Tweet
I have received a county court claim from an ex bother in law of my cousin who passed in 2016. My cousin passed with no will and I was her only blood relative. I applied to probate and a letter of administration was issued to me in order to address her estate. I received money from her bank accounts. This ex bother in law thinks he should have had her money from her account as he states he was close to her for years he has now issued a county court claim against me for the money advice would be great full thanks
Loading...
-
Tags: None -
What date was the grant of letters of administration?
Can you please post up the particulars of claim?
Is it a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for family and Dependants) act 1975?
-
Hi letter of administration was granted jan 2017. He is claiming that I agreed I would transfer the money to him once I received the money from the bank but I never said I would do this he also states he paid for the funeral when I have evidence from bank statements the money was released from the bank to pay the funeral cost.
he states his agreement revolves around the estate of j who was his ex sister in law and who he was close to for 60 years. He knew he could not apply for probate as he is not a blood relative so he suggested I did. Which I did. He states he supplied me with her financial information which he did and he states he assisted me with probate which he did not. He then states I agreed to transfer funds to him once probate was granted. He then states the monies have never been transferred. Which it hasn’t because we never had an agreement and he is not a blood relative.
it does not mention anything about the claim being under the inheritance act
thanksComment
-
-
Well those particulars don't comply with the rules.
Which court served them?
Is the claimant an EX by reason of the death of his wife or by divorce?
Presumably as the nearest surviving blood relative of the deceased you inherited her estate, which I assume was comparatively limited.Comment
-
-
What rules are there pleaseComment
-
He is an ex bother in law she was married but divorced to his bother who is now deceased. The estste was 19k in moneyComment
-
First thing to do now is acknowledge the claim, as it gives you more time to draft your defence
Do not enter anything as a defence
How much is he claiming?
Did he write warning you that he was about to file a claim?
The Court Procedure Rules part 16 set out what should be contained in the particulars, but these particulars are deficient in that 1) they don't give a cause for action. An "agreement" such as alleged does not fill the requirements of a contract and so your not complying would not give rise to a cause of action, even if the agreement existed.
2)they don't include the cost or value of the breach of the alleged agreement
I would be thinking of writing a defence on the following lines;
This is a draft only for you
1. Each and every allegation in the Claimant’s statement of case is denied unless specifically admitted in this Defence.
2. This claim appears to be a claim for a breach of agreement
3 The Defendant denies the existence of the alleged agreement
3 The Claimant is put to strict proof of the existence of, and the terms of any agreement he asserts he entered into with
the Defendant.
4 The Claimant ceased to be a family member following the divorce of his brother from the Deceased in YYYY
5The Defendant neither admits nor denies how the Claimant was informed of the Deceased's death, nor how the Defendant became involved in organising the Deceased's funeral
6 The funeral costs were paid out of the Deceased's bank account
7 The Claimant has not demonstrated any reasonable grounds to bring a claim
8. It is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief as claimed or at all.
Statement of Truth
I believe that the facts stated in this defence are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of Court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.
Signature DateComment
-
Thanks Des8 that is so helpful and. Dry much appreciatedComment
-
hi Des8 please can you have a look at my defence statement and comment
laimant PB
Defendant E
Claim number
1: The Defendant received the claim from the County Court on 22nd July 2021.
2: Each and every allegation in the claimants statement of case is denied unless specifically admitted in this defence.
3: The claimant did not pay funeral costs for the deceased. The defendant has evidence from the deceased bank account that all funeral costs were paid directly from the bank account.
4: The Defendant did not make any agreement with the claimant to transfer funds after probate.
5: The Defendant had never denied receiving funds.
The Defendant sent a request to the claimant for inspection of documents mentioned in the claimants statement of call under Civil Procedure Rule 31:14. This was posted on 29th July 2021 requesting a response within 7 days. The claimant has not sent any of these documents as requested.
This claim comes after a greater campaign from the claimant of harassment from 2017-2021. The claimant has verbally harassed the defendant by demanding money at the defendants house and sending verbally offensive texts to family members. The claimant has also defaced the deceased death certificate and order of service from the funeral with abusive words and posted bothe to the defendant. This resulted in the defendant reporting the claimant to the police on 2 occasions. The police have contacted the claimant on both occasions.
The Defendant believes that the facts stated in this defence are true.
Sign
Dated
Comment
-
firstly that statement of truth you used is out of date.
The current wording is as per post 9.
You sent a CPR request for documents mentioned in POC? What were these?
If he hasn't sent them your next step (after a reminder) is application for a court order forcing him, not include it in your defence
Your last paragraph should be omitted as some of it is irrelevant to the claim and the rest will later go into your witness statement
Point 3, it is possible he paid for the funeral costs, but out of deceased's bank account, so you need to rephrase it
You have not put him to strict proof, and you have not included other essential bits as per post 9
You need to deny each statement in the POC that you deem untrueComment
-
And one last point: I don't recall seeing an amount claimed in the POC.Originally posted by des8 View Post
If there is no amount the POC is inadequate, and together with the lack of a cause of action, it doesn't have the required “particularity”. for you to be able to defend.Comment
-
I have received the direction questionnaire now to complete on the front page it states complete and return to the court and serve copies on all parties does this mean I have to send copies to all other parties and if so who are the parties is it the claimant thanks in advanceComment
-
Yes, you file in court and serve on all other parties, in this case the claimantComment
Comment