Letter Of Indemnity

[NOCAB]

Can anyone advise on the consequences of not signing a 'Letter Of Indemnity 'pertaining to early estate distribution.

I have been asked to sign this letter to allow some funds to be distributed early, but given that there are still a number of accounting issues I don't feel comfortable signing anything

I am a beneficiary (1 of 3)

Can the executor still distribute funds to himself and my sister, and ignore me until I sign?

Any advise / help with the process would be appreciated.

[2222]

is the indemnity wording reasonable?

[des8]

The answer to your question is "YES"
If the executor has been asked to distribute money to a beneficiary before completing the accounting, he is free to do so.
He is well advised to obtain a letter of indemnity, so if a hitherto unknown creditor pops up, he (the executor) has a better chance of recouping the money paid out incorrectly.
If you don't want your legacy or part of it early, then don't sign.
The executor can continue to distribute to others if he wishes.

[NOCAB]

So to be clear, even with outstanding debts still owed to me independently, i.e. wake charges, ongoing and repeat accounting errors, over payment for retrospective care for my parents (payment for a bill that I can prove should never have been paid - over £20K - with support /statement from the 24x7 carer) incorrectly distributed estate assets (my mothers jewellery has been taken by my sister and declared a gift from my father despite him being in hospital in a coma at the time this apparent gift was given - value over £50K) etc etc etc the executor can still distribute estate funds to some but not all beneficiaries simply because one of us (me) won't sign a document relinquishing him (the executor) from any future liabilities, and despite me being the only one identifying these errors and many many more besides, and despite me being the only one highlighting areas where the executor and executors solicitors have not collected money owed to the estate (this amounts to over £40K to date) which is still ongoing?

I am effectively being held to ransom re estate assets (I don't my share but everyone else does) until I agree it's ok for the executor to walk away from his mistakes.........really?

I don't 'get it'

What is the point of the 'letter of indemnity' then, and how can I retrospectively hold the executor to account?

My brother and sister are feuding against me and have so far (1) accessed estate property and taken what they want back to their respective homes abroad, and left me to pick through the remains only advising me where the property was stored weeks after they had been to collect what they wanted, and have not only taken items they identified in the inventory, but also items I wanted as well (2) the executor has mis spent estate monies on Hotels and hire cars that are totally unrelated to the management of the estate i.e. he has claimed for hotels/hire cars in London when the estate is in Cheshire. Equally and as mentioned the executor has allowed 'gifts' to my sister in the form of all my late Mother's jewellery, despite this gifting process being time stramped when my late Father wasn't even conscious.

Also I have had to write to the solicitors, pointing out their own errors (factual and repeat) which to date they have admitted to, only for me to find further issues in subsequent iterations (estate accounts etc).

Is there nothing that can be done to stop this blatant and outrageous behaviour?

If not, there are some serious issues with this whole process that need to be addressed and quickly I would suggest, as executors all over the country can effectively 'do what they like' along with their sloppy solicitors, and not be held to account.

The law is indeed an ass.

Can anyone add to this debate, I am stunned if this is apparently a 'done deal'!!!!

[Amethyst]

Robert, this is really progress on the same matters as in your previous thread I believe ? https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...0116-fair-play
- it is helpful to keep to the one thread as then people replying can take into account the background ( without you having to go through it all again )

des8
Peridot

[des8]

I have just had a quick look at this and my initial thoughts are that some of the things you are concerned about (eg jewellery disposed of prior to your father's passing) are mot to do with the executor per se .
The executor is responsible for the estate assets at the time of the testator passing, not for any shenanigans that may have occurred earlier.

The letter of indemnity signed by your sister does not absolve the executor from his liabilities.
They remain with him for the rest of his life, so if you discover wrong doing 10 years down the line he will still be liable.

If he gives away too much of the assets so that the estate cannot meet its liabilities, the letter of indemnity allows him to make recovery from the beneficiary.
If you refuse an early distribution the executor remains fully liable.
If you sign a letter of indemnity, the executor still remains liable but recovery of the legacy (or part of it) from you is made easier.

To "do anything about this" is to enter the realms of contentious litigation.
Very expensive, and with the defendants living abroad, could easily swallow a large portion of the estate

[NOCAB]

If I refuse early distribution (do not sign the letter of indemnity) and the executor goes ahead and distributes to himself and my sister but not me, is this legal, and how can I find out if he has actually done this, as to date the solicitors are refusing to provide me with any indication of the estate accounts and or interest being applied whilst in their holding account. Surely if this has happened I am entitled to know and subsequently am being disadvantaged as a result.

There are a number of ongoing circumstances that equally concern me. There is a legal case against the Trust that my dear Mother was unfortunate enough to have suffered under, which has the full backing of the PHO. This case is for medical negligence and I am unclear as to what will happen to the settlement money when this is concluded. The same applies for my dear father and a case with full support from the GMC, again what happens after the estate is closed to any subsequent payments.

As the executor and I don't speak he could simply keep the money and I would be none the wiser, but this seems absurd if it is simply a case under law as tough luck.

How does the estate distribution work under these circumstances ?

Sorry for all of the questions but this is far from straight forwards.

[NOCAB]

As an aside, would it be possible to take the executor to court (international small claims) for each area where he has clearly failed (in my opinion) to fairly manage the estate distribution financially, and re possessions. Could this be achieved via each issue being contested by individual small claims?

