solicitor debt from dead mother

[The Debt Star]

Re: solicitor debt from dead mother

I take it proceedings under the Inheritance Act were not commenced by your mother? Please let us know.

A cursory glance at the Inheritance (Provisions for Family & Dependants) Act 1975 suggests that applications under s.1(1A) must be made by the person affected (ie your mother), or the Personal Representatives of the late partner, or any beneficiary of the estate of the late partner.

This appears to preclude your mother's PRs from bringing a claim. However, I would strongly urge you to seek advice from your own solicitor before throwing in the towel. Bear in mind, though, that even if the PRs of a deceased claimant can bring an action against the partner's esatte then it may be timed out already as there is a 6 month window between the date of the Grant being issued. I don't think though that a claimant's PRs can bring a claim under the Inheritance Act.

However, you should obtain a copy of the client care letter sent to your mother and obtain copies any costs update letters that were sent to her. You should also request a breakdown of the costs, to see what was done and if she was regularly appraised of costs.

At the end of the day it will be liability of your mother's estate and if that has alreday been distributed then you will need to look to your sister to introduce funds to pay her share of those plus refund you what you have already spent by way of administration costs.

I would suggest you see a solicitor specialising in contentious probate matters though, to satisfy yourselves that there is no recovery from the late partner's estate. It would be a very sensible thing to do.

[klrob09]

Re: solicitor debt from dead mother

Hi he didnt leave a will he was only 46 i know people at this age do but his estate was just doled out to his immediately family as they took charge, he did have a house he owned which my mother still lived in but they evicted her belongings as soon as they learnt of her death.
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Hi thanks you have all been really helpful, I didnt even know you exsisted until i spoke to a friend. I will look into the whether proceedings under the inheritance act were undertaken. I know from letters sent to my mother whilst she was in intensive care her deceased partners estate made an offer of ten thousand pounds but that was withdrawn once they learnt of her death.

[The Debt Star]

Re: solicitor debt from dead mother

I know from letters sent to my mother whilst she was in intensive care her deceased partners estate made an offer of ten thousand pounds but that was withdrawn once they learnt of her death.

Now THAT'S interesting. I would defo go and see a solicitor on a fixed fee basis, 30 minutes' advice, some firms offer a free 20 minutes. 'Phone around mate - and let us know what happens.

[klrob09]

Re: solicitor debt from dead mother

I will do thanks to everyone for advice, great site keep it up. I will have a little investigation of this whole probate matter.

[WendyB]

Re: solicitor debt from dead mother

The problem I see here, Kirob, to be perfectly honest, is that the duties and responsibilities as Executors weren't followed.

The duty of an Executor is to sort out/distribute/maximise the deceased estate.

When one is an executor as well as a beneficiary, it should be remembered that the duties as the executor take precedence over the wishes of the beneficiary. What should have happened, is that you and your sister should have settled any and all legitimate debts from the estate before dividing up any monies between yourselves as beneficiaries. However, what seems to have happened here is that you've divided up the money first, then tackled the debts (or not, in your sister's case) Unfortunately this means that whilst you have tried to do the right thing, you are now in a position of having no money left, whilst she has half the estate and is keeping it all for herself.

The solicitors will sue both you and your sister for the money, as you were joint executors. They won't really care who did what, they just want their money.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that's the way I see it. You may have a separate cause of action legally against your sister, but I'm not an expert in those matters so wouldn't like to advise on that.