Advice on probate (probably intestate)

bell

Just looking for some pointers regarding probate/intestacy.

My auntie died recently and it appears she did not leave a will (or one has yet to surface). She had no living partners, parents or children, so under intestacy rules her estate (which may be reasonably substantial) passes to my mother and her brother.

My uncle presumably has applied for a grant of letters to administer the estate and is currently dealing with affairs, however he hasn't been forthcoming with much information, and as often happens this is leading to mistrust that the estate is being administered correctly. 

If he has now been appointed as the administrator I assume he can the apply for probate and it's his responsibility (whether he does it himself or via a solicitor). Are there legal checks and balances to ensure he divides the estate up correctly?

As a potential recipient of the estate what legal steps should my mother take in order to ensure she receives her fair share of the estate?

Also can she appoint to me act on her behalf during probate, she is getting on a bit more and probably doesn't have the head for legal stuff?

I have a little understanding of the process but not enough to be confident in how it works in practice as I've never gone through this before (and don't know anyone who has)

Thanks

Flugelhorn

either your mother or uncle could have applied for admin and it sounds like uncle went ahead with this - he must properly handle the estate but you will only be able to see the accounts when he produces the estate accounts - any residuary beneficiary (like your mum) should be supplied with a copy of this 

elsien

What actions would there be for you to act on her behalf? If the uncle has letters of administration, he will be doing all the necessary work. Your mum doesn’t have a role.

by the way, there won’t be probate because probate is where there is a will. 

RAS

Your mother could have applied to be administrator alone, or done it jointly with her brother. 

Have you downloaded a copy of the grant of probate? Costs £3 from the gov.uk website and tells you the value of the estate, so mum know what she is to get. However, if there is property to sell, it could take another 6-18 months for that to be sorted. Ditto if there are shares.

Keep_pedalling

It would have been better for them to apply for letters of administration jointly to a) avoid mistrust and b) to provide cover should a sole administrator become incapacitated during the process. 

First thing I would do is to check to see if letters of administration have been granted and if they are to spend £1.50 to get a copy of the grant which will tell you the value of the estate.

https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

p00hsticks

elsien said:

by the way, there won’t be probate because probate is where there is a will. 

You are correct - when there isn't a will the term is 'letters of adminstration' rather than 'probate' - but as I understand it the grant application process is more or less the same, it's just that an administrator follows the intestacy rules while the executor applying for probate follows the will. 

Note that if there is no property or shares involved, then there is no requirement to apply for either, unless the amount of savings etc exceeds the amount determined by the financial institution involved - if the amounts are low the banks may simply ask for proof of id and a signed declaration from the person claiming the money that they are entitled to it. 

bell

There is no property as far as I know, it was sold and rented back (or rented to her on a peppercorn rent). It's unclear which.

As I understand it, although I am only speculating, her bank account may exceed that which financial institutions would release funds (£20k as I understand it).

There is nothing on the probate search (although she only died in mid-December).

RAS

Different banks have different limits, some will release up to £50k, others a lot less. 

elsien

I have to ask, what is the cause of the friction between the siblings? If they have always got on well until now then it seems a shame for there to be suspicion and friction around the distribution of the estate. 
If the death is so recent he may just be struggling with dealing with the loss of his mother (as is your mum) and some people go more into themselves in those circumstances. 
Obviously I don't know the family dynamics but there have been no concerns or differences before, maybe the lack of information is just his way of dealing with things and doesn't mean that he's going to try to rip your mother off?
Just an alternative viewpoint. 

bell

My uncle lives outside the UK and has done for decades and rarely visits due to distance, so I guess there's not much of a relationship anyway due to that.

elsien

In that case  are you sure he has applied for letters of administration? Or is he over here at the moment?