Inheritance conflict, What are my rights?

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Are there any Probate solicitors on here?

My dad died last May (8 months ago). The estate was left to me and my three brothers. Our relationship is stormy to say the least. Normally taking two sides. Before Dad died, his house had been on the market and has failed to sell. It has been on the market now for 2 years without an offer for 23 months!

Two brothers, one from each side of the split are the executors. One brother has basically said the other can do it all (up until now). The funds for the estate have been collected, and are ready for distribution. The remaining issue is the house.

The “other” side as I will call them have taken to using the collected pot as a piggy bank to dip into for home improvements and the like without agreement from all 4 beneficiaries. Their view is as long as there is a majority vote they can spend what they like. This has made my blood boil as I have never agreed to any of their spending.

Recently the main executor asked what we should do following the receipt of a hand written note at my parents house offering to rent for 6 months with a view to buy. Now all hell has broken loose.

The other side (inc silent executor) is adamant the house WILL be rented and they have started the ball rolling. The other executor said he favoured auction but has now started to prefer renting.

I have stated that I want to Auction the house, and the funds shared. I want out. I also said if they want to buy me out I will listen to offers.

So far the response has been "Tough, we are renting and there is nothing you can do to stop it".

All I want is my share and the right to walk away. I have no intention of entering into a business arrangement with the family on these terms.

What can I do?
 
Can't say what your rights are but I reckon any legal solution is going to cost you. That said, write everything down being as clinical as you can and take it to a solicitor for advice
 
I'm not a probate solicitor but I have worked in probate, basically if all benefactors do not agree on renting/selling then nothing should be done, it should not be rented or sold until all parties have made the decision together as for the spending on home improvements again its basically the same scenario, they cannot spend any inheritance money until it all has been sorted out by a Solicitor, the money should be divided equally and without prejudice. So at the minute nobody should be spending any inheritance money or deciding to sell/rent the property until all is happy or a Solicitor has sorted out the probate. Good luck, Solicitors can be expensive but they are worth every penny.
 
Thanks for that Jagang. It kind of confirms what I suspected.

Out of interest, Do you know if an executor has to have signed to probate documentation to take up the role?

What happens if the estate is not dealt with in a timely manor? The house could have been disposed of 8 months ago, and the shares have dropped 50%. Is there a time limit?
 
The advice is simple here.

You need to see a solicitor as soon as possible!.

Also bear in mind that once a tenant is in place it will make it even more difficult to to bring this scenario to a satisfactory end.
 
Act now. This is a photograhy forum and not the place to take advice from in these sort of matter. Take legal advice.

The only advice you should take seriously from here is to engage legal representation.
 
If I were you I'd see the solicitor dealing with the Estate. Did your Dad leave a Will or is the Estate left to you and your brothers as his next of kin.
My father died last year without making a will and our solicitor helped me apply to the Courts for Letters of Administration to the Estate. This makes me Executor to my fathers Estate.
Apart from selling my Dad's house and splitting the proceeds, we are just coming to an end with the solicitor for distribution of the rest of the estate. There have been a few complications along the way which have drawn out the process but it has taken about 18 months for us. I'd have thought your fathers shares would have been sold by now. Our solicitor got the valuations at the time of death for IHT then disposed of the shares straight away. As a beneficiary the solicitor should be keeping you informed of everything going on even though you are not a chosen executor. You will still be expected to sign paper work too not just the executors.
But please get in touch with the solicitor dealing with your fathers estate first thing Monday.
 
We have not appointed a solicitor as the will was very straight forward and the accounts relative small. x pounds to each grand child, y pounds to aunty mables, and the leftovers split between the brothers. Sadly the brothers seam to think they have the right to invest the estate on a majority basis and spend in the same way.
 
You need a solicitor if things are not being agreed.

just go and see one at least you know where you will stand.
 
I've acted as executor of wills on a couple of occasions and I'd never do it again. The petty squabbling and arguing between people I wouldn't have thought it of was a nightmare and a real insight into human nature.

Certainly see a solicitor ASAP, but it would have been better if a solicitor was in charge of the estate from the start and the brothers couldn't have taken these liberties.

Good luck. :thumbs:
 
I've made an offer to the brothers for them to buy me out. If they accept alls well and good. If not, we'll be seeking legal advice. My Brother in law is a commercial solicitor so he's helping me in these early stages. By monday I'll know what I have to do next!
 
Right, basically I just posed this one to my mother, who has been an executor of a deceased family members estate for the past year and a half now.

Her advice is to see a solicitor as soon as possiable, you can get a free hours session with most family solicitors to see what they recon.

