Inheritance dispute

MB66

Hi I’m hoping someone can help me with a dispute I have with 2 sisters of mine who were named as executors of my late mothers will. They employed a solicitor to apply for probate etc and when that was done they did the rest. 

Now the plot thickens. Leading up to the funeral of my mum, they informed me that only I was allowed to join them in the hearse, as I am disabled with MS I asked that my partner should accompany me for support both mentally and physically. 

I should add that we as a family don’t get along and as they are both divorced they would sit together and I would be on my own. In the end they refused totally and we fell out further, so to avoid any confrontations etc with them at the funeral I decided it was better for me to use the funeral company’s video link service. 

The funeral passed by and then I heard nothing for weeks….no notifications about probate, exact contents of the will or dates etc. 
I tgen went on the gov website and got the relevant info from that with a small fee, I then decided to write to the sisters informing them that I hadn’t received anything from them so I sorted it myself. 

After a week or so they replied saying they had sent it but it must’ve gone missing in the post ?? I then received a breakdown of costs etc for the funeral and insurances etc which were due in. I found they had ordered my mothers flowers and it was paid for in the funeral expenses ( I sent my own floral tribute via the funeral company and paid for it myself ). It then said I was responsible for the cost of the video link which was £49, which I didn’t agree with as they spent over £800 on the wake plus the cost of the hearses etc which came from the estate. Numerous other discrepancies have arisen and they’ve just told me if I don’t believe them then basically tough !
Now they are insisting they won’t send me a cheque or bankers draft for my inheritance and it must be done by bank transfer. I am unwilling to send them details of my bank as they are also say I need to leave them a voicemail also verifying the details, which again I’m not happy doing so and have queried why they refuse to send a cheque etc…..it’s for a total of around £29k. Should I use a solicitor to get my money and check their accounts and figures etc or get a court order ? As I’m disabled I’m only on benefits and can ill afford anything upfront and am unsure of costs involved. 

If any of this makes sense to anyone I would really appreciate any help you can give me. Many thanks Mark

MB66

I forgot to add, my mother passed on September 9th 2021 and as far as I’m aware the “executors year” that they can have has now passed. 

DE_612183

If it was me, I'd get the money asap - then if you think it's worthwhile get a solicitor - but to me I think my parents would want me to be the better person in this...

Marcon

MB66 said:

Hi I’m hoping someone can help me with a dispute I have with 2 sisters of mine who were named as executors of my late mothers will. They employed a solicitor to apply for probate etc and when that was done they did the rest. 

Now the plot thickens. Leading up to the funeral of my mum, they informed me that only I was allowed to join them in the hearse, as I am disabled with MS I asked that my partner should accompany me for support both mentally and physically. 

I should add that we as a family don’t get along and as they are both divorced they would sit together and I would be on my own. In the end they refused totally and we fell out further, so to avoid any confrontations etc with them at the funeral I decided it was better for me to use the funeral company’s video link service. 

The funeral passed by and then I heard nothing for weeks….no notifications about probate, exact contents of the will or dates etc. 
I tgen went on the gov website and got the relevant info from that with a small fee, I then decided to write to the sisters informing them that I hadn’t received anything from them so I sorted it myself. 

After a week or so they replied saying they had sent it but it must’ve gone missing in the post ?? I then received a breakdown of costs etc for the funeral and insurances etc which were due in. I found they had ordered my mothers flowers and it was paid for in the funeral expenses ( I sent my own floral tribute via the funeral company and paid for it myself ). It then said I was responsible for the cost of the video link which was £49, which I didn’t agree with as they spent over £800 on the wake plus the cost of the hearses etc which came from the estate. Numerous other discrepancies have arisen and they’ve just told me if I don’t believe them then basically tough !
Now they are insisting they won’t send me a cheque or bankers draft for my inheritance and it must be done by bank transfer. I am unwilling to send them details of my bank as they are also say I need to leave them a voicemail also verifying the details, which again I’m not happy doing so and have queried why they refuse to send a cheque etc…..it’s for a total of around £29k. Should I use a solicitor to get my money and check their accounts and figures etc or get a court order ? As I’m disabled I’m only on benefits and can ill afford anything upfront and am unsure of costs involved. 

If any of this makes sense to anyone I would really appreciate any help you can give me. Many thanks Mark

An application for Inventory and Account is one possibility - explained here: https://sintons.co.uk/personal-family-probate/inventory-and-account/

Are you a residual beneficiary (someone who is entitled to a share of 'whatever's left' once any specific bequests have been paid out)? If so, you are automatically entitled to see the estate accounts; otherwise you aren't. If you're not sure, get hold of a copy of the will for £1.50: https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

They are right to be concerned about sending your inheritance by a method other than bank transfer. See https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-11245671/TONY-HETHERINGTON-Cheque-41-627-stolen-change.html for an example of why a cheque isn't a good idea. As for a voicemail - presumably you'd recognise each other's voices, so a live call would seem the sensible way to proceed.

Your local Citizens Advice might be a good (and free) starting point before you incur any legal expenses.

