Could my mum's reckless action (failure to take any action) actually cause physical harm to anyone??

Anonymous868

RAS said:

If sis has been granted probate then dad's will etc is on www.gov.uk/search-will-probate for £1.50. If it's not yet been on-line, then you can get it by post.

And for the nth time, your sister is not an executor. She's the administrator.

And you were advised on a previous thread that probate would not be necessary to release the money in accounts under the bank's threshold.

Thankyou - Genuinely really do appreciate your help + knowledge!


So just to confirm (I have Googled it myself, but want to ensure I'm 100% correct in my understanding), it is physically impossible for someone to become ''an executor'' unless they were named as such in the original will?

Therefore the document my sister signed was simply her appointing herself as ''an administrator''?

#

I have checked on that database and it shows probate was granted in June.

#

But so in terms of practical steps I myself can now take myself, to actually obtain the money I am owed:
Do I basically just send a template letter to all the banks & firms where my dad held accounts | Informing that that he died on xyz date | Enclose a copy of the death certificate, the will, and the probate-grant document (as most his accounts are above the 25k threshold) | And request that any money held in his accounts with them be paid to directly myself?

_______________


Just to update my own message:

I have purchased & downloaded a copy of the probate grant.

It states that probate was granted ''to the named administrator'' (my sister).
Then below that states the gross value of the estate is £309k / net value is £307k.


But so in terms of me now getting paid that money (or rather my 1/3 share of it), what steps can I myself take please?

- As given that the probate-grant as been granted to my sister as the named administrator, I cannot enclose that document in any letters to the banks where my father's money was held, whilst still asking them to bypass her and send the money directly to me?

- Moreover, if I did manage to obtain money from any institution, even if the amount was below the 102k level (which I am entitled to), would I be committing theft if I did not split the money from each institution 3-ways, in accordance with the will?

RhondaD

Anonymous868 said:

Hello, in regards to the above 3 posts:

1. Mum lives in her own seperate house.
   (The damaged house was one she & my father had rented-out to tenants for the past 30+ years)
   
   
   
2. Sister is now the official executor.
   Mum signed the form relinqishing herself from the role 9-months ago / Sister signed a form appointing herself as the new executor.
   
   
   
3. I was informed that sister had been granted probate back in September/October :: But there has no 'updates nor activity' since then. (All requests for such have been ignored)
   
   
   I was not aware that any bank and/or savings & investment fund would pay-out money from a deceased person's estate, directly to the beneficiaries named in the will, simply on receipt of a copy of the death certificate & will?
   
   My understanding was that they will only communicate directly with the named executor, and only pay-out money directly to the executor?
   *As ultimately I personally am only 1 of the 4 beneficiaries named in the will (alongside 2 sisters + mother), and therefore as the division of assets in-accordance with the will is the job of the executor... Would a bank be prepared to pay the entire sum of an account directly to just 1 beneficiary, bypassing the executor entirely?
   
   

So what does the other sister make of all this? Presumably she's also waiting on an inheritance?

Anonymous868

RhondaD said:

Anonymous868 said:

Hello, in regards to the above 3 posts:

1. Mum lives in her own seperate house.
   (The damaged house was one she & my father had rented-out to tenants for the past 30+ years)
   
   
   
2. Sister is now the official executor.
   Mum signed the form relinqishing herself from the role 9-months ago / Sister signed a form appointing herself as the new executor.
   
   
   
3. I was informed that sister had been granted probate back in September/October :: But there has no 'updates nor activity' since then. (All requests for such have been ignored)
   
   
   I was not aware that any bank and/or savings & investment fund would pay-out money from a deceased person's estate, directly to the beneficiaries named in the will, simply on receipt of a copy of the death certificate & will?
   
   My understanding was that they will only communicate directly with the named executor, and only pay-out money directly to the executor?
   *As ultimately I personally am only 1 of the 4 beneficiaries named in the will (alongside 2 sisters + mother), and therefore as the division of assets in-accordance with the will is the job of the executor... Would a bank be prepared to pay the entire sum of an account directly to just 1 beneficiary, bypassing the executor entirely?
   
   

So what does the other sister make of all this? Presumably she's also waiting on an inheritance?

She is unhappy about the situation also | But tries to avoid getting herself involved in any conflict.

thegreenone

OP, you say that Dad's estate is worth £307K.  So that must mean that the houses were already in Mum's name and not part of Dad's Estate? 

You couldn't buy a semi-detached shed in Windsor for £307k.

