Two Executors, One Name on Probate Certificate

pimento

I'm the executor along with my sibling for my father's estate. It's just a small property, no inheritance tax was due. I applied for probate online and probate was granted a couple of weeks ago.

My sibling is annoyed that their name and address doesn't appear on the certificate. Under my name and address it says "power reserved to another executor" but they want their actual name and address to appear on the certificate. My sibling says they are worried about what would happen if I were to die before the property has been sold. They are insisting that their name should also appear on the certificate.

Is there a way of doing this?

Can the certificate be changed?

Does it need to be changed?

What should I do (if anything)?

Thank you

Keep_pedalling

If they agreed to reserve powers then their name won’t appear on the grant. No you don’t have to do anything, but if anything happens to you your sibling would need apply for separate application to the Probate Registry leading to a grant of double probate. They could actually do this now but that will only cause more expense and significant delay.

pimento

Many thanks. So I could complete the relevant form online and in the meantime does it stop me putting the property on the market?
How can I find out how long it will take the Probate Office to process the application?

Keep_pedalling

pimento said:

Many thanks. So I could complete the relevant form online and in the meantime does it stop me putting the property on the market?
How can I find out how long it will take the Probate Office to process the application?

I would not market the property until this is sorted, preferable by getting your sibling to understand doing this is just a waste of time and money.

pimento

The thing is, this is but a delaying tactic by my sibling who is not ready to let go yet but there are other beneficiaries to take into consideration who want the will executed.

If I market the property and get a buyer, would the sale be dependent on both executors signatures?

Keep_pedalling

pimento said:

The thing is, this is but a delaying tactic by my sibling who is not ready to let go yet but there are other beneficiaries to take into consideration who want the will executed.

If I market the property and get a buyer, would the sale be dependent on both executors signatures?

Only if he applied for probate separately. The ball is in his court on this there is no action you need to take. Personally I would just get on with selling the property I think the likelihood is that this is all bluster and they won’t want to do the necessary work to apply.

TonyMMM

If you are both named in the will as executors, then presumably when you applied for probate you confirmed with your sibling that they were happy to have you apply in your name only and to reserve their power ?

If that were the case, then  probate has been granted to you, not to both of you, so only your signature is required.

If you didn't seek their agreement before applying on your own, then they could seek to challenge your application, but that is for them to decide and seems a silly thing to do for a small & simple estate ....

pimento

Many thanks.