Solicitor holding on to money

bombom66

bobster2 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

TBG01 said:

What does your retainer, and or terms and conditions say when it comes to paying interest? I'm assuming you read them before agreeing to the terms etc, yes?

Until the OP clarifies whether the solicitor is acting as an executor - or just doing conveyancing on behalf of an executor who could be a family member - we won't know whether they agreed teams.

If the solicitor is acting as an executor appointed by the deceased - as beneficiaries they won't have seen / agreed terms. The deceased made the decision to appoint the solictor (in their will).

Everything was sorted regarding the deceased who died in April the solicitor was acting for the deceased daughter in the house sale only 

If the solicitor is not the executor - and was just managing the sale - then they should have been able to pass on all the proceeds of the sale (minus their fees) to the executor within about 24 hours. The only exception might be if the executor asked them to distribute some of the proceeds directly to beneficiaries of the will.

But who is the executor - you still haven't clarified? Is it the daughter?

The solicitor was the executor but probate was sorted and paid for in September the daughter sold the house using the same solicitor 

Flugelhorn

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

TBG01 said:

What does your retainer, and or terms and conditions say when it comes to paying interest? I'm assuming you read them before agreeing to the terms etc, yes?

Until the OP clarifies whether the solicitor is acting as an executor - or just doing conveyancing on behalf of an executor who could be a family member - we won't know whether they agreed teams.

If the solicitor is acting as an executor appointed by the deceased - as beneficiaries they won't have seen / agreed terms. The deceased made the decision to appoint the solictor (in their will).

Everything was sorted regarding the deceased who died in April the solicitor was acting for the deceased daughter in the house sale only 

If the solicitor is not the executor - and was just managing the sale - then they should have been able to pass on all the proceeds of the sale (minus their fees) to the executor within about 24 hours. The only exception might be if the executor asked them to distribute some of the proceeds directly to beneficiaries of the will.

But who is the executor - you still haven't clarified? Is it the daughter?

The solicitor was the executor but probate was sorted and paid for in September the daughter sold the house using the same solicitor 

there's the problem - if the solicitor is the executor, even if probate was "obtained and paid for", they will still be responsible for the estate and its distribution - they won't hand out a penny until they are absolutely sure that everything is accounted for and going to the right person. Presume they put gazette notices earlier - they may still wait for any response to those. 

bombom66

To simplify my wife ( the daughter) her mother died In April 2023 the solicitor had the will which was all sorted in about august/september ie probate got and paid for then separately we asked the same solicitor to act in regards to the sale to a private buyer . in the will the house was left to the daughter and son 50/50 but written in the will was if one died before the other the one living gets all the house proceeds the son died 4 years ago hence them wanting to see the death certificate of  my wife’s brother they have now realised half the money until they see the death certificate  then they say they will release the other half but the original post was they had the money from the sale on 27th of November and came up with excuse after excuse why they wouldn’t release it ie hey had been busy then leading up to Christmas I said to them tell me exactly why you can’t release the money now I believe in my opinion they was trying to drag it into the new year probably getting interest as soon as I asked for the exact reason they couldn’t release the money within hours they had changed there mind and released half the money then mentioned they wanted the death certificate which they hadn’t mentioned previously 

TBG01

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

TBG01 said:

What does your retainer, and or terms and conditions say when it comes to paying interest? I'm assuming you read them before agreeing to the terms etc, yes?

Until the OP clarifies whether the solicitor is acting as an executor - or just doing conveyancing on behalf of an executor who could be a family member - we won't know whether they agreed teams.

If the solicitor is acting as an executor appointed by the deceased - as beneficiaries they won't have seen / agreed terms. The deceased made the decision to appoint the solictor (in their will).

Everything was sorted regarding the deceased who died in April the solicitor was acting for the deceased daughter in the house sale only 

If the solicitor is not the executor - and was just managing the sale - then they should have been able to pass on all the proceeds of the sale (minus their fees) to the executor within about 24 hours. The only exception might be if the executor asked them to distribute some of the proceeds directly to beneficiaries of the will.

But who is the executor - you still haven't clarified? Is it the daughter?

The solicitor was the executor but probate was sorted and paid for in September the daughter sold the house using the same solicitor 

The daughter didn't sell the house though. She didn't have the capacity to do so.

Just out of curiosity, how much interest are you expecting? Because I bet it's a lot less.

bobster2

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

TBG01 said:

What does your retainer, and or terms and conditions say when it comes to paying interest? I'm assuming you read them before agreeing to the terms etc, yes?

Until the OP clarifies whether the solicitor is acting as an executor - or just doing conveyancing on behalf of an executor who could be a family member - we won't know whether they agreed teams.

If the solicitor is acting as an executor appointed by the deceased - as beneficiaries they won't have seen / agreed terms. The deceased made the decision to appoint the solictor (in their will).

Everything was sorted regarding the deceased who died in April the solicitor was acting for the deceased daughter in the house sale only 

If the solicitor is not the executor - and was just managing the sale - then they should have been able to pass on all the proceeds of the sale (minus their fees) to the executor within about 24 hours. The only exception might be if the executor asked them to distribute some of the proceeds directly to beneficiaries of the will.

But who is the executor - you still haven't clarified? Is it the daughter?

The solicitor was the executor but probate was sorted and paid for in September the daughter sold the house using the same solicitor 

Ah - now it's more clear.

This is a probate sale - but one of the potential beneficiaries predeceased the testator.

