Half brothers robbed me

[Noel-no1]

My 3 half brothers were executors of my stepfathers estate. His will was very specific as to how the estate should be divided, leaving one quarter of his estate to be shared between his 3 stepchildren, myself, brother & sister & the remainder to be divided between my half brothers. Since his death, they have refused to communicate with us & I have just found out they have split the money between themselves.
Surely this is illegal?

[Richard1966]

Yep it is. Get hold of a copy of the will and then use it as evidence to sue the executors for your share.

[cathfromsaron]

ditto! sue! x

[Noel-no1]

Thought of that, but how much is that going to cost? My husband is retired & I don't actually earn a fortune

[Postdog]

All well and good assuming the will was registered as such.

[AlBags]

Sue sue sue ..
See a solicitor ..
Get what evidence you can .. Do not have any more contact with them until this case heard. They might try and 'pay you off' to keep quiet.

See it through and teach the creeps a lesson.

[Noel-no1]

The will was registered with a solicitor who was originally dealing with it but then the oldest decided they would deal with it & dismissed the solicitor

[AlBags]

Just see the solicitor first and get a copy of will.
Then you can decide.

[Canary42]

Surely this is a criminal offence - if so then the police should be informed.

[Noel-no1]

Is it criminal or civil? Police won't get involved if it is civil

[smurfchops]

If you have a copy of the Will, you will have to pay a solicitor. It has to be done legally, if you want any part of your stepfather's money. Phone some local solicitors and get a price before you start or try and get a recommendation for a solicitor.

[JonnyBoy12]

Not sure what to suggest here but have heard that there is no such thing as Legal Aid any more. Hope some other ABers can be of more assistance.

[rojash]

"Is it criminal or civil?"

It's criminal - there are strict legal obligations on executors

[Noel-no1]

Thanks for suggestions. Will do some ringing round tomorrow

[AlBags]

You 'could' try getting the will and a solicitor to read and understand it .. then reporting the 'theft' to the police.

[AlBags]

(theft or fraud .. whatever you like to call it)

[Noel-no1]

I sort of thought that rojash. Do you think police or solicitor?

[Postdog]

regarding the one registered by the solicitor, that would still stand if there are discrepancies on any later will, assuming it existed. The onus would be on them to to prove it did and was legally completed.

[Noel-no1]

There is definitely only one will

[buildersmate]

If you don't at this stage want to involve a solicitor for fear of racking up costs, the other body to contact would be the Probate Registrar. They can give general advice for free. The personal representatives of your late stepfather's estate would have had to apply to for probate to get their hands on the money in various accounts. The probate office is also where the lodged copy of the will be, once probate has been obtained.

This is where the probate registries ar in England & Wales.

[buildersmate]

http://www.justice.go...robate-registries.htm