Probate

[Mellymillie]

Hi there. Probate was granted then a will found with myself being beneficiary. What is required to revoke probate so wrongful beneficiaries are required to pay back monies please.

[des8]

First up, check the will is valid and properly executed.

Then the executor(s) of the newly found will can proceed to have the original grant of letters of administration revoked and a new grant of probate made.

Suggest you obtain professional legal advice with a view to negotiating a settlement as any court proceedings will be expensive

If a negotiated settlement can't be reached there is the possibility of action against
!0 the personal representative who wrongly distributed the estate
2) the holder of the will who did not produce it in time
3) the "beneficiaries" who received the first incorrect distribution

Sounds easy,but don't be fooled... it probably won't be!

[dslippy]

The big thing is to notify the excisting executors immediately and to act quickly. The longer you leave it (days) the more difficult and costly it gets.
As was said, look at what you have and be sure that it appears to be in good and proper order.

[Mellymillie]

The wrongful beneficiaries we notified the minute I found the will. They continued to spend and now say there is no money left. We have legal representation but have been getting guidance from counsel and nothing has moved forward in 18 months. We are still struggling to get all the probate paperwork from their solicitor. We told them there was a will and I only found it by chance. A proper search nationally was never carried out. We were never advised that we could contest probate. I am at a loss as feel we are not getting any help to move this forward. All the estate was sold along with any family sentimental things.

[des8]

On paper it is simple to apply for revocation using form N244 (i think!)

However in practice it could become very expensive if the application is opposed.
This, I imagine, is the reason for what seems to be an interminable delay as your legal team try to reach a negotiated settlement.
Negotiations are difficult to move forward if the other parties refuse to cooperate

You don't mention how much is at stake, and that will have a bearing on the action to take because of the cost implications

[dslippy]

If money was paid out lawfully by the executors to people named in the recognised will, then they are not 'wromgful beneficiaries'. I doubt your chances of getting any order for repayment.
Te best you can hope for is that money which has not been distributed shou;d stay where it is.

[Mellymillie]

They were not named in the will. We told them my father had named us in the will and when I found it it had only myself and my brother and main beneficiaries but the said they had spent all of the £400k. They ignored requested for mediation and have since ignored any correspondence we have sent as they have no legal representation. Their previous solicitor who granted probate are refusing to give us all the probate files. I am at a loss of what ti do now.

[des8]

So what are your legal team advising?

They will have seen all your paperwork and are in a better position than us to advise you

[Mellymillie]

You would think. But they have only said today 19 months after I found dads will that they will talk to their probate dept. A national search was never conducted to find the will even though we knew there was one and what my fathers wishes were. The wrongful beneficiaries went into his property and cleared everything out and sold the house before we had chance to search for the will

[dslippy]

The time to do this was 19m months ago when the will was found. There is no reliable way of searching for wills. They are not registered anywhere.

What you say suggests actions bordering on fraud.
You talk about executors - there was therefore an earlier will taken to probate?

[des8]

What you could have done (although too late now) was to have entered a caveat to stop any grant of probate.

Who obtained the grant of letters of administration?
As it was assumed your father died intestate, what was their relationship to your father?
This also is a question to be raised regarding who should have benefitted from your father's estate if he had died intestate.

If a person dies intestate there is a strict order of priority for applying for the grant and for inheriting the estate
Here's a guide: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-a...content/103523

[Mellymillie]

They were not named in the will. We told them my father had named us in the will and when I found it it had only myself and my brother and main beneficiaries but the said they had spent all of the £400k. They ignored requested for mediation and have since ignored any correspondence we have sent as they have no legal representation. Their previous solicitor who granted probate are refusing to give us all the probate files. I am at a loss of what ti do now.

[des8]

Could you please answer the questions in post 11?

It is impossible to point you in any direction without knowing what has happened.

A solicitor doesn't grant probate...the court does.
You can obtain a copy of the grant of probate here: https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

Have you askeed your legal team to progress matters further?

[atticus]

I have some questions (and your answers may well give rise to more).

1. When did this person die?
2. What is your relationship to the deceased?
3. When was Probate granted?
4. Who are the executors? What is their relationship to the deceased?
5. When was the later will found?
6. Where and how was it found?

But frankly if you have had lawyers including counsel look at this, I doubt that you will find better answers here than they were able to give you.