RAS

thegreenone said:

OP, you say that Dad's estate is worth £307K.  So that must mean that the houses were already in Mum's name and not part of Dad's Estate? 

You couldn't buy a semi-detached shed in Windsor for £307k.

According to the previous threads, the houses are joint tenancies, so mum is now the sole tenant. And some of the bank accounts were joint, so mum is now the sole beneficiary of those.

RAS

Anonymous868 said:

RAS said:

If sis has been granted probate then dad's will etc is on www.gov.uk/search-will-probate for £1.50. If it's not yet been on-line, then you can get it by post.

And for the nth time, your sister is not an executor. She's the administrator.

And you were advised on a previous thread that probate would not be necessary to release the money in accounts under the bank's threshold.

But so in terms of practical steps I myself can now take myself, to actually obtain the money I am owed:
Do I basically just send a template letter to all the banks & firms where my dad held accounts | Informing that that he died on xyz date.

That might have been an option last year or before, on accounts that were below the maximum allowed, which varies between banks; anything up to £50k. If there was £307k in 16-20 accounts, some would be below the limits.

But since sis applied for probate, you can't do it. It would have caused a stuchie but that seems to be normal. Effectively, you'd be making an "early distribution".  And it would have required you to then administer the estate as you'd intermeddled.

But that water under the bridge.

RAS

Getting back to the recent problem, you might want to consider the situation regarding your mother, and dad's will?

You believe your mother has a 6 figure bank account? Because it looks like she needs it.

Your parents appear to be asset rich and it's not clear how cash rich they are. Do you actually know how much was in the joint accounts, roughly? Not suggesting that you share it here but it may be affecting mum's actions.

Presumably the bulk of their income came from dad's pension? Does mum have her own? If not, the family income is likely to have halved when dad died, assuming his scheme included a 50 percent widow's pension (some don't). So mum may find her standard of living has dropped since.

The other income stream was the rental but the legal rules are now increasingly complex and the tax situation far less favourable than when they started 30 years ago. A good many LLs are getting out. Did mum actually have the ready cash to do the repairs required? Is she good at the book-keeping and tax returns? 

One other thought is that your mum may be depressed, or have the early signs of dementia. If possible, encourage her to see her GP and if she'll allow it one of you accompany her. There are several difference types of dementia; some people forget information, others appear altogether but their executive function is wrecked. They know what they "should" do but can't do it. The later is harder for medics to spot.

Marvel1

Leave her to it and stay out of it.

sheramber

How can you apply to court to remove an executor of a will?

These types of applications are difficult, and a court will not remove an executor lightly because they will have respect for the testator’s wishes in appointing them to act.

In general, the court will only remove an executor if there is evidence of the following:

1. The executor has been disqualified since the deceased appointed him, ie has been convicted of a crime and sent to prison.
2. The executor is incapable of performing his duties, eg has a mental or physical disability, whether permanent or temporary, which is preventing the executor from performing his/her duties.
3. The executor is unsuitable for the position.

‘Unsuitability’ is more of a complex issue and generally occurs when there is serious misconduct or a conflict of interest, for example:

• stealing from the estate
• failing to keep accurate accounting records
• failing to comply with a court order
• wasting or mismanaging the estate

Is your sister providing accounting records?

Moneycat

Hello there
Like others have suggested I think your mother is suffering from depression (possibly part of her grieving process).  Rather than tell her she needs to do x y and z, have you actually asked her directly if she would like you to take over to get x y and z done?  
The reason I'm asking in that last year, when my friend was diagnosed with terminal illness, I offered to help to her in anyway I could, but as I didnt live close to her, realistically it would be with admin type stuff like wills etc. Not wanting to step on her toes, weeks went by and I asked her if she had made any progress with her will which was no 1 priority given that she had a major brain surgery scheduled and as she couldnt really give me a conclusive answer I took to mean that in reality, she had not done anything about it. So I asked her: Would you like me to take over?  And in an instant, almost sight of relief she replied: yes please. So off I went and got it all sorted for her but sometimes the barrier for actually asking for help is too high.

With regards to sorting out your late father's estate, would it be feasible to have a family meeting on the topic and get a status update and then agree an action plan what needs still to be done and who will do it.  That way everyone would informed and know what's going on but, of course, due to family dynamics this might not be the easiest thing to do. 

I wish you luck.  If you mother does not want you to help, then I think you just have to walk away and take a view that it is not your problem, painful as it is to wait for the disaster to happen.