Probate.

[WBG170437050917]

Advice on submitting an Appearance to counter a caveat warning sought.

[Peridot]

Hi WillBrian201,

It is correct that upon the death of a donor (the person making the power of attorney) the attorney's role ends. The executor of your father's estate was his partner who did not have capacity to deal with the estate so her attorney was dealing with father's estate which is yet to be finalised. As the executor has now passed away the role of the attorney would have to be confirmed. The attorney is also the executor of your father's partner's estate. The role of executor of her estate remains with him.

So you placed a caveat on your father's partner's estate . This prevents the Grant being issued against her estate and lasts for 6 months.

The warning is issued by the person applying for probate once they become aware the caveat is in place, when they apply for the grant.

A copy of the warning must be served on the caveator (the person who lodged the caveat) either personally, by post or by document exchange.

The deemed date of service if the warning is served by first class post or document exchange is the second day after posting (or collection for document exchange) provided that day is a business day or, if not, the next business day.

The warning is a notice to the caveator that they have eight days including the day of service to:

1. •
   lodge an appearance setting out their contrary interest in the estate, or
   
   •
   if they have no contrary interest but object to the sealing of a grant, to issue and serve a summons for directions (returnable before a district judge of the Principal Registry or a district probate registrar)

The caveator also has the option to:

1. •
   do nothing (non-appearance), or
   
   •
   withdraw the caveat

A contrary interest in the estate could be the interest of a beneficiary under an earlier Will that it is argued is the last valid Will due to a defect in the later Will. (I don't believe this is what you would wish to argue but I include it so that others can see what the process is).

If the caveator has no contrary interest but wants to oppose the sealing of the grant, they must issue a summons for directions within the eight-day warning-off period.

Should the applicant for the grant feel that there is no point in warning off the caveat, they also have the option of commencing a probate action immediately.

If the caveator does nothing within the period, the person who issued the warning can file an affidavit of service of the warning at the Leeds District Probate Registry. The caveat will then cease and the application for a grant may proceed.

I would recommend contacting the lawyer who recommended you lodge a caveat to discuss how to respond as soon as possible, to ensure you take the correct action for what you wish to achieve. The postmark indicates 24th so 2 business days after that is 28th and your date of service.

You will need to ensure that any action is taken within the 8 days from service. I would also suggest keeping the envelope to show date of posting. The date the warning is filed at the Probate Registry and the posting a copy date are not necessarily the same date. The date of service is the pertinent date for the 8 day response to be filed by.

I hope that is clear. Do contact your solicitor to discuss your options as soon as possible.

[Peridot]

Excuse the odd numbering in the post the tech has gone mad!

[WBG170437050917]

Peridot Thanks so much for super fast response.

[Peridot]

Hi again,

Apologies if I have caused confusion by mentioning probate and/or obtaining the grant it is irrelevant whether there is a will or not for your father's partner's estate. I assume he needs a grant to deal with the assets. It is a separate matter from your father's estate (although of course tied up). It is irrelevant whether there is a will or not on this estate. If there is no will it will follow the intestacy rules. Unless you have proof there is a will there is little you can do in this respect.

You really need to see your solicitor about the way forward to deal with the outstanding issues of your father's estate, in addition to the caveat issue on his partner's estate. They will advise you on the options available, the likely cost and time it will take for matters to be finalised in this respect. If the estate has been finalised to a certain point it may be worth allowing it to be finalised and distributed. The costs of a lawyer dealing now may far outweigh the benefit of allowing matters to be finalised.

[WBG170437050917]

Peridot Thank you again.

[Peridot]

Hi,
If you want the caveat to be retained it will be based on your appearance in response to the warning. The registry will decide whether to prevent the Grant and extend the caveat. You really need to see your lawyer to consider the best way forward to achieve what you want with regards to your father's estate.
A caveat is of no use once a Grant has been issued, but you may have other options.
Speak to your lawyer concerning the appearance and your other options.