Solicitor oversight - Didn't pay out gifts to charities in mother's will, now being chased

Bixer

silvercar said:

Hopefully they will be happy with a payment plan. If they refused a payment plan they would have to go to court, which could risk costing them more if you actually didn't have any money. Remember they don't know your situation, for all they know you could have taken a world cruise/ gambled it away and not have any money to give them. Taking you to court would be futile.

Yes maybe naively, but I'm hoping that as it's an NHS foundation trust they won't be quite so aggressive and will hopefully understand that we've not been trying to hide money from them, it was an honest mistake from us but primarily caused by an oversight from our solicitor. 

But I suppose time will tell! 

silvercar

Bixer said:

silvercar said:

Hopefully they will be happy with a payment plan. If they refused a payment plan they would have to go to court, which could risk costing them more if you actually didn't have any money. Remember they don't know your situation, for all they know you could have taken a world cruise/ gambled it away and not have any money to give them. Taking you to court would be futile.

Yes maybe naively, but I'm hoping that as it's an NHS foundation trust they won't be quite so aggressive and will hopefully understand that we've not been trying to hide money from them, it was an honest mistake from us but primarily caused by an oversight from our solicitor. 

But I suppose time will tell! 

Is an NHS trust a charity?

haze23

Would hope in this instance the solicitor would offer some form of (free!) support/advice. For example, obviously OP has concerns over costs/charges over and above the bequest. Does a beneficiary really have a right to impose penalties for late payment, for want of a better phrase? Seems unlikely, and depending on complexity at what point does an unreasonable timescale commence (realise that's not quite the case here)? Other than if the charity pursued through the courts, is the amount as per the will, or can they demand recompense if they've incurred legal costs chasing? Surely the solicitor could at least easily give some clarification here?

The other aspect is whether the solicitor could help mollify the charity. From the charity's pov they're due a bequest. It may be that they have attempted contact at a previous address and believe it's been ignored, so you could then see why they may add pressure or be less accommodating. Maybe a solicitor's letter offering some mitigating circumstances would help.

RAS

Given that the OP might be seeking recompense from the solicitors it may not be useful to talk to them. He needs one not connected to the case. Should he and sis pay interest, or should the acting solicitors pay anything or and above the basic bequest?

On the other hand the OP and sis have known since the first case that the charitable bequests weren't paid out. So they've had time to plan for this eventuality.

Hermann

Bixer said:

silvercar said:

Hopefully they will be happy with a payment plan. If they refused a payment plan they would have to go to court, which could risk costing them more if you actually didn't have any money. Remember they don't know your situation, for all they know you could have taken a world cruise/ gambled it away and not have any money to give them. Taking you to court would be futile.

Yes maybe naively, but I'm hoping that as it's an NHS foundation trust they won't be quite so aggressive and will hopefully understand that we've not been trying to hide money from them, it was an honest mistake from us but primarily caused by an oversight from our solicitor. 

But I suppose time will tell! 

If it's an NHS Trust I'm afraid I'd be anticipating them to be utterly brutal.

Best have a clear idea of how you intend to pay asap & don't expect too much leeway from them, they have the funds, position, and legal obligation to pursue to the letter of the law.

saajan_12

Hoenir said:

Bixer said:

I'm not saying 'it's not fair, no one told me so you can't have it'. I'm saying if said charity demand the full figure right here, right now then I simply don't currently have it to give, hence me asking for advice about how best to approach the situation. 

Offer a payment plan perhaps. Would at least avoid paying interest. 

Why would a payment plan avoid interest? It might reduce the interest as parts of the amount are being paid sooner, but the parts that are later are (fairly) liable for interest. 

Bixer

An update on the above.

As I initially feared might happen, my sister seems to be keen to play the ignorance card and when I reached out to discuss the email/letter from our solicitor, they said they were confused as they thought this had been taken care of years ago. True, something we did both assume previously, but considering we already paid another charity in the summer just gone and discussed this/what we should do next etc, that's simply not the case this time.

I've tried to reiterate that regardless of our ability to pay, it's money they're owed and these charities/companies will often take it to court if need be so our best hope is to reach out and hope they'll agree to a payment plan, but I do honestly think she's just going to attempt to play dumb as long as possible and end up probably owing more due to legal fees etc. 

In that regard, if I were to simply apologise for the error and pay my half is there any likelihood I'd be left alone and they would just pursue my sister alone in court? I think I could possibly get the money as a loan from my in-laws and then just slowly pay them back to be done with it all. Or as joint executors will I be assumed equally responsible no matter what she does? I dread having to try and convince her as we're not at all close so I just don't think she's going to care what I have to say. 

user1977

The executors are jointly and severally liable, so the creditors are entitled to pursue either of you for the full amount if they like (and then you and your sister sort it out between yourselves).

boingy

Bixer said:

In that regard, if I were to simply apologise for the error and pay my half is there any likelihood I'd be left alone and they would just pursue my sister alone in court? 

Nope. They will try your sister but almost certainly end up chasing you for the other half, because you are the easier route to take. It's sad but it happens a lot and the people pursuing the debt are just doing their job. You could try being more stubborn than your sister but that risks growing the debt further.

In the meantime you should definitely be looking into what sort of claim you may have against the solicitor.

mattojgb

bobster2 said:

Bixer said:

Fast forward to now and the solicitor has contacted us again stating that that charity has reached out to them asking for our contact details, but due to GDPR rules they cannot do so unless we approve. 

This is a bit odd  - as if your are the executors then your names and addresses will be on the grant of probate. This is a public document - so the charities can just fund you that way.

I thought this was odd too. Presumably the charity have got the solicitors name from the probate record. Have you checked the probate registry to see who is listed as executor? Did you renounce your role as executor when appointing the solicitor?