For example, after both of my parents passed away an inventory was taken of the property contents. Despite having identified that items on this inventory had 'gone missing' ,the executor and the solicitors have not done anything about these items. They have gone missing during the time my brother was the executor and the property was under his responsibility. The missing items are of real value both financially and personally, yet to date seem to be just being marked down as 'missing' despite being on the original inventory?

Equally the executor has over paid a care home by over £5000, despite both myself and the live in carer providing written statements contesting the additional care costs presented to the estate.

Also despite agreeing which persons items were wanted by each of the beneficiaries, and marking these on the inventory i.e. who wanted what, both my brother and sister attended the storage facility together and took what they wanted before even advising me of its location. Subsequently items I had wanted which they did not indicate as being of interest to them have been removed.

All in all I am being disadvantaged by the executor and have made this clear to the solicitors involved but to no avail

[des8]

The solicitors have not been employed by you and are under no obligation to respond.

As already mentioned, whilst the executor has a responsibility to take care of the assets, if you wish to challenge his handling of the estate.
it won't be heard on the small claims track of the county court.

Sorry extremely busy at the mo' and must go out.
Will return later

[2222]

"Equally the executor has over paid a care home by over £5000, despite both myself and the live in carer providing written statements contesting the additional care costs presented to the estate."

The executor was appointed to make decisions about things like this. It is his responsibility, and he may have decided that the costs of defending against the bill coupled with his views about the likelihood of success made it not worth defending.The executor could easily have run up legal fees of several thousand trying to defend or whittle down the bill. It is a matter for his discretion, and it would be very very difficult to persuade a court he acted wrongly.

If you sue the executor in several jurisdictions, he can use the estate assets to defend himself and inevitably he will run up huge costs. So, ultimately, you'll pay at least a third of his costs, even if you win. If you lose, in some jurisdictions, you will have a costs order made against you. I think you are on a hiding to nothing. You may succeed in destroying both your and the other beneficiaries' inheritances, but I cannot see you gaining anything tangible.

Dickens wrote about this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarndyce_and_Jarndyce Dickens introduces the case in the first chapter in terms which make the futility of the matter clear:

Jarndyce and Jarndyce drones on. This scarecrow of a suit has, over the course of time, become so complicated, that no man alive knows what it means. The parties to it understand it least; but it has been observed that no two Chancery lawyers can talk about it for five minutes without coming to a total disagreement as to all the premises. Innumerable children have been born into the cause; innumerable young people have married into it; innumerable old people have died out of it. Scores of persons have deliriously found themselves made parties in Jarndyce and Jarndyce without knowing how or why; whole families have inherited legendary hatreds with the suit. The little plaintiff or defendant, who was promised a new rocking-horse when Jarndyce and Jarndyce should be settled, has grown up, possessed himself of a real horse, and trotted away into the other world. Fair wards of court have faded into mothers and grandmothers; a long procession of Chancellors has come in and gone out.

If the executor has obviously made massive mistakes, try to help him sort them out. Where the executor has simply done things differently from the way you would have done them, you are strongly advised just to live with the situation and accept that he was appointed, not you.

[2222]

Jennens v Jennens commenced in 1798 and was abandoned in 1915 (117 years later) when the legal fees had exhausted the Jennens estate of funds

[des8]

If I refuse early distribution (do not sign the letter of indemnity) and the executor goes ahead and distributes to himself and my sister but not me, is this legal, and how can I find out if he has actually done this, as to date the solicitors are refusing to provide me with any indication of the estate accounts and or interest being applied whilst in their holding account. Surely if this has happened I am entitled to know (not necessarily) and subsequently am being disadvantaged as a result.
If you decline to accept early partial distribution, that is your choice and you are not being disadvantaged as your legacy will be retained by the executor until you are ready to accept

There are a number of ongoing circumstances that equally concern me. There is a legal case against the Trust that my dear Mother was unfortunate enough to have suffered under, which has the full backing of the PHO. This case is for medical negligence and I am unclear as to what will happen to the settlement money when this is concluded. The same applies for my dear father and a case with full support from the GMC, again what happens after the estate is closed to any subsequent payments.

As the executor and I don't speak he could simply keep the money and I would be none the wiser, but this seems absurd if it is simply a case under law as tough luck. Which is why there should be a full and final accounting, and as the executor is employing a solicitor I would be surprised if there is anything amiss

How does the estate distribution work under these circumstances ?
Any assets received after what was considered the final distribution should be dealt with according to the provisions of the will

Sorry for all of the questions but this is far from straight forwards.

Comments in red

[NOCAB]

So I can effectively be held to ransom i.e. they want me to sign the letter of indemnity, but because I won't they can refuse to provide early distribution to me, yet happily distribute to other beneficiaries because they all get on together and I am the outsider?

Really is this how our laws work?

[2222]

So I can effectively be held to ransom i.e. they want me to sign the letter of indemnity, but because I won't they can refuse to provide early distribution to me, yet happily distribute to other beneficiaries because they all get on together and I am the outsider?

Really is this how our laws work?

Yes.

What does the letter of indemnity say? If it just says that you promise to return any early payment if it is needed to pay any debts or other claims on the estate, that seems perfectly reasonable and does not in any way affect your complaints against the executor.

[des8]

No one has the RIGHT to early partial settlement, but if executor is prepared to pay it he is entitled to ask for a letter of indemnity.
If the beneficiary doesn't want to sign such a letter, that is his choice and the executor need not pay him the early partial legacy, but will retain it till final settlement.
Beneficiaries choice!