HELP! conned by brother over family inheritance

[Charlb1]

Re: HELP! conned by brother over family inheritance

God that was awful!

My uncle said he has had no involvement and wasn't aware of what my brother was up to. He did say however he "discovered" (a very unbelievable story) MY BROTHER had put the house up for sale prior to owning it, but asked him to remove it. I asked why he didn't tell me and the other beneficiaries about this and he said because he know it would upset us.


Had I have known my brother had done that I would have instantly realised what he was up to and I wouldn't have agreed to selling him the house.

I don't believe any of his lies at all! There were way too many flaws and coincidences in his story. But If I can't prove otherwise can I accuse him of withholding information that would have affected my decisions? if my brother has put the house on the market unlawfully, what can I do?

[des8]

Re: HELP! conned by brother over family inheritance

I doubt that advertising the house for sale to ascertain its value is actually unlawful, even as he wasn't in a position to sell it.
What legal duty was he under to share his knowledge with you? Probably none.

It's the executor who has all the responsibilities and liabilities.
Did he obtain a professional valuation for the property?
Have you tried to obtain an estimate of its value at the time of death? If your brother sold it through an estate agent they might be able to help.
As it was sold six weeks after your brother purchased it, for £100,000 more than he paid for it, you could sue the executor for what would have been your share of the extra. Might not be easy, and would almost certainly cause an almighty rift within the family.
It's your call.

[Charlb1]

Re: HELP! conned by brother over family inheritance

The valuations were done a year before the house was sold, my uncle claims to have had legitimate valuations done on the property, I've asked for copies. So I'll wait to see if that materialises.

[MissFM]

Re: HELP! conned by brother over family inheritance

Yes, see what he comes up with.

Just as an aside, you say there were six beneficiaries - was that supposedly six equal shares in the inheritance?

[des8]

Re: HELP! conned by brother over family inheritance

So if the house was valued professionally at £360000 at the time your grandmother passed on, but not sold for another 12months. did the value of the property increase in that time(
You would need to show that the executor failed to realise the full value of the asset at the time of sale.

Whether or not it is credible that its value would increase by 25% in 12 months would depend on diverse factors, location being the prime factor possibly, although its early resale with such a premium would suggest it is entirely credible.

[Charlb1]

Re: HELP! conned by brother over family inheritance

it was split 3 ways, (grandma had 3 sons) but Because of my fathers and my cousins fathers death it was passed on to children. So my share was a 12th (I'm 1 of 4) my cousin was a 3rd (his dads only son) and my uncle the executor had the other 3rd.

i just don't believe for a second my uncle wasn't suspicious when he found out my brother had secretly put the house on the market! He also said my brother sold the house to his estate agent friend for 455k This is same agent that put it up initially for 425k and supposedly didn't get any interest. It's all lies!

[MissFM]

Re: HELP! conned by brother over family inheritance

Why would your uncle do that?

The fact that the house was sold to his

estate agent friend

is pretty damning, though.

[des8]

Re: HELP! conned by brother over family inheritance

From a purely financial point of view you're looking at 8.3% of £95000 (About £7885) as your share of the higher sale price.(if it did sell for £455000)

Have you mentioned this to any of the other beneficiaries who may have missed out?
If you intend to take action it would be worthwhile obtaining as much support as possible to help with the costs.