Over a year since selling

[cptnbrvd]

Bit of a long one, sorry
It's been over 10 years since my uncle died. There were 5 beneficiaries, with one of the shares being divided to 6 others. The two executors are brother and sister, leaving myself and one other. The belongings were sorted fairly quickly, however despite getting in touch multiple times the estate was not on the market for the majority of the decade - there had to be two requests for planning permission as it ran out during the time when the estate was not even advertised or for sale.
After finally going back on the market in May 2017, it sold in July. However, there has been little contact and nothing seen of the money. Added to this, the main executor has been claiming money for looking after the house amounting to around £40,000, despite the fact that it was always going to be demolished and sold for land.
The most recent news we have had was in January, when we were told that there was 'little news' blamed on the Inland Revenue, trying to figure out how much tax was owed. She claims that they are basing tax off an estimate from 1982 - I do not know why, as the property has been in the family far longer than this and was not initially bought then, nor did the deceased die then. Again, this was in January - there has been no follow up from this.
I have been to a solicitor several times to find out what to do, but they were of little help.

I would like to know, can the executor claim a sizeable amount for looking after a property that was sold as land, despite not having it on the market for around 8 of the 10 years despite our requests?
Further, is it possible that there is a genuine reason it has taken 10 months from being sold to still hearing nothing due to 'calculating taxes' - would we benefit from taking her to court, or just waiting? When the main executor was previously informed that we had been to see a solicitor, she got very upset and decreased the contact further.
Thank you very much

[Peridot]

Hi Cptnbrvd,

Frustrating for all concerned! Firstly, HMRC are renowned for being slow dealing with any tax issues and providing the final tax clearance certificates. I wonder whether there has been an issue with the valuation used in the inheritance tax forms and the eventual sale value that may have created a capital gain. Maybe the Valuation Office are/have been looking into the property values and have raised queries, which in turn will prevent HMRC finalising any issues surrounding tax due etc. There are a myriad of possible issues that may have caused the delay and without the executors informing you of reasons it can create bad feeling between all parties, but that doesn't help your situation currently.

Have you written to the executors requesting clarification for the reasons for delay in the sale of the property? Was there an issue with the land that required investigation or was there any other justification for 'waiting' to sell?

Have you discussed the issues with the other beneficiaries? Do they have the same concerns?

It would also be worth asking for a breakdown of the alleged out of pocket expenses of the executor amounting to £40,000. This does seem excessive although there may be a valid reason which we don't know at this stage. Executors are entitled to be reimbursed for their reasonable out of pocket expenses whilst dealing with the estate. The sorts of expenses you would expect would be for example, postage, mileage and repayment of justified expenses of the estate, prior to funds being available (once the Grant of Probate is issued) such as the cost of changing the locks at a property. If an overnight stay was necessary to deal with some aspect of the administration, then the cost of a room and the travel could be claimed. However, a night at the Ritz wouldn't be an appropriate out of pocket expense to be claimed from the estate! £40,000 does seem somewhat excessive you definitely need this broken down and supported with receipts, where appropriate.

Maybe all the disbursements of the estate have been lumped together and described as the executor's expenses? They may have included inheritance tax, surveyors fees, funeral expenses and clearance fees for example? The executor can not claim for their time in dealing with the estate. Have you received any estate accounts indicating any debts that were due or expenses incurred?

The other reason the figure may be as high as it is would be if the Will allowed for remuneration of the executor. This would be an explicit clause within the Will however and even then it would be appropriate to provide a breakdown of how the remuneration figure has been reached.

If the executor is unable to explain or support his claim then you may have a potential claim against them. Executors are not allowed to profit from their appointment. Once you have some further information from the executors (or if not) it may be worth writing either yourself or via a lawyer an official letter formally requesting the necessary information and confirming that if it is not forthcoming then you will be taking legal action. Although legal action may not be the best course in the long run depending on the full facts, it can be a good tool to obtain information you need to make that decision in due course. It would of course be more powerful if the rest of the residuary beneficiaries were in agreement to this action.

Would they be willing to club together to obtain advice as a group, which would reduce the cost of obtaining legal advice if needs be.

Hopefully there are some pointers her of questions to ask of the executor. Here if need anything further.