A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

[Carl26]

Hi guys and gals I'm new here.
To be honest I've never had to deal with anything like this before and I'm Wel and truly lost.

I will explain as best I can but sorry if the family names gets a bit confusing.

Anyway
4 is years ago my great grandmother passed away and her Will stated that everything should be divided between her 3 siblings.
My grand father his brother(the executor) and there sister.
If for what ever reason 1 of them had already died (my grandfather had already passed)
it was to be passed on to there children (in this case my mother and her sister)

The executor has either refused or is unwilling to get on with his duty and has so far done nothing to my knowledge.

Sadly my mother in this time fell on bad times and had to cancel her private medical care due to lack of avaliable funds in her bank.
With her living in tenerife the private care was quite important for English speaking doctors and reduced waiting times.
As it goes she waited to long for an operation and 2weeks ago she was given to much morphine and passed away in her sleep with no one there with her because we were all told by my mother partner that she was in for tests not an operation.

This is now eating me up that if the executor had done his duty in the 1st place this mite have been avoided.

Now my mother's sister is currently having a hard time with rising flood waters currently occupying her home and her family is effectively homeless at the moment and of course they could do with the release of these funds.

Now my questions are.

Is there a way to hurry the executor along?

How can I tell if the executor is lieing about the value of the estate?

Should everyone be worried that the executor had a joint account with my great grandmother?

Should we also be worried about all the houses in the estate and the stocks and bonds going missing?

And what happens to my mother's share?


On a little side note I don't suppose anyone knows if there's a way to find out if someone had a will in Spain as my mother's other half (not married) is saying there wasn't one but my mum had said in the passed she made one but never said where it was.

I'm sorry this is a bit of an essay but I'm trying to explain it all as best I can.
Thank you in advance for any help you guys and gals can pass on as I'm really lost.

Carl

[bluebottle]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Hi Carl and welcome to Legal Beagles.

The situation you describe is complex and needs input from a legal professional specialising in Probate Law to help resolve the issues involved. It is not something you should attempt to tackle on your own without competent professional advice. If you are on a limited income and have a Law Centre near to where you live, they may be able to provide free or low-cost legal advice. Failing that and if you do not qualify for Legal Aid, the National Pro Bono Centre may be able to help. www.nationalprobonocentre.org.uk

[wales01man]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Stocks and bonds and Houses Plural says to anyone this is a large estate probably subject to inheritance tax?
competent legal advice should be sought as it seems something is not right here.

[Shirley Temple]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Hi, I'm sorry for your loss,

This sounds very complex indeed, I can't really help with the UK side of things but,,,
I can help a little with the Tenerife side of things as I have just returned from living there for quite a number of years and as my husbands dad passed away out there I have a little experience of this,,

1 your first port of call is probably to the British consulate over there just to see if they can give you any help and advice, this is based in Santa Cruz Tel: 0044 917146300 email. Info.consulate@fco.gov.uk

2 There is away to find out if your mum had a will,this needs to be applied for as a last will and testimony at a place in Mainland Spain,
sorry I can't help with a phone number or address on this as we paid an Abagodo (lawyer) to sort it out as ours was very complex,

Do you mind me asking which hospital was she in when she passed away?

If you have any other questions about the Tenerife side of things I would be willing to try my best to answer them for you x

[Carl26]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Thank you everyone for your comments I will look into the probono services to find some for of answer to the UK side of things.
And yes I believe there is alot of odd things going on in the UK side but I'm unsure what is in the estate as I'm working on what I knew was included about 10years ago so I expect alot has changed since then that's what I mean by not being able to trust the executor because he won't tell anyone what is involved and seems to be unwilling to do anything for what ever reason.
It may just be laziness but then it could be greed related I don't know it just really upsetting that if he had got on with it my mum/his niece would probably still be here now.

Hi shirley temple thank you for your reply I'm very interested in any info you have on the tenerife legal system.
My mum was in a hospital in santa cruz I believe it was called candelarria or something along those lines.
Why do you ask?
I'm just wondering as I believe her care was not up to standard because she went in in no pain but the Fed her with a tube to the point she apparently looked like anorexic person that was pregnant her stomach was swollen up so bad and that obviously caused her alot of pain and that is apparently why they administered the morphine that killed her.

Again thanks everyone for your replys to this it means a lot knowing there are people out there willing to pass on there knowledge to try and help.

