difficult residual beneficiary

Hammy21

Hello all, this is my second time posting about a difficult beneficiary that has been a nightmare to deal with, simply because no Will was left by the deceased, and the rules of intestacy have meant that they received a smaller portion than they felt entitled to. I am the estate administrator and sent out the final estate accounts, which included every transaction, date, etc. I copied all the major receipts and invoices, which covered about 98% of the estate accounts. I also copied the opening and closing bank statements of the estate accounts, as well as the bank statements for the deceased for the month they died.  My accounts were five pages long and detailed every single expense individually.  I asked all beneficiaries to sign a release of the accounts; all six approved and were sent their share. The difficult beneficiary was given 30 days to review and sign. 

Now I have received a solicitor's letter asking for all receipts, all chequebook stubs and all bank statements relating to the account for their review.  I believe I have given more than enough information and cannot be bothered to photocopy pages upon pages of tiny receipts. I also stated in their distribution letters that anyone was welcome to inspect everything at my home should they wish to.  How do I proceed? The estate has been fully distributed except for one remaining difficult beneficiary who would not cooperate the entire time. 

tealady

Personally I would box everything up and tell  the solicitors you want a receipt for EVERY item (mind you I'm a bit bolshie). Tell solicitors YOU will not be paying for costs the incur doing this.
Hopefully when the beneficiary sees how much it will cost them they may back down.

Keep_pedalling

You have no legal obligation to send them any of this information. 

According to section 25(b) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925, estate beneficiaries can make an application to court for inventory and account in relation to the estate if the personal representatives do not supply them with the information.  However, an inventory is generally limited to a full list of all of the assets and their values due to the estate at the date of death.  An account (with information usually being set out in estate accounts) gives details of how the personal representatives have administered those assets during the administration period.  

This duty to account would not give beneficiaries a right to see the deceased's account details.  In fact, this information is likely to be held by the personal representatives (even if they have it) under a duty of confidentiality owed to the deceased which persists beyond death. 

I would write back saying that you have already met your obligation to provide an inventory of the estate under the above act (enclosed a copy) which has been seen and approved by all beneficiaries, you have now distributed all assets as per the rules of intestacy, and that you have no legal obligation to provide any additional information. 

Newly_retired

Surely they are now depriving only themselves of their legacy by these delaying tactics, as you say that all other distributions have been made.

doodling

Hi,

Newly_retired said:

Surely they are now depriving only themselves of their legacy by these delaying tactics, as you say that all other distributions have been made.

Since the other beneficiaries have been paid there is no benefit in delaying payment to this beneficiary (delaying payments until the distribution is agreed only helps if you delay the all payments until everyone has agreed).  Agreeing the accounts is not a something beneficiaries are obliged to do to receive their inheritance so any delay in payment on the OP's part is unreasonable.

In addition to the letter that others have suggested I would include a cheque.

Hammy21

What I am worried about if I send the cheque is that they will not ever sign off the accounts and we will be held personally liable in future. I want them to approve the accounts in order to protect myself in future, I spent two years receiving threats and demands from the beneficiary, all other beneficiaries have signed the release before they got their funds.

Keep_pedalling

There is nothing in law that says a beneficiary needs to sign off on the estate accounts. Just send them their cheque. 

Sea_Shell

Keep_pedalling said:

There is nothing in law that says a beneficiary needs to sign off on the estate accounts. Just send them their cheque. 

I agree.   Send them the cheque, as they might change their tune when they literally have a cheque for their share in their hands.  

It would take a lot of nerve to resist banking that cheque, and risk it being cancelled if disputed.

Call their bluff, in other words.

Good luck

Hammy21

Could i give the check to their solicitor and request that it is given to their client once the accounts are approved. This beneficiary tried to burn down the deceased house so that it could not be sold to benefit the other beneficiaries.....this is what i am dealing with here, along with abusive letters, social media abuse and slander, I could go on for days.......

Devongardener

Hammy21 said:

Could i give the check to their solicitor and request that it is given to their client once the accounts are approved. This beneficiary tried to burn down the deceased house so that it could not be sold to benefit the other beneficiaries.....this is what i am dealing with here, along with abusive letters, social media abuse and slander, I could go on for days.......

It sounds like you need some legal advice,  are the police involved for attempted arson and now harassment?  Maybe a restraining order would be appropriate.   I’m so sorry that you have to go to all this. 

doodling

Hi,

Hammy21 said:

Could i give the check to their solicitor and request that it is given to their client once the accounts are approved. This beneficiary tried to burn down the deceased house so that it could not be sold to benefit the other beneficiaries.....this is what i am dealing with here, along with abusive letters, social media abuse and slander, I could go on for days.......

There is no benefit to what you propose. Just give them the money they are due and walk away.  They are more likely to pursue legal proceedings if you are unreasonably withholding their inheritance than if they have got the money.  If they believe the cheque is insufficient then they are quite within their rights to bank it and still sue you.

The other issues are irrelevant to the money side of things (but as others have said may be actionable in other ways) - I suspect that once the beneficiary has their money, their incentive to pursue this may be reduced.