How can I find out the reason for a caveat being put on Will?

[Donny462]

Hi Pezza54

The split of the Estate is 40% to the Sister who has put the caveat on, 40% to me, and 20% to the other Sister. I have already said I am happy to divide the Estate up equally between the three of us but that isn't enough for her, she wants control as I have a feeling she would give me less if she could, i believe she has already taken anything of any worth from Mum's property since she passed away and her and my Sister were taking things whilst Mum was living there! I have no problem with my Sister seeing the Will but foolishly I sent it to the Probate Office without taking a copy. It isn't me who is the problem here, all I'm trying to do is carry out the Last Wishes of my beloved Mum whilst also grieving and being attacked by my Sisters .

[Donny462]

You said your sister wasn't getting a smaller share, implying that siblings are getting equal shares
This may be what she is concerned about. Is there a reason why you won't provide her with a copy of the will? When she reads all siblings are inheriting the same, hopefully she will withdraw her threat of court action.
Her letter sounds serious about starting court action to remove you as executor. You stated she was wealthy so she is probably not worried about the legal costs.
Defending court action could reduce estate funds significantly. In my opinion you should try to negotiate with your sister

Thank you for your response Pezza54

I have tried dealing with my Sisters in an amicable way, I have provided a copy of the Will but they are now claiming Mum lacked testamentary Capacity when she made the Will, (despite the fact for the last two years they have vehemently denied Mum had dementia), the attendance notes of Mum`s Will show that an extensive assessment was made of Mum`s mental capacity before they did the Will. Mum was absolutely fine when her Will was made, she was living independantly, doing everything for herself and was totally on the ball, she only started to show signs of dementia at the end of 2023.

My Sisters have now employed the services of a different Solicitor for some reason, and he seems determined to drag things out! It has taken him 4 weeks to reply to my last letter and he hasn`t answered any of my points, instead he has accused my letter to him of being acrimonious, which it certainly isn`t, all I`ve done is write down facts, all of which can be proven. HIs clients are the ones who have been acrimonious in firstly doing a character assassination on myself, then ransacking Mums home and then changing the locks to stop me going in, even though they know that I am executor!

The Solicitor also says it is concerning that I have decided to seek "Probate in person" without Solicitor help and no access to a separate client account, (I have actually opened an account for Mum`s estate), he says that my going ahead without a Solicitor to deal with the probate is short sighted and unlikely to be accepted by his clients and further says that my letter to him doesn`t serve any purpose other than to disqualify me from acting as a Personal Representative for my late Mother`s estate.

He then goes on to say that he and his clients are concerned about the likely deterioration of my Mother`s property over time and delay, and the likely costs of a long dispute over my Mother`s testamentary capacity at the time the will was made , and that there are steps his clients can take to mitigate their risks, yet I am not the one delaying things, it is his clients who put the caveat on and stopped the estate being granted probate, and though I deal with all correspondence quickly, it has taken 4 weeks for this solicitor to reply to my last letter and even then, he hasn`t responded to a single point that I have raised. He finishes by saying that my willingness to cooperate with them is essential going forward and that if there is a lack of cooperation, long delay or further acrimonious correspondence from me, then his instructions are to make applications to the Court to have me removed as Personal Representative and other orders.

I feel that my Sisters Solicitors letter is quite threatening and given its tone and content, I would like to ask you good peoples opinion whether I should reply, or whether I should just direct it straight to a Solicitor to handle and deal with as I have done my level best to be cooperative and I have done my duties as an executor to the best of my ability , but I feel this Solicitor is spoiling for a fight and whilst he wants me to be cooperative, they haven`t cooperated with anything or responded to anything that I have asked them for.
Please can anyone advise me? Many thanks.

[Donny462]

Hi Pezza54

Sorry to bother you but do you have any thoughts on my previous post please? Given that my Sisters Solicitors letter, I am anxious to not be seen as delaying anything and would like to get an answer back to him before Christmas, even if it is just to tell him I've referred his letter to my Solicitor.

Many thanks.

[Pezza54]

I think you should follow the advice provided by Atticus last September in post 3 after reading the info provided on the government website.
Your sister's solicitor will have a limited time to make an appearance, trying to make the caveat permanent
Unless there is anything important you haven't stated on the forum about your mother's will or your actions, the solicitor will have a problem "putting up"