[bluebottle]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Executors of a deceased's estate have certain duties they must fulfil and comply with. Your initial post does not indicate whether the executor is a legal professional or not. If they are a legal professional, you might be able to seek guidance or, possibly, assistance from their relevant regulatory body.

[Shirley Temple]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Hi
I was interested in the hospital because if she was using the Spanish "nhs" in the south hospital I have heard of sooo many horror stories, I my-self had bad treatment at the south hospital which is a mix of "nhs" and private,
However the hospital in which your mother was in is a "nhs" hospital and they are really good up there and I am almost certain they would have gave her good treatment but as I didn't know her or her history I can only give an opinion on my treatment there, you are right it is called Candelaria hospital,
You may be able to request her medical files from them but be prepared to constantly hit brick walls, with this and trying to sort a Spanish will if she had one, saying that under Spanish law her partner unless stated in the will has no right to any of her assets,
under Spanish law 50% of assets automatically are given to any children even if they are not mentioned in any will,
ie your mum left everything to her partner it wouldn't matter as the law says children have to have 50% of it,

It will be very difficult for you to sort anything out from the UK even living in Tenerife at the time it was such a hassle for us,
You need to find an Abagodo who will look into it for you and who will apply for her Last will and testament if she made one, be prepared to pay their fees up front as you are living here in the UK,

We used a company called servoline, if you would like her name and number I will pm it to you,

I hope all this helps x

[Inca]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Can I just say this........
Totally empathise with your situation...and you do need seriously good legal advice but be careful putting allegations such as what you believe 'killed her' in writing,,anywhere,,you never know who sees what on where..maybe I'm being overly cautious :noidea:

As always,,it's just my opinion

[Carl26]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Hi blue bottle no the executor is not a legal professional he is just the son off my great grandmother and has no legal back ground at all. Would he be the only one or would there be two executors? I don't believe anything would have been done with a solicitor as the whole family doesn't believe in spending money. Hi Shirley I know what your saying about candelaria mum always said they were great up there with the way they handled her friends problem. but she said when she switched from private to NHS type care she noticed the difference instantly with regards to waiting times and doctors patience with her turning up with an interpreter. I just feel if she had had the money to keep the private care this may not have happened. I know with it being in Spain I will probably never get a true answer but I'd like to think if the executor had pulled his finger out it mite have been different.

[wales01man]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Has the executor been granted probate? This is the first thing to find out sorry about your mother but you I suspect would never be able to prove the executor failing to do anything could be liable .
What if anything have the other members of the family who might benefit from the will done?

[Inca]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

And I think the executor needs a boot up his backside..it all looks decidedly dodgy.

[Shirley Temple]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Ok,,, not sure if it helps put your mind at a little ease but wether she had private or not is neither here nor there as if you are having treatment at Candaleria hospital it is only NHS they don't do private up there,
But I do agree if you have private health insurance you get to see a doctor/specialist a hell of a lot quicker x

[Carl26]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Can I just say this........
Totally empathise with your situation...and you do need seriously good legal advice but be careful putting allegations such as what you believe 'killed her' in writing,,anywhere,,you never know who sees what on where..maybe I'm being overly cautious :noidea:

As always,,it's just my opinion

I realise what you mean the only reason I worded it that way was that is the way it was worded to me when I heard.
Thank you for pointing that out.

[Carl26]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Has the executor been granted probate? This is the first thing to find out sorry about your mother but you I suspect would never be able to prove the executor failing to do anything could be liable .
What if anything have the other members of the family who might benefit from the will done?

I'm not sure if he has been granted it or not.
If I'm honest I don't really understand what probate is.
I know it could never be proven and I don't think I would be interested in publicly pointing blame towards him I would just have liked if things were handled directly like they should have been in the 1st place.
The other family members are afraid to push him for fear of rocking the boat etc.
Even the ones that need to move house rite away but can't afford to are to afraid.
I how ever don't go on boats so I don't mind if they rock or not.

[Carl26]

Re: A complex situation I cannot get my head around. Please help.

Ok,,, not sure if it helps put your mind at a little ease but wether she had private or not is neither here nor there as if you are having treatment at Candaleria hospital it is only NHS they don't do private up there,
But I do agree if you have private health insurance you get to see a doctor/specialist a hell of a lot quicker x

Hi Shirley I know because she was getting private treatment in the South before rather than traveling the length of the island everything she needed an appointment.
Sorry was so long for a reply I was at work and there was no Internet signal in the afternoon for some reason.