Elliebot

[elliebot]

Hello out there I am new to this so bear with me if i do something wrong My Dad died 11 months ago. I and my deceased sister's family are main beneficiaries The executor sacked my Dads solicitor and his financial advisor (who handled all my dads financial affairs) within a couple of weeks of his death I have heard nothing since. Do I have any rights to ask for an update? My Dad lived in N.Ireland as do they. I do have a copy of his will.

[Amethyst]

Hi Elliebot, Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry it is difficult circumstances.

Do you have any contact with the Executor of your Dad's will at all ?
Was his solicitor also an executor of the will originally ?
Was the executor also a beneficiary of the will ?
Have you asked the executor for an update ?

11 months does seem a long time to have not heard anything, although there seems to be a limit of one year in NI in which to distribute the estate, after which interest may be chargeable against the executor. So you should receive your inheritance within the next month. If you don't, and the executor refuses to give you any information, you could go to the court and seek an order that the executor provide you with a full inventory of the estate and a copy of the estate accounts.

Do you know much about your Dad's estate, if it may have been particularly complicated to sort out ? Do you have particular concerns about the executor and his/her handling of the estate ?

I'll move your thread down to the Wills & Probate forum and tag Peridot to look in.

[Peridot]

Hi Elliebot,

Sorry to hear about your father. The rules are different in Northern Ireland so I am not sure on timescales for obtaining grants although the NIDirect site info does seem similar to the England/Wales rules to a degree.

Have you tried contacting the executor and what was their response? Are they a family member? Are you sure that a more recent Will hadn't been prepared? It may be worth checking that probate hasn't been granted already. If you were not a beneficiary then there would be no reason for the executor to contact you. I hope this is not the case of course but it may be worth checking. I'm afraid I can't find the equivalent link we have to search for probate records in Eng/Wales so you may have to contact the NI Probate Registry. This link may help: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/contacts...office-belfast

It is quite usual over here (Eng/Wales) when estates are reasonably straightforward for example a residential property and a couple of accounts for solicitor or accountant executors to be asked to renounce their executorship. With straightforward estates the cost can often outweigh the benefit of using a professional executor. Of course there are situations where the person having the Will prepared requests a professional executor to act as there may be family issues that would make it difficult for a family member or friend to perform the task without difficulties. If this had been the case however then usually the lawyer would know this and would refuse to renounce their appointment.

I think it would be worthwhile writing to the executor to try and establish what the position is. It is not unreasonable to expect to be kept in the loop. It may be there is some complication with obtaining some valuations for example. There may be all sorts of reasons. I'm afraid I can't confirm when any financial timescales happen in NI or the implications of any delays over there such as interest due. Maybe there is an NI forum you could ask the question, but I'd suggest contacting the Probate Registry first as well as writing to the executor.

Feel free to come back on here and we will try and direct you although we are a little restricted as the rules are different. We can try though.