Wills & Probate advice needed - 4 years so far
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flamemc
Posts: 14 Forumite
Hi everyone.
Bit of a lengthy one but hope someone can help.
So a few years ago my grandma (foster mum) passed away after many years of suffering with altzilhimers.
She left the family a very substatial sum split equally between me my mum and my uncle.
The back story is both my mum and uncle suffer with pretty severe mental health problems.
The story started many years previously when my grandad passed, as my grandma didnt have capacity at the time the power of attourney ended up being with the old family solicitor who had previously been fired by my grandad, at the time i was very young and nieve and didnt care about wills and money, and was only concerned about my grandma and my mum at the time.
The estate was mismanaged and the flow of information was slow to none at best.
When my grandma passed the solicitor in charge had stepped down as he had retired at this point and the executer was named as my grandparents bank that was coutts and co.
I was happy for them to deal with the estate even though they were charging a lot (around 100000 and 2.5% of the tota estatel)
My uncle at the time was not happy with this and put so much presure on me to ask them to step down, i had a meeting with the bank explained in a very good way the family complexaties and they agreed to step down as executer as long as i could find an alternative they deemed appropriate.
My uncle at the time said we as a family should do it, but due to my mums ill health and my uncles ill health i thought it best someone impartial did the job.
I picked my accountant who also was highly recommended and he took the job on, after 18months he had done nothing due to the threats my uncle was making to his firm and the hassle he caused.
At that point i ended up speaking with one of the new partners at my familys old solicitors who new the estate inside and out and he offered to take over, at the time i reluctantly agreed as i just wanted things to start moving more for my mums sake.
So back in summer of last year he then took over, and promised it would be dealt with correctly, now im here 12 months later and still nothing seems to have progressed, the flow of information if slow to none and promises keep being broken, now the estate is substantial but no one is contesting and there are no debts apart from inheritance tax to pay, i will email the solicitor for updates and i have not had a response now for over 6 weeks.
My main issue now is i dont know where to turn and dont have the first clue on how things should be progressing.
The last time i spoke to him i said i was considering getting my own representation for myself and my mum to try and get the correct advice and try and move this along quicker, when this was mentioned he said there was no need to do this as things were moving.
My other concern is my mums physical health is deteriorating further after a visit today and i would hate to think that this will be strung out so long she will never have the oppertunity to benefit from the support.
Like i said any help is really appreciated and hope this thread wasnt to long winded.
Bit of a lengthy one but hope someone can help.
So a few years ago my grandma (foster mum) passed away after many years of suffering with altzilhimers.
She left the family a very substatial sum split equally between me my mum and my uncle.
The back story is both my mum and uncle suffer with pretty severe mental health problems.
The story started many years previously when my grandad passed, as my grandma didnt have capacity at the time the power of attourney ended up being with the old family solicitor who had previously been fired by my grandad, at the time i was very young and nieve and didnt care about wills and money, and was only concerned about my grandma and my mum at the time.
The estate was mismanaged and the flow of information was slow to none at best.
When my grandma passed the solicitor in charge had stepped down as he had retired at this point and the executer was named as my grandparents bank that was coutts and co.
I was happy for them to deal with the estate even though they were charging a lot (around 100000 and 2.5% of the tota estatel)
My uncle at the time was not happy with this and put so much presure on me to ask them to step down, i had a meeting with the bank explained in a very good way the family complexaties and they agreed to step down as executer as long as i could find an alternative they deemed appropriate.
My uncle at the time said we as a family should do it, but due to my mums ill health and my uncles ill health i thought it best someone impartial did the job.
I picked my accountant who also was highly recommended and he took the job on, after 18months he had done nothing due to the threats my uncle was making to his firm and the hassle he caused.
At that point i ended up speaking with one of the new partners at my familys old solicitors who new the estate inside and out and he offered to take over, at the time i reluctantly agreed as i just wanted things to start moving more for my mums sake.
So back in summer of last year he then took over, and promised it would be dealt with correctly, now im here 12 months later and still nothing seems to have progressed, the flow of information if slow to none and promises keep being broken, now the estate is substantial but no one is contesting and there are no debts apart from inheritance tax to pay, i will email the solicitor for updates and i have not had a response now for over 6 weeks.
My main issue now is i dont know where to turn and dont have the first clue on how things should be progressing.
The last time i spoke to him i said i was considering getting my own representation for myself and my mum to try and get the correct advice and try and move this along quicker, when this was mentioned he said there was no need to do this as things were moving.
My other concern is my mums physical health is deteriorating further after a visit today and i would hate to think that this will be strung out so long she will never have the oppertunity to benefit from the support.
Like i said any help is really appreciated and hope this thread wasnt to long winded.
0
Comments
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The problem you have is it seems that this is a complex case and the local family solicitors probably do not specialise in estate administration, that is I think the most likely reason for delay.
However, not responding to correspondence is grounds for complaint. Complaining sometimes has the effect that someone more senior in the firm takes over the case, but if it is too complex even for a senior person then you may need to contact a firm that specialises in estate administration.0 -
Contact the head of the solicitors who are now dealing with the case.
Express your dissatisfaction in writing.
Ask for a detailed statement of exactly how far they have progressed with the case and give them a deadline of a further six months to obtain probate. Have they been keeping you up to date with progress. Ask for a monthly progress report going forward and chase them if you don't receive one.
Tell then that you are making a formal complaint to the law society about lack of progress. If it's a huge estate they are probably regarding it a a nice little earner!
But please, before you type the letter put it through a spell checker !0 -
Who is/are the official executor(s) now? This does not seem to be clear - have you and uncle taken on executorship or has it passed from one institution to another as per your initial post. i.e. is the solicitor acting for the estate or for you?
This would make a crucial difference to the nature of the complaint and how you proceed from here.0
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