solicitor refusing to transfer my part of house sale to sibling

schoey61

user1977 said:

schoey61 said:

Section62 said:

schoey61 said:

user1977 said:

schoey61 said:

user1977 said:

schoey61 said:

user1977 said:

schoey61 said:

thanks for your reply, was wondering if anyone knows the actual "legality" of this situation, ie. are the solicitors legally bound to transfer my proceeds into my account or, as I wish into a "third party " account, 

No, they're not legally bound to do anything in particular. It's legal for them to have the policy which they have, it would be legal for them to have a different policy.

thanks,, to be clear, you're saying that any internal policies they decide on are legal?

No, I'm saying this particular policy is legal.

do you know where I can find this? somewhere in the solicitors act ? I just want written legal proof that solicitors are bound by law to transfer all parts of funds , as in our case , three separate amounts into each corresponding beneficiaries account., . I CAN,T FIND THIS, AND I HAVE LOOKED, ALOT.. so if you know where I can find this, I,d be very grateful

Find what? Generally, things are legal unless there is something saying they're not.

They have a duty of care with client money and it's safer (and less hassle) for them to ensure it goes to account(s) in the names of the sellers rather than have potential arguments about the validity of instructions to do otherwise.

If you don't like that, you don't need to use them (and they don't need to continue to act for you).

hi, honestly I am grateful you take the time to replay, and you're point about less hassle/validity is valid. which I think is what it,s personally all  about with the solicitors refusal. but that does  not necessarily make it  legal, and call me old fashioned but somewhere there is a legal ruling on this,and that,s what I,m trying to find out, I,m just perhaps in the wrong place . my fault

Repeating part of user1977's point, in UK law the general principle is things are legal unless there is something that makes them illegal.

So if there were a law that a solicitor must pay a legacy into whatever bank account a beneficiary nominates then the solicitor would be acting unlawfully by having (and operating) a policy of only paying money to an account in a beenficary's name.  But there is no such law, hence the solicitor is free to have a policy with that effect.

if we asked the solicitors again, truly stating our case,  and they changed their minds AND they  DID transfer to my brothers account, they would ALSO NOT BE BREAKING THE LAW?

I'll say this once again: it's legal for them to have the policy which they have, it would be legal for them to have a different policy. Both of these options would be legal. That doesn't mean they need to do either.

I get it, and you've been really helpful.. and I,very much appreciate,  learnt a lot today.. my brother will be giving it a last shot in a phone call with solicitor head partner ,my brother is obviously uk based, and has had most contact with solicitors.. if this fails I would enquire about " deed of gift" .. I just don,t want any delays on payments to my siblings , and the clock is ticking, contracts to be signed mid next week, so I will have to weigh all pro,s and cons , thanks again

AskAsk

horsewithnoname said:

can you open an online account with one of your siblings uk addresses and have the money put in there? Or a joint account with a sibling?

to open a UK bank account, you have to be a UK resident.  unless it is a specialist bank, most bank accounts will require you to be a UK resident.

schoey61

AskAsk said:

horsewithnoname said:

can you open an online account with one of your siblings uk addresses and have the money put in there? Or a joint account with a sibling?

to open a UK bank account, you have to be a UK resident.  unless it is a specialist bank, most bank accounts will require you to be a UK resident.

yes, exactly, and ex pat bank accounts are also not easy ,, usually banks want at least 25,000 GBP deposited as? sign of good will ? I don,t know..and it,s also a time consuming process.. perhaps if I,d started doing due diligence on this a few months ago, it might have been possible.. as always , if only 

MEM62

AskAsk said:

horsewithnoname said:

can you open an online account with one of your siblings uk addresses and have the money put in there? Or a joint account with a sibling?

to open a UK bank account, you have to be a UK resident.  unless it is a specialist bank, most bank accounts will require you to be a UK resident.

@schoey61 Could open a UK account with one of the (very few) banks that allows Ex-Pat account holders (HSBC?) and have the money paid into there.  From that point they could do with it as they wished.     

Linton

I would have thought that the reason would be money laundering.  The solicitors and the banks they use have to be able to confirm that the person to whom  you want to transfer the money is not dodgy in some way and so they would need to carry out ML checks on them.

Also, if the money is due to you they need to be able to prove that it was paid to you.  What you want to do with it is up to you, they would not want complications to arise should someone complain that the money has not turned up..

Extra hassle and risk increases costs.

Hoenir

schoey61 said:

tetrarch said:

Fix #2

Assuming that your aim is to convert to Euro at some point. In my experience Wise.com offer very competitive rates and you can operate a GBP account with them with the ability to FX the money to yourself when exchange rates suit at some point in the future

Regards

Tet

 but their bank is using a 4% mark up plus bad exchange rates,

They will transfer you £ Sterling though. The net proceeds due to you. The only charge will that for the transfer. 