And the solicitor is acting as executor. In which case this all start to seem much more normal.

"Probate was sorted" does not mean administration of the estate was complete. By obtaining probate this simply gave the executor (the solicitor) the ability to sell the property.

It is quite normal for an executor to take some time after a probate sale before distributing proceeds to beneficiaries.

Hoenir

bobster2 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

TBG01 said:

What does your retainer, and or terms and conditions say when it comes to paying interest? I'm assuming you read them before agreeing to the terms etc, yes?

Until the OP clarifies whether the solicitor is acting as an executor - or just doing conveyancing on behalf of an executor who could be a family member - we won't know whether they agreed teams.

If the solicitor is acting as an executor appointed by the deceased - as beneficiaries they won't have seen / agreed terms. The deceased made the decision to appoint the solictor (in their will).

Everything was sorted regarding the deceased who died in April the solicitor was acting for the deceased daughter in the house sale only 

If the solicitor is not the executor - and was just managing the sale - then they should have been able to pass on all the proceeds of the sale (minus their fees) to the executor within about 24 hours. The only exception might be if the executor asked them to distribute some of the proceeds directly to beneficiaries of the will.

But who is the executor - you still haven't clarified? Is it the daughter?

The solicitor was the executor but probate was sorted and paid for in September the daughter sold the house using the same solicitor 

Ah - now it's more clear.

This is a probate sale - but one of the potential beneficiaries predeceased the testator.

And the solicitor is acting as executor. In which case this all start to seem much more normal.

"Probate was sorted" does not mean administration of the estate was complete. By obtaining probate this simply gave the executor (the solicitor) the ability to sell the property.

It is quite normal for an executor to take some time after a probate sale before distributing proceeds to beneficiaries.

And undertake other tasks on behalf of the estate having been appointed in a legal capacity. 

bobster2

TBG01 said:

The daughter didn't sell the house though. She didn't have the capacity to do so.

Unless shortly after obtaining probate the executor (solicitor) completed a TR1 and transferred ownership to the daughter before she marketed it (knowing she was the only beneficiary. But in this case - surely they would have asked for brother's death certificate back then - not now.

bombom66

TBG01 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

TBG01 said:

What does your retainer, and or terms and conditions say when it comes to paying interest? I'm assuming you read them before agreeing to the terms etc, yes?

Until the OP clarifies whether the solicitor is acting as an executor - or just doing conveyancing on behalf of an executor who could be a family member - we won't know whether they agreed teams.

If the solicitor is acting as an executor appointed by the deceased - as beneficiaries they won't have seen / agreed terms. The deceased made the decision to appoint the solictor (in their will).

Everything was sorted regarding the deceased who died in April the solicitor was acting for the deceased daughter in the house sale only 

If the solicitor is not the executor - and was just managing the sale - then they should have been able to pass on all the proceeds of the sale (minus their fees) to the executor within about 24 hours. The only exception might be if the executor asked them to distribute some of the proceeds directly to beneficiaries of the will.

But who is the executor - you still haven't clarified? Is it the daughter?

The solicitor was the executor but probate was sorted and paid for in September the daughter sold the house using the same solicitor 

The daughter didn't sell the house though. She didn't have the capacity to do so.

Just out of curiosity, how much interest are you expecting? Because I bet it's a lot less.

The daughter did sell the house what do you mean probate was completed and power of attorney completed it was her house to sell the solicitor told us that ?

bombom66

bobster2 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

bombom66 said:

bobster2 said:

TBG01 said:

What does your retainer, and or terms and conditions say when it comes to paying interest? I'm assuming you read them before agreeing to the terms etc, yes?

Until the OP clarifies whether the solicitor is acting as an executor - or just doing conveyancing on behalf of an executor who could be a family member - we won't know whether they agreed teams.

If the solicitor is acting as an executor appointed by the deceased - as beneficiaries they won't have seen / agreed terms. The deceased made the decision to appoint the solictor (in their will).

Everything was sorted regarding the deceased who died in April the solicitor was acting for the deceased daughter in the house sale only 

If the solicitor is not the executor - and was just managing the sale - then they should have been able to pass on all the proceeds of the sale (minus their fees) to the executor within about 24 hours. The only exception might be if the executor asked them to distribute some of the proceeds directly to beneficiaries of the will.

But who is the executor - you still haven't clarified? Is it the daughter?

The solicitor was the executor but probate was sorted and paid for in September the daughter sold the house using the same solicitor 

Ah - now it's more clear.

This is a probate sale - but one of the potential beneficiaries predeceased the testator.

And the solicitor is acting as executor. In which case this all start to seem much more normal.

"Probate was sorted" does not mean administration of the estate was complete. By obtaining probate this simply gave the executor (the solicitor) the ability to sell the property.

It is quite normal for an executor to take some time after a probate sale before distributing proceeds to beneficiaries.

The will was sorted before the house was put up for sale it was the daughter’s house to sell  she sold it privately then went back to the same solicitor and asked them to deal with the money from the sale

RAS

Did the son/brother have any descendants?

Secondly, did the "estate of mum" sell the house, via the solicitor? Or did they transfer the house to the daughter, who then sold it?

If the estate sold the house, then it will take some time for the solicitor to ensure there are no further debts and do the estate accounts. That may include sorting out taxes or rebates with HMRC.  Solicitors are notoriously slow in finalising estates.

If the house was transferred to the daughter/sister, she was at liberty to choose a different solicitor. And she needs to take advice on CGT, which is self-reporting.