Problems with a solicitor

[JulesB83]

Hi,
I have never used a forum but would be grateful of any advice.
My grandmother passed away in July 2020 and had used a solicitor firm who have been Executing her Will.
My brother and I are the main beneficiaries of this Will and are in the position of having received an over payment of our share.
Before the accounts were finalised, my brother and I were paid an interim payment (this was about a year or so after she died) and a few months later a second payment was made to us. At no point did either my brother or myself request any funds to be paid to us. At this point we had only seen an estimation of the accounts so had no reason to believe we were being money in excess of what we should get. We were then told that they were preparing the final accounts and that we would receive any residual left.
However, no final accounts ever materialised and we were then emailed to inform us that they had over distributed the funds to us by about 10K each and we needed to pay back the money; this was due to the fact that they no longer had enough in the account to pay the charities the correct sum that my grandmother had left them. We didn’t return the money as we were unhappy with the service we had received and did not trust the information that we were being told.
Since then, there has been another 2 changes of solicitor and they have discovered another account that she held so this over distribution has been reduced. We are still being asked to pay back just over 3K each.
We have made a formal complaint to the solicitor which they have just responded to (8 weeks exactly) and they have informed us that we do not have a right to complain as we are not clients but that they are responding out of courtesy and we have 14 days to repay the money!
Do we have any legal rights? Do we have to repay them even though it is their mistake?
Many thanks for any advice

[BlakSheep]

As far as I am aware you can lodge a formal complaint to the SRA, even if you are not a client of the firm. There could be a case of maladministration. You would need the full estate accounts. That said it is likely you may have to repay the £3k (intended for another or the charity; as it is not owed to you other than under extenuating circumstances could you keep the money. For example, if it were to cause you financial hardship returning the money.

[Mal161]

The beneficiaries should insist on seeing the full accounts of the estate from the solicitor who dealt with the estate and made the payments, as he is responsible. As you have already made a formal complaint to the SRA, I would suggest that you do not make any repayment until their investigations have been completed. There is no rush as the charities will understand that this needs to be investigated. Alos make a careful check on the charges the solicitor in question has received, or have they not yet received any payment. |The fees should reflevt their capability in real life! Good luck

[Roisin]

Hi,
I have never used a forum but would be grateful of any advice.
My grandmother passed away in July 2020 and had used a solicitor firm who have been Executing her Will.
My brother and I are the main beneficiaries of this Will and are in the position of having received an over payment of our share.
Before the accounts were finalised, my brother and I were paid an interim payment (this was about a year or so after she died) and a few months later a second payment was made to us. At no point did either my brother or myself request any funds to be paid to us. At this point we had only seen an estimation of the accounts so had no reason to believe we were being money in excess of what we should get. We were then told that they were preparing the final accounts and that we would receive any residual left.
However, no final accounts ever materialised and we were then emailed to inform us that they had over distributed the funds to us by about 10K each and we needed to pay back the money; this was due to the fact that they no longer had enough in the account to pay the charities the correct sum that my grandmother had left them. We didn’t return the money as we were unhappy with the service we had received and did not trust the information that we were being told.
Since then, there has been another 2 changes of solicitor and they have discovered another account that she held so this over distribution has been reduced. We are still being asked to pay back just over 3K each.
We have made a formal complaint to the solicitor which they have just responded to (8 weeks exactly) and they have informed us that we do not have a right to complain as we are not clients but that they are responding out of courtesy and we have 14 days to repay the money!
Do we have any legal rights? Do we have to repay them even though it is their mistake?
Many thanks for any advice

As a beneficiary of a will, you can make a formal complaint to the solicitor. I did this a few months ago. You have to do that before going on to making a complaint to the legal ombudsman. However, you do not have to go though the firm's internal complaints procedure before complaining to the SRA. You can go directly to them without even informing the solicitor you're complaining about. You are also entitled to see the estate accounts, even as a potential/discretionary beneficiary (see Schmidt vs Rosewood 2003). A solicitor who will not provide those yet demands money from you sounds a tad dodgy to me. Dealing with one myself right now, so.....