As far as the problem with the 2 against 1 on the renting/auction front, its pretty much a majority vote however the minority can decide to take legal action with the courts if it cannot be settled between yourselves.

Also, there are laws against the whole taking out of the estate before the funds have been allocated to the rightfull persons.


Best bet is to pop and see a solicitor as soon as you can mate, see what they recon.

Drop us a pm if you need any more info mate, had a lot of this kind of legal stuff over the past 2 years.

Hope it gets sorted soon.
 
Also another thought, when you go and see a Solicitor he/she will also have to deal with any outstanding monies that is owed by your father, i.e mortgage, loans etc, these will need to be paid also utility bills that may be outstanding before any body should be spending any kind of money because if all of the money is gone these bills will still need to paid then it could potentially come out of your pocket. You need a Solicitor to sort out the estate as soon as possible.

Good luck.
 
Try your hardest to sort it out between you or your legal fees will be astronomical.
 
wack61 said:
Try your hardest to sort it out between you or your legal fees will be astronomical.
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You shouldnt be out of pocket from this, they should come from the estates, my parents have paid about £8,500 solicitor fees over the past year, but it came out of the estate, not out of there own pockets,

its always best to try and sort it out with legal advice just to be on the safe side,

theres so much s*it thats comes alongside things like this.
 
Tom_Wynne said:
You shouldnt be out of pocket from this, they should come from the estates, my parents have paid about £8,500 solicitor fees over the past year, but it came out of the estate, not out of there own pockets,

its always best to try and sort it out with legal advice just to be on the safe side,

theres so much s*it thats comes alongside things like this.
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Your first hour is free, and you could always use a legal executive rather than a Solicitor, they basically do the same job but they cannot charge the same fees as a Solicitor so it will be a lot cheaper.
 
As well as my original advice, I would also advise not to disclose any more details publicly via this forum or any other.
 
Tom_Wynne said:
You shouldnt be out of pocket from this, they should come from the estates, my parents have paid about £8,500 solicitor fees over the past year, but it came out of the estate, not out of there own pockets,

its always best to try and sort it out with legal advice just to be on the safe side,

theres so much s*it thats comes alongside things like this.
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So that's £8,500 out of your parents pocket then:thinking:, solicitors love a good argument, when I got divorced 15 years ago it cost me £200 because it was amicable, a mate got divorced and they argued over everything, constantly send solicitors letters, even arguing who got the bloody dog through a solicitor , his bill was over 5k and I guess hers was similar.

If you get drawn into a legal battle they'll be off ordering new Audi's on the fees.
 
wack61 said:
So that's £8,500 out of your parents pocket then:thinking:, solicitors love a good argument, when I got divorced 15 years ago it cost me £200 because it was amicable, a mate got divorced and they argued over everything, constantly send solicitors letters, even arguing who got the bloody dog through a solicitor , his bill was over 5k and I guess hers was similar.

If you get drawn into a legal battle they'll be off ordering new Audi's on the fees.
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No, it came out of the estate.....
Not out of there pockets.
:)
 
You're not getting my point,who gets the estate when it's all sorted out, if it's your parents the money still comes out of their pockets as the estate will be £8,500 less:shrug:
 
wack61 said:
You're not getting my point,who gets the estate when it's all sorted out, if it's your parents the money still comes out of their pockets as the estate will be £8,500 less:shrug:
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Ahh sorry, I get you.

Ultimately yer, but its the only way things could have got sorted cause of no will, family we wernt sure are acctually family, people in new zeland... e.t.c.

Sorry :shake:
 
I know nothing about wills and probate but I do know a bit about renting out property. Tenants very rarely if ever look after a house the way owners will and, especially if it is a short term (6 monthly) let you will need to be prepared to redecorate and possibly fit new kitchens when they leave. Rent on one property is very unlikely to provide any kind of income by the time expenses have been taken into account. It might look good on paper before starting but as many people who have believed all the TV programmes about easy income are finding out now it is nothing but easy.
 
Kerioak said:
I know nothing about wills and probate but I do know a bit about renting out property. Tenants very rarely if ever look after a house the way owners will and, especially if it is a short term (6 monthly) let you will need to be prepared to redecorate and possibly fit new kitchens when they leave. Rent on one property is very unlikely to provide any kind of income by the time expenses have been taken into account. It might look good on paper before starting but as many people who have believed all the TV programmes about easy income are finding out now it is nothing but easy.
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We rent a property too and I couldn't agree more. This is one of the reason i don't want to go down that route.
 
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