Dealing with difficult co-administrator of estate

leafyll

I am co-administrator of an estate along with one other person, neither of us are beneficiaries. Despite my attempts to communicate with the other co-administrator, they don’t seem to understand their legal responsibilities or believe that I am entitled to any information regarding the deceased’s financial affairs. I am also the parent of 2 beneficiaries of the estate.

The co-administrator has been holding the estate assets (money only - no property, etc) in their bank account for nearly 2 years now (deceased’s bank informed be that all funds were transferred to co-administrator just days after death).

My next step and last resort is to take legal action but I was wondering if anyone had experience dealing with someone like this during estate administration and I would appreciate any advice.

Keep_pedalling

Send them a letter before action, inform them that unless they distribute the estate within 14 days you will be taking legal action against then. If nothing happens then see a solicitor, hopefully it will only take a letter from the solicitor to get their backside in gear.

Brie

I'm wondering what the back story is to this.  You and the other admin not on speaking terms due to some long standing family issue?  Other admin think their children more deserving of the money than yours?  Other admin unemployed and broke at the time of the death so took the money to "tide themselves over until they got a job and could pay it back" or similar?

Understanding that might help with how you approach them.  

Flugelhorn

agree with @Brie there is probably some backstory - when it comes to being admin (not exec) there is an element of people volunteering or being asked to do it in a specific pecking order. So 2 sibs or similar. 

BikingBud

Ex partner, with children of the deceased other admin being excluded, was parent or was current partner?

Although confusing, if the blocker is not a beneficiary or related to one, what do they expect to achieve?

leafyll

Sorry for the confusion. Both of us are are the surviving parents of the deceased’s children; all minors.

leafyll

I was ex-partner. Co-administrator was current partner. Deceased was never married

Brie

So perhaps the other thinks they have done things that need doing, have put funds now into an appropriate account awaiting children to come of age?

leafyll

No, the funds have not been put into an account for the children. And I have no way to calculate the funds due to the children as the co-administrator is refusing to share any information. Concern is that they have stolen the money.

Flugelhorn

leafyll said:

No, the funds have not been put into an account for the children. And I have no way to calculate the funds due to the children as the co-administrator is refusing to share any information. Concern is that they have stolen the money.

any approximate idea of the value of the estate - what was put on the admin application form when you completed it?

leafyll

Estate was valued at nil on application. Since letters of administration were granted I found out that this was false. Co-administrator had already emptied bank accounts. Value less than £50,000.