Executor issues nearly two years later

[Confused123]

In December 2016 my partners father passed away. In the will it stated that there were some stocks and shares to be shared equally between himself and his sister ( who is also the executor).

There were also two properties . One was to be shared 25% each to my partner and his sister and the 50% share to his business partner ( this property is still up for sale). The other property was bequeathed to their mother.

The verbal agreement between the mother and father was that all proceeds would be divided fairly between their children. In the will it says that the father hopes the mother would do the right thing (as they were still married but had been seperated for 30 years).

The stocks and shares equated to £120000 which my partner received £50000. His sister retained £10000 to cover any expenses around the two properties. We have moved to Asia since then and have just discovered that his mother has signed the house over to his sister on a verbal agreement that she would put half the cost of property into my partners account.

Now the sister has become abusive to both mother and son, says that they both haven’t got a leg to stand on legal wise and that the house is now hers. She has also said she is going to hire a professional and demand the monies back that my partner has already received and he will get nothing!

Their mother is of sound mind and is absolutely distraught this situation has occurred, and my partner just wants to achieve what he is due from the will. Also the sister has said she is suffering from ptsd from the stress of dealing with all this. Please can someone give me some guidance?

[Peridot]

Hi Confused123,

How awful for you all. It is always risky having verbal agreements between family on what should or shouldn't happen after someone dies. These sorts of agreement are generally not enforceable.

As far as your share in the stocks and the 25% of the business property are concerned your partner's sister can't change this.

It was written into the Will of your father which as far as we are aware stands. The stocks and shares and the property are specific gifts.

Has the estate been finalised other than the sale of the business property? Has your partner received any accounts setting out what assets his father had when he died (or does he know roughly what his father had)? Did his father have no other assets other than the 2 properties and the stocks/shares? If he had other assets they would be part of the residue and that part of the estate is what would normally be used by the executor to fund essential maintenance and security of the properties. Is the business property actually on the market? Has there been any interest do you know?

The more troublesome issue is the fact that the property your mother inherited would appear to have been signed over to your sister with another verbal agreement. Have you checked the HM Land Registry to see exactly how the property is held? You can obtain a copy of the information for a nominal fee here:- https://www.gov.uk/search-property-i...-land-registry

It sounds like your mother believed she had an agreement with your partner's sister which the sister has then reneged on. There would need to be some proof of this which doesn't have to be written evidence although that would help.

Would your mother be prepared to argue, in Court if needed what her intention with the property was? I would suggest that your partner's mother needs to take some urgent advice if she wishes to enforce what she believed was the agreement that his sister pay your partner half the property value if the property's legal title was transferred to her.

Once you have provided a little more information on your father's estate we may be able to give you some more pointers. I would encourage your partner's mum to seek some independent legal advice if she wishes to although this is of course her decision.

[Confused123]

Thank you for your detailed response. My mother in law has set the ball rolling with a litigation solicitor as I type as J will make her aware of the registry website.

There are emails between the siblings regarding the property. The last one in December 2017 acknowledges that the sister would have the title transferred on the property from their mother and that either half the proceeds can either be placed in the executors account until my partner returned to the uk or alternatively his personal bank details are needed to transfer his share accordingly.

As regards the will this is dated 2009 and we do not know of any other assets apart from his father mentioning he had a few pieces of artwork that were in his home for them both and his fathers car that has been either sold or his sister now has. The recent itemised letter we received from his fathers solicitor showed us that probate was granted there was a payout from Saga plus the shares and the total amount was £126000.

They also said they have no more information as his sister has requested she will deal with everything from that point. We recently enquired with his sister regarding the artwork and she said they had been given away as gifts to his friends before probate was granted.

The business property is indeed on the market but has not been sold as yet. Also since your reply his sister has now said she has found a will from 2014 which supersedes the 2009 one and gives her everything. She also states that it says she can give her brother whatever she thinks is appropriate ( which is why she says the house is hers and the share monies are being returned to her).

We have yet to see any proof of this yet and if she does has one then where do we stand legally and her as an executor contesting a previous will?

[Confused123]

Sorry if I missed anything out. Everything has not been finalised as far as we are aware. His sister has made it quite clear she is going to drag this out for as long as possible to make it as dificult for everyone to get closure on this matter unfortunately.

[Peridot]

Hi comfused123,
if there is another more recent will then that would take precedence. Do you know which will was used to o gain the grant? You can obtain a copy of the Grant and the attached will from the Probate registry here if you can’t get hold of the information: https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inh...robate-records

if she is the named exec and has sworn an oath that the will she submitted for Probate is the last will and testament, knowing there is a more recent will and not dealt with this then she has lied to the. Our effectively although I wonder whether she submitted the 2014 will for the grant? It would seem strange to raise this more recent will if it was in her favour and not to have applied for the grant with it?

Is is there any question over the legality of the Will from 2014 if it exists? Was your father in law able to make a will at that time?

Im glad your mother in law is seeing someone. It may be necessary for your partner to get some face to face advice too I’m afraid particularly if there are questions over the validity of the will (whichever one). Make sure you keep any correspondence between family regarding any aspects, get yourselves a copy of the grant and will if you haven’t already and do pop back if we can help any further.