question about wills.

[darrenpenny]

My uncle died in january and in his will he left my sister as sole executor, but she is being the big " I am " and not telling us much. She says that the will states she gets the contents of the house and garden but the house and land is to be sold and divided equally between us 5 children. she has not shown us a copy of the will but says that she has read it. also she says that once probate has been granted she will get rid of my uncles solicitor and use her accountant instead, she is using both at the moment. Can she use both and if so who will pay them both? Is there anyway we can find out when probate will be granted without her telling us?

Lastly, can my sister, her husband or sons buy the house and land without telling us?

Please help!

[LotusEater]

For this one I suggest you seek professional legal advice or go and ask at your local Citizen's Advice Bureau. Good luck!

[Catso]

I'd second 'get some professional advice', but as I understand it, the answers to your questions are:

She can use both, but a solicitor and an accountant do different things, so she may need to use both. The estate will pay their bills. You can only find out about probate after it has been granted. Yes, they could buy the house and land.

[dzug]

Once probate has been granted you can get a copy of the will from the probate office. You can't find out when this will be unless she tells you. When the estate has been wound up your are entitled to demand formal accounts from her as to what she has done with the money.

The estate ( ie all the beneficiaries) pays for the solicitor and accountant. . If she's only using one at a time then there's no real problem. She's probably obliged to use the solicitor if he was named in the will - often a BAD idea.

Yes they can buy the house and land without telling you. There is the danger that this will be at a knock-down price, but if so it is a breach of her duty as an executor and you can sue her for it. Maybe get your own valuation done and let her know you have done it so she's not tempted. Not advertising it for sale could also be viewed as a breach of duty.

But there's really no reason why she can't tell you things now - there's no secrecy other than that which she wants to put on it. You just need to realise that any figures are provisional so put no reliance on them.

[darrenpenny]

Thanks for that all of you.

dzug, you suggested getting our own valuation done, but she will not let anyone in the house. Can she refuse to let us in there as we are all beneficiaries?

[dzug]

She can refuse to let anyone in (not just you) as she is effectively the 'owner' until the estate is wound up.

A valuation from the outside would be better than nothing.

[squiperly]

I would very strongly advise you to get your own solicitor. Money will make people do all kinds of things, and death, unfortunately, can be a time when the worst comes out in people.

[mattie]

I'm with squiperly, it sounds to me like she's going to try and keep the whole lot.