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Hello,
I'd be really grateful for some advice please.
I'm an executor on my late Mum's estate, along with my two older brothers. My Mum's estate should consist of her house and savings, approx £42K, which is divided equally between the three of us.
The problem is that oldest brother was manging my Mum's finances for the last three years of her life, initially informally using her bank card, but then he took her to the bank to set up a formal arrangement. Middle brother and I only learnt, after her death, that he converted my Mum's bank accounts to Joint Accounts.(No LPA) My Mum was very frail when he did this, and wouldn't have known about the survivorship rules and wouldn't have wanted this money to pass to him. Older brother has been to the bank with the death certificate and the accounts are now in his name - the bank won't even give middle brother or me statements for the accounts.
I don't think older brother really thinks the money is his but he is continually trying to bully middle brother and me and hold us to ransom to try and get his own way. He's also done something dodgy relating to my Mum's social care package which he organized. Based on things he has said verbally, and in an email to us, we think he concealed my Mum's savings from the Local Authority to get free care . He moved £25K to his own bank account, when my Mum was in hospital and looked as though she would need care, and middle brother and I have got the bank statements from my Mum's house, showing this. The only way we would know this for sure though is to try and get my Mum's social care record.
So older brother is unwilling to include my Mum's savings in the Probate application and her estate, I think because he is worried the Council may find out about them. Initially he wanted middle brother and me to agree to keep the money out of the Probate application and then he told us that he would privately share it out once the estate administration had been completed, which we wouldn't agree to. Now, he is suggesting making a Deed Of Variation on the estate to reduce his portion, so that we would in effect be getting equal shares, but in a round about way, and middle brother and I would have to concede that the money in the Joint Accounts is his and therefore be excluded from my Mum's estate.
Middle brother and I have been to see a dispute solicitor, and told him everything, including the possible social care fraud, who advised us that we could potentially bring a claim against older brother for the return of the money to the estate but both middle brother and I are worried about stress and costs escalating.
So my question is should middle brother and I consider agreeing to the Deed of Variation, which would eventually give us equal shares, or should we consider bringing a claim to retrieve the money for the estate?
Thank you.
I'd be really grateful for some advice please.
I'm an executor on my late Mum's estate, along with my two older brothers. My Mum's estate should consist of her house and savings, approx £42K, which is divided equally between the three of us.
The problem is that oldest brother was manging my Mum's finances for the last three years of her life, initially informally using her bank card, but then he took her to the bank to set up a formal arrangement. Middle brother and I only learnt, after her death, that he converted my Mum's bank accounts to Joint Accounts.(No LPA) My Mum was very frail when he did this, and wouldn't have known about the survivorship rules and wouldn't have wanted this money to pass to him. Older brother has been to the bank with the death certificate and the accounts are now in his name - the bank won't even give middle brother or me statements for the accounts.
I don't think older brother really thinks the money is his but he is continually trying to bully middle brother and me and hold us to ransom to try and get his own way. He's also done something dodgy relating to my Mum's social care package which he organized. Based on things he has said verbally, and in an email to us, we think he concealed my Mum's savings from the Local Authority to get free care . He moved £25K to his own bank account, when my Mum was in hospital and looked as though she would need care, and middle brother and I have got the bank statements from my Mum's house, showing this. The only way we would know this for sure though is to try and get my Mum's social care record.
So older brother is unwilling to include my Mum's savings in the Probate application and her estate, I think because he is worried the Council may find out about them. Initially he wanted middle brother and me to agree to keep the money out of the Probate application and then he told us that he would privately share it out once the estate administration had been completed, which we wouldn't agree to. Now, he is suggesting making a Deed Of Variation on the estate to reduce his portion, so that we would in effect be getting equal shares, but in a round about way, and middle brother and I would have to concede that the money in the Joint Accounts is his and therefore be excluded from my Mum's estate.
Middle brother and I have been to see a dispute solicitor, and told him everything, including the possible social care fraud, who advised us that we could potentially bring a claim against older brother for the return of the money to the estate but both middle brother and I are worried about stress and costs escalating.
So my question is should middle brother and I consider agreeing to the Deed of Variation, which would eventually give us equal shares, or should we consider bringing a claim to retrieve the money for the estate?
Thank you.
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