Is this legal

jo.anne

Well things are not going well, the solicitor gave the brother A a deadline to produce account and value of property and this has now passed and the solicitor is now says applying to court for unreasonable delay sale of the house does not have enough evidence due to probate only being granted 4 months ago (the father passed away November 23). The solicitor as however given options 1 - Make an application for an Inventory and Stock which is a formal demand for a detailed acount of the estates assets and estimated their costs to be £3 - 4k plus VAT to prepare and file and roughly £5 - 10k if it went to a hearing, or 2 - Intimate a Claim for brother A to be removed as personal represantative with fees to prepare being £2.5 - 3k plus VAT adding that it is costly to remove an executor and if contested by brother A could potentially reach £10 - 40k plus VAT and the risk then brother B could be liable to pay the Brother A cost. They state they need £3600 before the can commence any further work.
The suggested before this to send one final "Stock Letter" by recorded delivery which will give brother A a final oppportunity before continuning . Can someone give me advice on what this "Stock Letter" is and what would it need to say.
I am also wondering can brother B not just apply for probate  also then instruct an estate agent to value and then put the house on the market? Would probate not allow this if probate already been granted? 
Really appreciate peoples advice.

Alderbank

The issue of bro B applying for letters of administration has already been discussed in this thread. He could have worked with his bro A to make a joint application for them both to be appointed as co-administrators but that ship has now sailed. The probate office has now made the grant to an eligible person who actually applied and that was done a long time ago.

The solicitor you are using is correct about costs. Unless there is a very clear reason why bro A is unsuitable, such as because he is currently in prison for fraud and embezzlement, court action is a very expensive and high risk strategy with no certainty of success and you are likely to pay his costs as well if you don't succeed. Very few solicitors will even take these cases on because they are so difficult. You absolutely need a solicitor who specialises in and has a good track record of success in contentious probate, and that will cost you.

Most solicitors are happy to fire off 'solicitor's letters' because that is easy money for little work. Some people are scared off by them but I don't think bro A sounds likely to be troubled by those, even if the letters are sent by recorded delivery.

jo.anne

@ Alderbank So can brother B not apply for probate too due to him also being a beneficiary due to no will, also out of the three brothers Brother B is the eldest.
Do you have advise on the Stock Letter.
So is this simply brother A is allowed to do nothing and sit on the house rent free and not give the two other brothers the share of the parents estate?

Alderbank

The law dictates priority if no will.
Being a beneficiary is not a factor although that is usually the case in practice.
Spouse or civil partner comes first. Next, sons or daughters of deceased. All children have equal priority - age or gender make no difference. If just one applies then that person will be appointed administrator. One is enough in law but two, three or four can apply together as co-administrators if they choose.
In your case Bro A was appointed because he was the only one who applied.

The administrator has no choice at all over how the estate is shared out. That is laid down by the state.
However the beneficiaries can all get together and agree with the administrator (they must all be unanimous) to distribute the estate in a different way if they wish. For example, if the deceased had an unmarried partner the beneficiaries might agree together to give the partner some of the estate such as the house. That is called a deed of variation.

The administrator's duty is to do the donkey work - to work out and collect what money is owed to the estate then to work out how the money must be apportioned according to law and to pay it out. He will have signed a legal undertaking that he is personally liable to all the benefactors, including HMRC, for administering the estate. If he does not follow the exact rules or even makes a genuine mistake he can be sued by any of them to make good the loss from his own pocket.

There are strict rules, including timescales and how duties are calculated, for paying taxes such as capital gains tax and inheritance tax. If they are not calculated and paid correctly HMRC will prosecute him.

There are no real timescales for paying out inheritance to the family and to be fair it can often take a long time for the administrator to be sure about the exact sums available to be paid out to beneficiaries.

jo.anne

@Allderbank. What is the options then if brother A the administrator is doing nothing. Also when the last parent died in November 23 brother A told other brothers that he had applied for probate and this is the reason the others did not apply, they put their trust that he was dealing with it all but that turned out to he untrue and he only applied for probate in March 25 (in hindsight when brother B found out he had not applied he should have done it himself).
Brother A is not dealing with the estate, he is living in the family home rent free,  dealt the monies out himself with a lack of transparency in what monies were in the accounts. It just seems unfair that there is a system in place (probate) but he then does not follow it. Who can make him follow the law?

MobileSaver

Alderbank said:

However the beneficiaries can all get together and agree with the administrator (they must all be unanimous) to distribute the estate in a different way if they wish. That is called a deed of variation.

For clarity, should anyone else be reading this and considering a deed of variation, that's not entirely accurate. Only beneficiaries who are negatively affected by the change need to agree to any deed of variation. 

I was involved in a case recently where all but one of the beneficiaries were happy to change how the estate was distributed; we ensured the one still received their full due inheritance which meant their agreement was not needed for the changes that everyone else wanted.

MobileSaver

jo.anne said:

Who can make him follow the law?

Unfortunately only a Court can make him follow the law and as your solicitor has pointed out sadly that's a potentially very expensive option. 

Yorkie1

If you get concrete evidence that he is fraudulently abusing the finances of the estate, then ultimately there is a possibility of going to the police to allege fraud, but I'm not convinced it's reached that stage yet, from what you've said.

jo.anne

Thanks for all the advice. Can someone now help with
The suggested before this to send one final "Stock Letter" by recorded delivery which will give brother A a final oppportunity before continuning . Can someone give me advice on what this "Stock Letter" is and what would it need to say.

Alderbank

A stock letter, sometimes called a template letter or a boilerplate letter, is a ready-made letter which the solicitor's secretary or a paralegal will customise with relevant information and print off on headed paper.

Solicitors like them because they are easy money.


Here's a relevant example from the internet. In your case, for example, it would be customised by changing 'executor' to 'administrator' and deleting requests about the will and codicils.

[Your Name]

[Your Address]

[Your Phone Number]

[Your Email]

[Date]

[Executor's Name]

[Executor's Address]

**Subject: Request for Information Regarding the Estate of [Deceased's Name]**

Dear [Executor's Name],

This letter is to formally request information regarding the estate of [Deceased's Name], who passed away on [Date of Death]. My name is [Your Name], and I am [Your Relationship to Deceased, e.g., a beneficiary, a close friend, etc.]. I understand you are the executor of the will and I would appreciate your assistance in obtaining some details about the estate.

Specifically, I would like to request the following information:

*   A copy of the will [and any codicils] [2].

*   A list of the assets and liabilities of the estate [2].

*   An update on the progress of the estate administration [2].

*   Information on how and when beneficiaries can expect to receive their inheritance [2, 12].

*   [Add any other specific information you need, e.g., valuations of property, details of specific accounts]

I understand that settling an estate can take time, and I am happy to be patient. I would appreciate it if you could let me know your anticipated timeline for providing this information.

Please find enclosed a copy of the death certificate for your records [1, 2]. If you require any further documentation or identification to proceed with this request, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Expect to pay upwards of £200-£300 for a solicitor to draft and send a stock letter. You could equally well prepare and send it yourself and save some money. I doubt that Bro A will bother to reply (he doesn't have to).