Is it illegal for 1 beneficiary to inform the other that they are executor, when they are not.

DEHANIELLE

A Will has been received and it is an equal split 50/50 between 2 siblings.
However, 1 sibling received the will in the post and informed the other that they were the executor, that they have applied for probate and sent the Will to probate so they could not show the other sibling the Will.
This has all turned out to be lie - is this illegal?

Alderbank

I can't imagine the House of Commons ever passing a bill to make it illegal to tell porkies.

Has the sibling received the will in the post or is that a lie? If it is true and is from a solicitor then it is almost certain that they are named as an executor (there could be other executors named as well).

I don't understand '...sent the Will to probate so they could not show the other sibling the Will'. The Probate Office post the will online for anyone to read. Sending the will to Probate means anyone can read it.

The executor(s) must carry out the terms of the will exactly as written and published by the Probate Office. They have no discretion about carrying out their duties. If they do not they lay themselves open to legal action.

elsien

How do you know it has turned out to be a lie and which bit is the lie - that they are the executor, that they have sent it to probate, that they don’t have a copy of the will?  and who do you believe are the executors named in the will? 

Is this the same will that you had the thread about in October when it was possible the will  wasn’t valid anyway?

And the same will that you were arguing with your sibling about back in May?

Because  if so, you’re not getting to get any sensible answers with only a fraction of the backstory.

Marcon

DEHANIELLE said:

A Will has been received and it is an equal split 50/50 between 2 siblings.
However, 1 sibling received the will in the post and informed the other that they were the executor, that they have applied for probate and sent the Will to probate so they could not show the other sibling the Will.
This has all turned out to be lie - is this illegal?

Is this the same invalid will you posted about before: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6480298/wills-act-1837-section-9-help-please#latest

doodling

Hi,

It could be evidence pointing to a fraud in some circumstances.

You are however a very long way from describing anything that any form of authority (e.g. the police) would be interested in investigating.

If you believe you have been wronged then you will need to pursue it yourself through the civil courts.

DEHANIELLE

Thank you everyone,

A copy of the will has just been received and it turns out that the beneficiary who said they were the executor early this year, was never the executor of the will.  The executor was in fact somebody else and they renounced, of which has only just been found out as well?

Alderbank

What you have described is fine and perfectly legal.

If the sole executor renounces then a beneficiary, any beneficiary, can apply for ‘Letters of Administration with will annexed’. This sounds to be exactly what has happened.
Their legal title is administrator, not executor, but they have the same rights and duties as if they had been appointed executor.

doodling

Hi,

DEHANIELLE said:

Thank you everyone,

A copy of the will has just been received and it turns out that the beneficiary who said they were the executor early this year, was never the executor of the will.  The executor was in fact somebody else and they renounced, of which has only just been found out as well?

For anyone to be at all helpful in this you need to give more information and not drip feed it to us a little at a time.

Some of the points you might want to consider are:

1. Did the will only name one executor?

2. Has someone applied for Letters of Administration (in this case Letters of Administration with will attached)?  If someone has been successful in such an application then they will have pretty much the same rights as an executor.

3. How is this will related to the one in your previous thread which may well be invalid (due to it not being signed in the presence of the witnesses)?

DEHANIELLE

Alderbank said:

What you have described is fine and perfectly legal.

If the sole executor renounces then a beneficiary, any beneficiary, can apply for ‘Letters of Administration with will annexed’. This sounds to be exactly what has happened.
Their legal title is administrator, not executor, but they have the same rights and duties as if they had been appointed executor.

Thank you for your comments, its is my understanding that to be able to apply for a letter of administration with will annexed, then both beneficiaries have to agree for either party to apply or they both apply together, this has not been agreed upon.

Marcon

DEHANIELLE said:

Alderbank said:

What you have described is fine and perfectly legal.

If the sole executor renounces then a beneficiary, any beneficiary, can apply for ‘Letters of Administration with will annexed’. This sounds to be exactly what has happened.
Their legal title is administrator, not executor, but they have the same rights and duties as if they had been appointed executor.

Thank you for your comments, its is my understanding that to be able to apply for a letter of administration with will annexed, then both beneficiaries have to agree for either party to apply or they both apply together, this has not been agreed upon.

As mentioned earlier - if you drip feed information, you're going to get incomplete or plain wrong answers - added to which people aren't likely to go on bothering to answer in that situation. You need to post all relevant facts (although obviously without including any identifiers).

Dave_5150

DEHANIELLE said:

Alderbank said:

What you have described is fine and perfectly legal.

If the sole executor renounces then a beneficiary, any beneficiary, can apply for ‘Letters of Administration with will annexed’. This sounds to be exactly what has happened.
Their legal title is administrator, not executor, but they have the same rights and duties as if they had been appointed executor.

Thank you for your comments, its is my understanding that to be able to apply for a letter of administration with will annexed, then both beneficiaries have to agree for either party to apply or they both apply together, this has not been agreed upon.

Details of who can apply and an online tool to help decide who that may be can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-probate-by-post-if-there-is-not-a-will