Caveat put in against my mother's will

[santamaria]

I am the executor for my mum's will.* My sister has put a caveat in and I am in the process of issuing the warning.* My solicitor says she doesn't have grounds as she has an equal share of the estate and she would have no financial gain from going to court, it is just sour grapes because she isn't an executor (mum left her off cos she's nuts)* My solicitor says if she makes an appearance we will have to take her to court to get it removed and ask the court to order her to pay costs.* She is not working but she is stupid enough to do this.* I don't think mediation would be much point, any suggestions?

[des8]

Mediate, or at least try.
A caveator should tell the executor the reason for the caveat.
Caveats should only be entered if the caveator is challenging the validity of the will, or disputing who should apply for the grant.

If your sister does not have a solicitor, she should be advised to either find one, or at least seek advice from e.g. Citizens Advice.
Someone independent might persuade her to withdraw the caveat without the necessity of issuing a warning, and so avoid the complication of an appearance.
If she does respond with an appearance, and loses in the coming court dealings, there might still be some cost implications for you.
Always try and mediate before proceeding down the court road .... that is where lawyers make their money!

[santamaria]

Mediate, or at least try.
A caveator should tell the executor the reason for the caveat.
Caveats should only be entered if the caveator is challenging the validity of the will, or disputing who should apply for the grant.

If your sister does not have a solicitor, she should be advised to either find one, or at least seek advice from e.g. Citizens Advice.
Someone independent might persuade her to withdraw the caveat without the necessity of issuing a warning, and so avoid the complication of an appearance.
If she does respond with an appearance, and loses in the coming court dealings, there might still be some cost implications for you.
Always try and mediate before proceeding down the court road .... that is where lawyers make their money!

We've tried, the solicitor has tried, she is refusing to talk.* I have emailed her and she won't respond - she put the caveat in on the 4th of May, I put the probate in on the 7th of May, only found out about the caveat on the 27th June when I chased up the probate.* In the meantime we are in danger of losing the house sale, offer accepted in April.* The only challenge she can make to the will is not being selected as an executor, my solicitor said that is not enough as there is no financial benefit to her.* She is on benefits so does not have the money to challenge the will or remove the executors.* She has been offered almost all of the chattels as I don't want any of it, and I have emailed her information on the value of the estate and the losses - the solicitor says there is no other route than a warning now.

[des8]

Oh dear, you do seem to have covered all bases.
The only other thing to do is wait out the 6 months to see if she just doesn't renew the caveat, at which point it will lapse.


This might lose you the house sale, but you will possibly lose that anyway, because if she puts in an appearance probate will be delayed.

[santamaria]

Oh dear, you do seem to have covered all bases.
The only other thing to do is wait out the 6 months to see if she just doesn't renew the caveat, at which point it will lapse.


This might lose you the house sale, but you will possibly lose that anyway, because if she puts in an appearance probate will be delayed.

My solicitor is sending the warning form to probate today so she will probably get it next week, as the motivation is spite rather than money I see little other option

[deb57]

wow. This is so similar to my circumstances!!!!

[santamaria]

wow. This is so similar to my circumstances!!!!

Yes it is maddening, after receiving the warning my sister sent a really spiteful letter to my solicitor calling me a liar, thief etc and has now said she is entering an appearance (no reason given still). She said she will not communicate with me so waiting to find out if she has carried out the threat, Won't know for another 2 days.

[Kezwhi]

My god, she is literally a vindictive so and so. Right, emotions aside- your case will be based on facts so take a deep breath and look at everything as calmly as possible.

Let her make her appearance, let her stand in a court so they can see her for what she is- if it even makes it to court. You, as the executor are carrying out your duties and the court will see that and she will be chastised for delaying the sale of the house etc.

Please take a deep breath and remember this won’t go on forever and you will never have to see her again. I know what you are going through.

[santamaria]

So she got the warning on the 5th of August. 14 days were up yesterday. Rang Leeds registry but they are no longer taking calls (covid) so I rang winchester where the original caveat was lodged. They told me they can see the caveat and warning on their system but nothing else. Guy I spoke to was clueless and couldn't tell me whether that meant no appearance had been entered or not, Anyone know if this is all logged on a central database? Emailed Leeds but not holding my breath for a quick response.