs, that they will only use an executors account, and They are immovable on this point. It’s is detailed on the uk government’s website that - ; “The obligation of executors is only that a bank current account should be opened in the name of the executor (or administrator in the case of an Intestacy), but designated to show that it is on behalf of the estate of the deceased”.

• We were not told of the necessity to use an executors account until after the sale was completed and monies received. Had Spiketts Battrick have imparted this information to us, or indeed told Bairstow Eves to pass on the information, the account would have been open and waiting for monies from the property sale, and both beneficiaries would have been paid
• At the time of writing this, there is still no sign of the banking details needed to access the monies from the sale of the flat. 

If you intend to use Bairstow Eves to market your property, please be aware of the complications that may arise if you use their conveyancing solicitors Spicketts Battrick. Frankly, I wish we’d Made our own arrangements, because we wouldn’t, in all likelihood still be waiting for the money from our property, and hopefully wouldn’t have been treated as a inconvenience. Consider yourselves warned. 

TripleH

So the conveyancer holds the proceeds from the sale in their client account?

Nudge them to say why they are still holding onto money belonging to a client and what the reason is.

Send it to your direct contact and cc any senior partner details you can find online.

GDB2222

Surely, you're not regarding the solicitors as responsible for the excessive time it has taken you to open the account, or the very very long delay between agreeing the sale and completing?  When MIL died, my BIL opened an executor account in just a few days.

How did you manage without an executor's account, anyway? I can't imagine how you can administer an estate without one?

user1977

I agree, the current problem is surely the bank taking an inordinate time to open an account? And while it might not be a universal rule, I can understand why the solicitors would only want to pay over the money to an account in the name of the executors.

TBagpuss

GDB2222 said:

Surely, you're not regarding the solicitors as responsible for the excessive time it has taken you to open the account, or the very very long delay between agreeing the sale and completing?  When MIL died, my BIL opened an executor account in just a few days.

How did you manage without an executor's account, anyway? I can't imagine how you can administer an estate without one?

It's not compulsory - it's both common and sensible, as it keeps fnds from the setate seaprate from personal funds belogonging to the executor and makes record keping easier but there is nothing to stop an executor or executors using any account they awant, including a personal account. 

The issues appear to be 
- The time taken for the bank to open the account, which is amatter your brother, as the executor, would need to deal withwith the bank and
- the fact that the conveyancers did not tell you of the requirement to have an executors account until late on in the process. IF that's correct (i.e. it is not simply that it was in the Terms & Conditions and you didn't read them / notice it ) then the executor who ispresumbly the one who is their actual client, can raise that as a complaint using their complaints process.

However, the time that it took for the sale to be completed, and the fact that thre were costs associated with the property until the sale completed are not their fault , so if you do make a complaint, I suggest that oyu ensue it is focussed on the ponly part which was down to them - i.e. the lack of communication about the need for an executors account. And do chec kthe paperwork originally provided - if they genuinelydidn't have it anywhere in therier terms then it's vreasonable to compali. If they did have it but you didn't see it or it wasn't specifcally brought to your attentin, you canstill raise that but it would be more of a case of making the point that it would have been helpful for it to have be brought to your attention given they knew that it was a probate sale, however,mif that were the situation, it's hardly thair fault if you didn't read the terms . . 

GDB2222

The other thing to consider is what loss the beneficiaries have suffered? Presumably, just interest on their money. But, interest rates are so long that that does not amount to a great deal. 

Per £100k, you would be doing well to get £30 interest a week, and I really don’t think you can hold the solicitors responsible for the full 3 weeks it has actually taken. So, I would not hold out much hope for a huge chunk of compensation.

tooldle

Usually monies in a solicitors client account will accumulate interest. Do check, as if so there is no loss. 

I would stay away from commenting on the perceived intent of others and any implied lack of sympathy. It has been two years, and how words are received does not necessarily match the intent.
Was It not possible to convert mum’s account into an ‘executors’ account when probate was granted? 

Edited to add, the conveyancer has sent the money to the account. Their job is complete. 

canaldumidi

Your brother in law really should have read up up on the responsibilities, legal financial and practical, of an Executor. Two years ago.

The fact that he did not cannot be blamed on the solicitor. As for the time taken to open an Executor Account, well different banks will have different processes and timescales, but all will need to be satisfied that the account is genuine, as is the account holder. Yes, some will use online ID checks (where possible) but I'd guess most will want to review paper documents like the death certificate and will, and that is likely to be a manual not electronic process.

Had your BIL done this two years ago, the only delays would have been those caused by the lockdown and the normal conveyancing process- again hardly the solicitor's fault....

As for using BE's recommended solicitors, well the advice on this forum generally is never to do this as EA recomendations tend to be based on the commission they receive rather than any objective advantage.

badger09

@MAXSMUM39

Who were the executors of your late mum’s estate?

You say your ‘brother in law had overseen probate on the flat’ 
Probate relates to the whole of the deceased’s estate, not just their residential property. Was he an executor? Joint or sole? 

You say brother in law gave conveyancing solicitors permission to speak to you & your husband about the sold property, from which I infer that neither of you were executors. 

You then say conveyancing solicitors have told you that ‘the money was in our executors account’, implying you or your husband is an executor. However you cannot access that account as you don’t have the banking details. 

Who opened the executors account? Brother in law? You? 

Someone must have provided conveyancing solicitors with the banking details. So someone must know them.