Troublesome beneficiary - help!

Mojisola

CaptainWales said:

No solicitor to date. 

Frustrating as it is to have to pay for a solicitor, an awkward beneficiary can make it worth the money.

The cost of the solicitor will come out of the estate so all beneficiaries will have their inheritance reduced - it's not a cost for you to pay personally.

Weigh up the potential cost of getting this wrong and having this beneficiary pursue you through the courts and the cost of that (which will be a personal bill for you to pay).

I would definitely start with an advice session with a solicitor to see what the legal route is out of this mess - then you can decide whether to take the next few steps yourself, keeping the solicitor as a back-up plan.

Flugelhorn

Mojisola said:

CaptainWales said:

No solicitor to date. 

Frustrating as it is to have to pay for a solicitor, an awkward beneficiary can make it worth the money.

The cost of the solicitor will come out of the estate so all beneficiaries will have their inheritance reduced - it's not a cost for you to pay personally.

Weigh up the potential cost of getting this wrong and having this beneficiary pursue you through the courts and the cost of that (which will be a personal bill for you to pay).

I would definitely start with an advice session with a solicitor to see what the legal route is out of this mess - then you can decide whether to take the next few steps yourself, keeping the solicitor as a back-up 

Sounds from first post that this beneficiary is getting a fixed sum, so presumably the cost of solictor etc will be to the estate / residual beneficiaries only and not the person in question

TW1234

Did the will give any t&c about his right to occupy.?  Was thereany tenancy agreement? If not you may have to accept the costs as part of the  estate winding up.

msb1234

If the will states he gets a fixed sum, then he has to get that amount as long as there’s enough money in the estate to pay him.
Has he actually moved out or just gone on an extended holiday? I’d move his belongings into storage for now so that you can get the house on the market once the time period given in the will has ended. It might cost you £1000 to store his belongings but by hanging on for months until you can locate him, you may well lose that if the value of the house reduces anyway.

Alderbank

I assume that CaptainWales is the executor?

Who has the house been left to?

No-one can do anything until the time the beneficiary has been allowed to reside has expired. If he is still AWOL the house owner can then change the locks and do what he likes with his inherited house. The owner is involuntary bailee of the beneficiary's effects. Legally he must treat them in a way that is 'right and reasonable'.

CaptainWales

Yes, Im executor. House left to somebody else. He's definitely not on holiday, he's just gone AWOL.