Costs & Legally privileged / and non-disclosure of Will making documents

[JustAThought]

Costs for professionals - For advice on a particular Claim against an estate - Are beneficiaries expected to front all of the costs for other parties seeking and obtaining that advice?

NB These are all the costs for a professional Executor who refers to a solicitor who refer a barrister WHEN that advice will not be shared with Beneficiaries.

Litigation has not begun but the professional Executors expect the beneficiaries to defend against a Claim without access to what the professional Executors know (other information not being shared as part of the Will file are emails and telephone recordings etc something to do with DPA!).

[PallasAthena]

I would guess that the references both to DPA and legal privilige are because any claim against the estate is being made against the executor as the estate's personal representative and not against the beneficiaries directly. In which case beneficiaries are not parties to the potential litigation and so are not entitled to see the documents. But I am not a specialist in DPA or professional privilige and others here may have a different view.

[atticus]

I would tell the executor that you are unable to agree to the proposed course of action and to any cost being incurred without the benefit of full information about the claim and the legal advice the executor has obtained.

[JustAThought]

Thank you. Does not disclosing still count towards the Executors' maintaining a neutral stance?

[atticus]

How is defending a claim (post #1) a neutral position?

[PallasAthena]

I don't know what you mean by 'maintaining a neutral stance'. Being neutral isn't one of an executor's fiduciary duties. They have a duty to act in the best interests of the estate and its beneficiaries.

[Tofros]

It may be that there is a dispute about the interpretation of the wording in one of the clauses in the will, or it may be a claim under the provision for family dependents act, or it may be a claim that the executors should be someone else.