Flugelhorn

sounds like you already have a copy of the will from the govt website and they are now planning to send you your share of the estate. To be honest just go with the flow and give them the details, do it over the phone as well - keep the call short, after this you won't have to have anything to do with them again. 
you are probably entitled to see the estate accounts if you are a residual beneficiary but if you don't, you don't  and the stress is likely to make you unwell
re the funeral costs - the executors organise this and the costs (TBH including the video link) should come from the estate 

Devongardener

The only thing you can realistically do to check the figures is to ask for copies of the invoices & receipts.  It does seem a bit mean to expect you to pay for the video link.   

Have your sisters claimed executor’s personal expenses, it might be worth checking how much.   My brother and I each claimed £1000 before distributing the estate to the beneficiaries and it had been very nearly a full time job for 3 months sorting out probate and Mum’s investments.  

As far  as the method payment is concerned,  there is no reason for them to refuse to send you a cheque as long as it’s mailed by a tracked signed for service.   There shouldn’t be an issue for you to provide them with your bank details,  though but I don’t understand why that would want you leave them on voicemail.  They can make a test payment of £1, then when you confirm receipt, they can transfer the balance.   They have a duty as executors to distribute the funds in a timely manner

I don’t think it’s worth paying for a solicitor at this stage, just try to be strong!

Pennylane

It isn’t worth the stress honestly. Ask for a copy of the Estate accounts.  Then if you are happy just  give them your BACS details and enjoy your inheritance. Then draw a line under it. 

Involve solicitors and your inheritance will just vanish.  

Savvy_Sue

They may find they can't send that amount of money in one single bank transfer and they'll have to use CHAPS, for which there will be a fee. 

If you're that worried about giving them your bank details, see if you can open a fresh account to have the money paid into. 

msb1234

MB66 said:

Hi I’m hoping someone can help me with a dispute I have with 2 sisters of mine who were named as executors of my late mothers will. They employed a solicitor to apply for probate etc and when that was done they did the rest. 

Now the plot thickens. Leading up to the funeral of my mum, they informed me that only I was allowed to join them in the hearse, as I am disabled with MS I asked that my partner should accompany me for support both mentally and physically. 

I should add that we as a family don’t get along and as they are both divorced they would sit together and I would be on my own. In the end they refused totally and we fell out further, so to avoid any confrontations etc with them at the funeral I decided it was better for me to use the funeral company’s video link service. 

The funeral passed by and then I heard nothing for weeks….no notifications about probate, exact contents of the will or dates etc. 
I tgen went on the gov website and got the relevant info from that with a small fee, I then decided to write to the sisters informing them that I hadn’t received anything from them so I sorted it myself. 

After a week or so they replied saying they had sent it but it must’ve gone missing in the post ?? I then received a breakdown of costs etc for the funeral and insurances etc which were due in. I found they had ordered my mothers flowers and it was paid for in the funeral expenses ( I sent my own floral tribute via the funeral company and paid for it myself ). It then said I was responsible for the cost of the video link which was £49, which I didn’t agree with as they spent over £800 on the wake plus the cost of the hearses etc which came from the estate. Numerous other discrepancies have arisen and they’ve just told me if I don’t believe them then basically tough !
Now they are insisting they won’t send me a cheque or bankers draft for my inheritance and it must be done by bank transfer. I am unwilling to send them details of my bank as they are also say I need to leave them a voicemail also verifying the details, which again I’m not happy doing so and have queried why they refuse to send a cheque etc…..it’s for a total of around £29k. Should I use a solicitor to get my money and check their accounts and figures etc or get a court order ? As I’m disabled I’m only on benefits and can ill afford anything upfront and am unsure of costs involved. 

If any of this makes sense to anyone I would really appreciate any help you can give me. Many thanks Mark

All the funeral expenses come from the estate, including flowers. You chose to send your own though, so you should pay for those. It was your decision not to attend the funeral for whatever reason, so again, the video link cost should be borne by you, unless other people who were not able to attend also used the link. You had the option of travelling with your sisters in an undertaker’s car or travelling with your partner in your own (or their) car. 

Regarding the receipt of any inheritance, I am the executor for my mother’s estate. I will be completing bank transfers to disperse founds to my siblings when the estate is completed. I’m not clear why you wont accept this? If you’re concerned that they will do something untoward with your bank details, just open another bank account, get the funds paid in there and transfer it into your main account then close the new one. Starling do online bank accounts and are easy to set up. 

Are you thinking that you should be receiving more that £29K? If so, how much more? Why do you think thats the case?

msb1234

There may not be a cheque book on the account where the money is - my Mum’s executor account doesn’t have a cheque book and when I opened it they said they don’t issue cheque books for this type of account now (Barclays)

p00hsticks

msb1234 said:

There may not be a cheque book on the account where the money is - my Mum’s executor account doesn’t have a cheque book and when I opened it they said they don’t issue cheque books for this type of account now (Barclays)

I'm glad I didn't go with Barclays then!

I'm getting to the stage of having to pay out to around 40 residual beneficaries, many of who I don't know very well and including several charities. I've come to the conclusion that paying by cheque is going to be easiest / safest - I don't want to have to gather the bank details of a whole load of people, set them up as new payees via online banking and then have no way of knowing whether they actually receive the money unles they have the common courtesy to let me know. A least with cheques I'll be able to see that they've been cashed and chase up any that aren't.