late fathers estate, step brother involved

[bb41]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

Agreed, my action at the very least would be to contest the will as it has surfaced so late in the day and for that you will need professional advice and obviously this incurs a cost, but you can't move forward until this has been done surely? This would take away the what ifs and maybes that OP seems might, could or has happened already .

It would be difficult for all the professional advice given on here to be accurate without knowing the state of play the OP is at present.

Without knowing the history between late father and OP then it is not without the realms of possibility that it maybe just a case of being cut out of the will......but who knows I await the outcome !!

[adamk]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

the fso have got thebank to pay out. if he does ever get probate could the bank claim compensation? on the basis i didnt tell the fso about the will appearing? though this still hasnt been probated.

[des8]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

IF the bank recover from him the monies they have already paid to him
AND IF he ever has the will proved, and overturns your letters of administration
AND IF he then makes the bank give him the money again
THEN the bank MAY try and recover the money from you.

Try not to spend it too quickly (but of course if the money has gone on necessities, your position will have changed and the bank will face certain difficulties recovering what is no longer there!)

[adamk]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

just realised other people posting. with ref to the will and solicitors. i did contact them in the first instance and was told no record. it wasnt until i sent them a copy of my step mums will, that they drew up, they changed there tune.

[des8]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

It doesn't really matter about this will which may or may not have been drawn up.
A will that has not been though probate is worthless.
If your step brother showed a non proved will to the bank and they accepted it, this was at their risk.
If someone turns up with letters of administration, as you did, the bank have to honour them.

The bank could now try and recover their money from your step brother, who possibly had to sign a letter of indemnity before the money was released to him.
Just sit back and relax and see what develops:tinysmile_grin_t:

[Amethyst]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

There is IMO a very faint chance that Ilot v Mitson might help you, but you do need to speak to a specialist contentious solicitor. I doubt it is a case you could pursue yourself , even with help from your other advisers.
If you're not careful, this matter is going to dominate your life.

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...(27-July-2015)

[des8]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

Advice not changed............. see comment on new thread

[adamk]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

my step brother has now sent me a letter on the 6/8 giving me 21 days to return my letters of admin to the probate office. he is stating they are now in possesion of a valid will that supersedes any letters of admin.
he goes on to say if i dont he will ask the probate office to proceed with a grant of probate with the will and any money or goods taken from the estate will have to be returned and distributed according to the wishes of the will.
what should i do? i suspect i need do nothing until the probate office contact me.

[des8]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

If I were you I would ignore him!

He needs to issue a claim seeking revocation of the grant of letters of administration which you hold. (CPR Part 57.6)
To do this he will have to start proceedings (CPR Part 7)
When you respond to the claim form which will be served upon you, then you return the letters of administration to the court.

Of course if you want to assist your uncooperative step brother, you could just return the LoA and save him the trouble of issuing a claim.

[bb41]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

What I find sad in any case like this is that it's all un necessary , if there's a will then produce it immediately , make sure everything is done to the letter and finish up with a clear conscience . It makes grieving nigh on impossible when all hell is breaking out about who has what

After going through this a number of times and recently my Mum the past February, even the letters she had written down I acknowledged and carried out her wishes as if they had been in the will , it's what she wanted and that's all that counts.

I hope you get this sorted soon and SB does the honourable thing

[adamk]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

What I find sad in any case like this is that it's all un necessary , if there's a will then produce it immediately , make sure everything is done to the letter and finish up with a clear conscience . It makes grieving nigh on impossible when all hell is breaking out about who has what

After going through this a number of times and recently my Mum the past February, even the letters she had written down I acknowledged and carried out her wishes as if they had been in the will , it's what she wanted and that's all that counts.

I hope you get this sorted soon and SB does the honourable thing

very much doubt SB will do anything honourable. he didn't seem to care for my Dad and by all accounts he was a nuisance to my Dad if anything. I suspect the will maybe a forgery. hence why he hasn't done anything in over 3 years.

on that note. wont the probate office be asking him some serious questions about the sudden appearance of a will?

[des8]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

The court won't be asking questions unless you make an allegation that the will is forged or fraudulent
You will need strong supporting evidence of this, normally from a handwriting expert in a forgery case.

[adamk]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

If I were you I would ignore him!

He needs to issue a claim seeking revocation of the grant of letters of administration which you hold. (CPR Part 57.6)
To do this he will have to start proceedings (CPR Part 7)
When you respond to the claim form which will be served upon you, then you return the letters of administration to the court.

Of course if you want to assist your uncooperative step brother, you could just return the LoA and save him the trouble of issuing a claim.

does any of what hes now goto do potentially give him any claim for compensation or cost me money?

also using a handwriting expert, I don't have any of my Dads documents or signatures to compare.

another thought, if all he has is a photocopy wouldn't hey reject his claim?

[des8]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

does any of what hes now goto do potentially give him any claim for compensation or cost me money?
No, although if the will is proved you would have to return the money you obtained from your father's bank

also using a handwriting expert, I don't have any of my Dads documents or signatures to compare.
I believe you need a good number of examples of a person's handwriting/signature for analysis, so you have probably no chance of proving a forgery.
The bank may have a record of his writing and signatures on cheques etc. If they have retained them you might be able to obtain those, but doubtlessly they will charge!

another thought, if all he has is a photocopy wouldn't hey reject his claim?

The court will require original documents. Why do you think he might only have a photocopy?

[adamk]

Re: late fathers estate, step brother involved

its possible his mother gave him a copy. I would think my Dad would have destroyed the original after his wife died, as he said to some friends he would hate SB to get the house.