Solicitors advising executor they may get sued

[Aussie_Pete]

I'm involved in a situation where an executor (who is a family relation) has been advised by the probate solicitors acting on their behalf, that they may be sued if they proceed with probate following the details outlined in the Will. As a result the executor has said that to proceed the beneficiaries of the will need to agree between themselves a split of assets and this will be formalised by the probate solicitors to obtain court approval.

First question - does this sound right?

I would have thought that the probate solicitors should be able to propose the split of assets based upon a Will and if beneficiaries are unhappy they can then contest this through the courts.

Second question - if the above is correct, what happens if the beneficiaries are unable to come to an agreement

This is a very real likelihood as the main issue is that one of the beneficiaries is bringing forward unsubstantive challenges about debts owed and ownership of assets

Background

This is in Scotland

There is a formal dated & signed Will that splits the assets equally between named beneficiaries. This has been confirmed by probate solicitors. As I understand it this is the only document that can be used as the basis of probate.

There is a hand written note from the deceased, signed but undated, that refers to and qualifies the above will with some additional items. As I understand it, as this is undated it does not meet the minimum standard to be used for probate - however it's date can be validated by its reference to the above will and the date it was given by the deceased to the person they asked to hold both the Will and the letter

There are other unsigned correspondence from meetings with solicitors by one of the beneficiaries and the deceased. These were to rewrite the will but they were un the early stages when the deceased past away and they we're never concluded or formalised. As I understand it this documents are not relevant as they have not been agreed/signed off by the deceased

[PallasAthena]

Tagging sederunt as this concerns Scottish law

[atticus]

If the solicitors have said that, then it should be taken seriously and advice taken, whether from those solicitors or others.

[Aussie_Pete]

atticus I haven't seen what the solicitors have said to the executor - it's just what the executor has conveyed to me and I am trying to understand if it's correct.

I would have expected the solicitors to propose a non-binding split of the assets based upon what the Will and related documents state. That at least gives beneficiaries a starting point. At the moment the beneficiaries are being left to their individual interpretation of documents (valid or not) - effectively to fight amongst themselves which doesn't feel right

[atticus]

atticus I haven't seen what the solicitors have said to the executor - it's just what the executor has conveyed to me and I am trying to understand if it's correct.

If the letter is as described then my earlier reply stands. But if you want to explore this further, it would help if you could see the letter. It probably contains reasons for whatever advice it contains.