Retired solicitor.

[thirstian]

Hi,
It appears that the saga involving my father's will is not over yet.
I would be grateful for some further advice please.
My sister, an executor, claims that our father gave the other executor ( our brother) £150,000 to look after for him. He also requested access to these funds.
I was aware of this but not the sum involved.
She claims that he complained to her on several occasions that our brother wasn't allowing access and had apparently converted the funds into bonds.
After our father passed she asked our brother about the money and he informed her that our father had received and spent the money.
She asked to see statements and evidence but our brother refused, saying that the bank in question had closed many years ago ,so the statements were unavailable.
He also said that he didn't feel he should have to provide the statements.
I would like to know if there is a way to trace these funds and if they should have been included in probate. Or should I just give up on it?
My brother is also claiming that he hasn't received any statements from our fathers accounts showing when and how much was transferred.
This money was apparently transferred to my brother around 10 years ago.
My sister says our father last mentioned the funds to her around a year before he passed away, He passed away 2 years ago.
The solicitor is representing my brother also.
I presume I would need to employ a different solicitor if we feel we might take this further.
Thanks in advance,
Ian.

[Pezza54]

Unless you can find a formal agreement between your father and brother, such as a loan to be repaid, then all your brother has to do is claim it was a gift.
If your brother claims it was a gift and the money was transferred 10 years ago, then the £150k does not need to be included in IHT forms.

[thirstian]

I thought this would be the case .
THankyou.