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Hi,
I'm at a loss as to where to get advice on this matter. I have asked Citizen's Advice about this but they gave me a list of solicitors but they are not currently doing face to face consultations. I'm profoundly deaf & am unable to use the phone (my brother is away working a lot & gets very little free time to deal with this)
In early 2019 I received a letter from a solicitor who is handling my late grandmother's estate who passed away in late 2018. He stated that myself & my brother are named as beneficiaries, along with my aunt & uncle who are also siblings. The estate would be settled as soon as the property was sold, along with any probate & other legal matters. My grandmother originally named her three children as beneficiaries but my father passed away before she did, so she amended the will so his share was to be split between my brother & myself.
After hearing absolutely nothing from anyone for over a year, in May 2020 I contacted the solicitor handling the estate to get an update on what was happening. He responded by saying that the estate was still being administered & while they had found a buyer for my grandmother's property, the sale had fallen through. Unfortunately progress was hindered by the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic but assurances were made that the property would be relisted a little later on in the year. He also said if we had any further questions he provided with my uncle's contact details (I'm not entirely sure as to why the solicitor provided us with my uncle’' details as I later found out that he is not the executor?!)
I also asked the solicitor for clarification as to who the executor of the estate was, as up until that point both my brother & myself were not even aware who it was, we were told that it is my aunt who is named as executor & would be handling the distribution of the estate.
In the meantime I checked on the Gov.uk website for confirmation that probate had been granted & got a copy of it, I also managed to get a copy of the will at the same time. The will clearly makes clear what my grandmother's wishes were & what the solicitor stated in his first letter.
At present, it has been over another year without any communication being made by the executor or the solicitor & as far as I can tell the property has not been relisted for sale (I understand that the pandemic is still ongoing but the property market is currently quite buoyant)
It appears that my uncle is now living in the property & his sister (my aunt who lives in another property) the executor as of yet has not made one move to contact us or keep us informed of what is happening. I'd like to point out that both my aunt & uncle have a history of not keeping in contact unlike my grandmother who we regularly kept in contact with.
I appreciate that the current climate is not making things easier with regards to normal life but I'm more than a little apprehensive with the fact that my aunt is not carrying out her duties as executor of my grandmother's estate & clear last wishes.
I'm not sure if I should contact the solicitor yet again or contact my aunt (something that I'm reluctant to do as she appears not to be interested in keeping us informed so far despite being appointed executor & I'm not entirely sure of her address!)
My grandmother & the property was/is located in the West Country (my aunt & uncle also reside there) My brother & I live in the South East.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I'm at a loss as to where to get advice on this matter. I have asked Citizen's Advice about this but they gave me a list of solicitors but they are not currently doing face to face consultations. I'm profoundly deaf & am unable to use the phone (my brother is away working a lot & gets very little free time to deal with this)
In early 2019 I received a letter from a solicitor who is handling my late grandmother's estate who passed away in late 2018. He stated that myself & my brother are named as beneficiaries, along with my aunt & uncle who are also siblings. The estate would be settled as soon as the property was sold, along with any probate & other legal matters. My grandmother originally named her three children as beneficiaries but my father passed away before she did, so she amended the will so his share was to be split between my brother & myself.
After hearing absolutely nothing from anyone for over a year, in May 2020 I contacted the solicitor handling the estate to get an update on what was happening. He responded by saying that the estate was still being administered & while they had found a buyer for my grandmother's property, the sale had fallen through. Unfortunately progress was hindered by the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic but assurances were made that the property would be relisted a little later on in the year. He also said if we had any further questions he provided with my uncle's contact details (I'm not entirely sure as to why the solicitor provided us with my uncle’' details as I later found out that he is not the executor?!)
I also asked the solicitor for clarification as to who the executor of the estate was, as up until that point both my brother & myself were not even aware who it was, we were told that it is my aunt who is named as executor & would be handling the distribution of the estate.
In the meantime I checked on the Gov.uk website for confirmation that probate had been granted & got a copy of it, I also managed to get a copy of the will at the same time. The will clearly makes clear what my grandmother's wishes were & what the solicitor stated in his first letter.
At present, it has been over another year without any communication being made by the executor or the solicitor & as far as I can tell the property has not been relisted for sale (I understand that the pandemic is still ongoing but the property market is currently quite buoyant)
It appears that my uncle is now living in the property & his sister (my aunt who lives in another property) the executor as of yet has not made one move to contact us or keep us informed of what is happening. I'd like to point out that both my aunt & uncle have a history of not keeping in contact unlike my grandmother who we regularly kept in contact with.
I appreciate that the current climate is not making things easier with regards to normal life but I'm more than a little apprehensive with the fact that my aunt is not carrying out her duties as executor of my grandmother's estate & clear last wishes.
I'm not sure if I should contact the solicitor yet again or contact my aunt (something that I'm reluctant to do as she appears not to be interested in keeping us informed so far despite being appointed executor & I'm not entirely sure of her address!)
My grandmother & the property was/is located in the West Country (my aunt & uncle also reside there) My brother & I live in the South East.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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