Solicitor withholding distribution of estate after grant of probate

oglop

bunnygo said:

isn't this what the notice in the London Gazette is for? Has the solicitor done that?

i am in the same boat as OP. i was under the impression that a notice had to be posted in the Gazette - but isn't that only for 2 months? where did this 6 months come from?

i am also wondering why the distribution of the estate is taking so long.

this whole process just sucks. it's now been 13 months for me since i started this process. i just want it done. arghh

RAS

The Inheritance Act 1975 gives those who were financially dependent on the deceased the right to claim support from the estate within 6 months of probate.

This does happen; a recent case distributed some of the estate to the widow who'd inherited nothing as everything was left to the sons.

Delaying distribution as a default may be a bit lazy because it means the solicitor doesn't have to research the "family" dynamics but it does allow the partner who'd be been living with the deceased or an unknown child time to claim.

Keep_pedalling

bunnygo said:

isn't this what the notice in the London Gazette is for? Has the solicitor done that?

The notice in the LG is to protect the administrator from claims from unknown creditors, it does not effect claims against the estate from people claiming they should have been included in the will.

Bodkin64

Yes I’m aware that the notice in the LG is a separate thing, and yes it’s been done. A reminder from the OP that myself, my brother and the solicitor are all joint executors, and almost no funds from the estate will be distributed to anyone who isn’t an executor. If there’s nothing that can be done except negotiate a reasonable interim payment I guess we’ll just have to suck it up.

oglop

RAS said:

The Inheritance Act 1975 gives those who were financially dependent on the deceased the right to claim support from the estate within 6 months of probate.

This does happen; a recent case distributed some of the estate to the widow who'd inherited nothing as everything was left to the sons.

Delaying distribution as a default may be a bit lazy because it means the solicitor doesn't have to research the "family" dynamics but it does allow the partner who'd be been living with the deceased or an unknown child time to claim.

Perfect. This is the info I was looking for. Guess I'll just have to wait! Thanks 

Robert_McGeddon

It might be interesting to ask the solicitors whether the cash (assuming it is cash) is held in their general clients' account or is segregated, wht the interest rate is and who gets it and confirmation that deposits are covered by FSCS provisions.