My uncle died in 2019 leaving a will in which he left his estate equally to me and my brother (the executor). My uncle's estate consisted of over £50,000 in the bank plus a large house which is rented to tenants.
My brother has always been unreliable and can take off for weeks at a time. During one of these episodes an emergency repair was needed at the house. Since I did not know where my brother was and did not have access to the estate's bank account, I paid over £8,000 of my own money for the repairs.
When my brother returned I told him of my expenditure and I expected him to reimburse me, which he has not. The house is on the market and my brother keeps telling me that once the house is sold that we will split everything evenly. However this still does not pay me the money I am owed.
I know I can take my brother to court to get reimbursed, assuming I can find him after the estate is settled.
However, would I be better off to demand payment before I sign off on the sale of the house?
I know my brother really wants his money and this could be a perfect time to force him to pay up.
Would this be an acceptable way to get my money back?
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