Schwarzwald

you are trying to make a YOU problem a THEIR problem.
just provide them with a GBP account in YOUR name. that's it.
they are supposed to pay the beneficiaries of the sale the money, not a 3rd party. to some extent, your brother or anybody else is a 3rd party to that extent.
if there were any issues with your brother not forwarding the money, they might have exposed themselves to the risk that you claim they didnt act properly.
why should they take that risk?

Transfer fees and forex fees ... not THEIR problem. A YOU problem.

just provide them with a GBP account in your name, open one with your local bank.

Schwarzwald

silvercar said:

schoey61 said:

tetrarch said:

Fix #2

Assuming that your aim is to convert to Euro at some point. In my experience Wise.com offer very competitive rates and you can operate a GBP account with them with the ability to FX the money to yourself when exchange rates suit at some point in the future

Regards

Tet

I asked the solicitors to use WISE which would have solved the problem IMMEDIATELY.. they have refused.. those who use WISE, know how simple and effective it is.. but one step too far for the solicitors , perhaps understandable, but their bank is using a 4% mark up plus bad exchange rates, I am not stingy, and accept losses in transfers , but daylight robbery turns me into a hedgehog,, deed of gift is perhaps possible and not too late, thanks again for your time, appreciated

The problem with WISE, from a solicitor's point of view, is that WISE have one account number and sort code, with the WISE reference being used to identify the account owner. So a transfer to WISE is harder for the solicitor to ID.

Wise is not a bank, its a money service

Schwarzwald

schoey61 said:

... t live abroad in germany...

Try to open a bank account wtih N26 in Germany, they should be able to receive GBP into such account without a problem. close the account after this transaction if you like

Section62

schoey61 said:

user1977 said:

schoey61 said:

Section62 said:

schoey61 said:

user1977 said:

schoey61 said:

user1977 said:

schoey61 said:

user1977 said:

schoey61 said:

thanks for your reply, was wondering if anyone knows the actual "legality" of this situation, ie. are the solicitors legally bound to transfer my proceeds into my account or, as I wish into a "third party " account, 

No, they're not legally bound to do anything in particular. It's legal for them to have the policy which they have, it would be legal for them to have a different policy.

thanks,, to be clear, you're saying that any internal policies they decide on are legal?

No, I'm saying this particular policy is legal.

do you know where I can find this? somewhere in the solicitors act ? I just want written legal proof that solicitors are bound by law to transfer all parts of funds , as in our case , three separate amounts into each corresponding beneficiaries account., . I CAN,T FIND THIS, AND I HAVE LOOKED, ALOT.. so if you know where I can find this, I,d be very grateful

Find what? Generally, things are legal unless there is something saying they're not.

They have a duty of care with client money and it's safer (and less hassle) for them to ensure it goes to account(s) in the names of the sellers rather than have potential arguments about the validity of instructions to do otherwise.

If you don't like that, you don't need to use them (and they don't need to continue to act for you).

hi, honestly I am grateful you take the time to replay, and you're point about less hassle/validity is valid. which I think is what it,s personally all  about with the solicitors refusal. but that does  not necessarily make it  legal, and call me old fashioned but somewhere there is a legal ruling on this,and that,s what I,m trying to find out, I,m just perhaps in the wrong place . my fault

Repeating part of user1977's point, in UK law the general principle is things are legal unless there is something that makes them illegal.

So if there were a law that a solicitor must pay a legacy into whatever bank account a beneficiary nominates then the solicitor would be acting unlawfully by having (and operating) a policy of only paying money to an account in a beenficary's name.  But there is no such law, hence the solicitor is free to have a policy with that effect.

if we asked the solicitors again, truly stating our case,  and they changed their minds AND they  DID transfer to my brothers account, they would ALSO NOT BE BREAKING THE LAW?

I'll say this once again: it's legal for them to have the policy which they have, it would be legal for them to have a different policy. Both of these options would be legal. That doesn't mean they need to do either.

I get it, and you've been really helpful.. and I,very much appreciate,  learnt a lot today.. my brother will be giving it a last shot in a phone call with solicitor head partner ,my brother is obviously uk based, and has had most contact with solicitors.. if this fails I would enquire about " deed of gift" .. I just don,t want any delays on payments to my siblings , and the clock is ticking, contracts to be signed mid next week, so I will have to weigh all pro,s and cons , thanks again

You need to be careful with clever workarounds like the money going to your brother instead and then him gifting it to you. Firstly, unless the gift is within IHT allowances there's a risk of it forming part of your brother's estate and subject to IHT, or (depending on your ages) it may be considered a case of deprivation of assets.

Secondly, if the worst happens between him getting the money and transfering it to you then it will form part of his estate, and his beneficiaries might be entitled to the money even though he'd previously agreed to pass it on to you.