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Hello all, I'm on here on behalf of my wife who's at her wits' end, so I'll give the background and current concern in the hope that we can finally address this matter.
My wife's father passed away in Jan this year (2021) and left a will naming my wife and her sister as joint/equal beneficiaries and joint executors. From the outset, the sister has been abusive and uncooperative in the process of probate which my wife conducted herself, the estate being relatively modest and straightforward. Despite the lack of cooperation the probate process is now complete and the accounts have been drawn up to detail all financial movements and the sale of the family home. Today my wife tried to transfer 50% of the balance to her sister's account, but was provided with the account details for her sister's ex-husband and she refused to provide one in her sole or joint name. My wife was at the bank at the time seeking to make a CHAPS transfer and the manager was subjected to a tirade of swearing and abuse over the loudspeaker of my wife's phone. I should explain that the sister is a long-term benefits claimant, a single mother of three (divorced) and has made it apparent that she is deeply concerned about the change to her life that the inheritance will bring. She does not handle responsibility well in my view. I believe from another thread I've seen here that my wife is now able to take her share of the estate as the accounts are complete and do not require signed approval, but we are concerned about the other half. The bank manager refused to pay the half share due to the sister into anything other than a account in the sister's name and has suggested that this half be lodged in a new savings account until the sister decides what she wants to do.
My concern is that my wife has done all the work, she and I have raised all of the appropriate accounts for examination if required, but are unable to meet the terms of the will for distribution. If the money is not claimed, it remains in a bank account in my wife's name although by virtue of the will it's not hers; this makes us both very uncomfortable. We have heard suspicions from other family members that the sister might be seeking to defraud the DWP by hiding the inheritance, given that the amount due will certainly have a significant impact in regard to her qualification for means-tested benefits.
I've read about disclaimers and deeds of variation, but the sister hasn't engaged at any stage of the process and seems to be hoping that the issue will just go away if she doesn't receive the money. Any and all attempts at civil, meaningful communication have failed.
Any advice on this issue and suggestions as to how to properly meet the executor role in distributing the estate would be very welcome.
Keep safe all and thank you.
My wife's father passed away in Jan this year (2021) and left a will naming my wife and her sister as joint/equal beneficiaries and joint executors. From the outset, the sister has been abusive and uncooperative in the process of probate which my wife conducted herself, the estate being relatively modest and straightforward. Despite the lack of cooperation the probate process is now complete and the accounts have been drawn up to detail all financial movements and the sale of the family home. Today my wife tried to transfer 50% of the balance to her sister's account, but was provided with the account details for her sister's ex-husband and she refused to provide one in her sole or joint name. My wife was at the bank at the time seeking to make a CHAPS transfer and the manager was subjected to a tirade of swearing and abuse over the loudspeaker of my wife's phone. I should explain that the sister is a long-term benefits claimant, a single mother of three (divorced) and has made it apparent that she is deeply concerned about the change to her life that the inheritance will bring. She does not handle responsibility well in my view. I believe from another thread I've seen here that my wife is now able to take her share of the estate as the accounts are complete and do not require signed approval, but we are concerned about the other half. The bank manager refused to pay the half share due to the sister into anything other than a account in the sister's name and has suggested that this half be lodged in a new savings account until the sister decides what she wants to do.
My concern is that my wife has done all the work, she and I have raised all of the appropriate accounts for examination if required, but are unable to meet the terms of the will for distribution. If the money is not claimed, it remains in a bank account in my wife's name although by virtue of the will it's not hers; this makes us both very uncomfortable. We have heard suspicions from other family members that the sister might be seeking to defraud the DWP by hiding the inheritance, given that the amount due will certainly have a significant impact in regard to her qualification for means-tested benefits.
I've read about disclaimers and deeds of variation, but the sister hasn't engaged at any stage of the process and seems to be hoping that the issue will just go away if she doesn't receive the money. Any and all attempts at civil, meaningful communication have failed.
Any advice on this issue and suggestions as to how to properly meet the executor role in distributing the estate would be very welcome.
Keep safe all and thank you.
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