# distribution of estate taking forever!!



## sunnywalk (6 Apr 2012)

Hi 
I have posted a query about this situation a year ago.. under thread heading *complicated will matter.*
I am apologising in advance for very long post!! I am posting on behalf of my husband
The situation is still ongoing and my OH and some off the  other beneficiaries are gettng very concerned about lack of information and time its taking to resolve the issue.
*background is as follows*:
January 2008 my OH father(who lived in the uk) recieved a letter from an Irish solicitor saying he was one of 6 people who were beneficarys to his aunts estate in ireland (she died intestate). 
The aunt had a house and some monies in bank accounts. 
My OH father died in December 2008..he died intestate too..however everything he had ( which wasnt much) was distributed to his son (OH) and daughter.
My OH contacted irish solicitor and informed him off his fathers death. ( that would have been around september 2009)  The solicitor sent him out a  copy of the grant of probate that had been administered by the high court March 2009 . my OH fathers cousin (lives in ireland) was named the executor off the estate.
The value of the estate at that time is outlined on the letter of probate.
In the letter the solictor did say that a house needed to be sold and that at the time market conditions were not conductive to that.
He also said there was an issue with a neighbour trying to claim of the estate and that the executor had instructed the solicitor to fight this claim in full.
there are six beneficiaries to this will my husbands  father ( this will go to my husband and sister as part of his estate)  My OH two uncles who live in the uk.  3 other cousins who live in ireland. 
My OH has contacted the solicitor a number of times to find out what is happening and has now found out (march 2012) that the neighbours case against the estate has been settled and she got a small payout. 

The remainder of the estate has not been distributed to any of the beneficiaries or certainly not to the ones my OH are in contact with.

At no time has the executor ever contacted the two uncles in the uk to let them know what is happening.  They only know the bits and pieces my husband is finding out from  his own contact with the solicitor.
 My OH does not know the executor personally and his uncles are reluctant to contact him to find out what is going on.
This has now been going on over 4 years since my OH dad was told he was a beneficiary.
The latest my OH found out about 4 weeks ago was that the neighbours case was settled, they had found more money in the uk( didnt disclose how much) and that distribution would happen very soon.. My OH only found this out by contacting the solictor himself. The executor has not contacted his uncles and told them this.

I have a few questions over what we should do now to get this cleared up.
What should my OH too? he has tried getting his uncles to contact the executor themselves but they are reluctant as they dont want to come across as just wanting the cash!.. surely they are entitled to basic communication about waht is going on.

Should OH contact executor himself ?bearing in mind he is not a direct beneficary.. he is a beneficary because of his fathers share.

How can we find out about the current value of the estate..and what the split will be.. bearing in mind the value on the probate was dated march 2009 and they had a house to sell in the meantime. The solitor has never volunteered this information..can my OH just ask him? 
( we are very concious that the solictor is acting on behalf of the exectuor and doesnt have to answer questions from OH.)

Is it normal for an intestacy to take this long? should we be considering legal action against the executor for failing to communicate to beneficaries?

I have stressed to my OH before talking legal action could someone just pick up the phone and ask executor what is happening!!... 

apologies for long post..hope someone can give us direction on how to proceed with this.


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## itsallwrong (7 Apr 2012)

Any probate is public record. You can apply to them directly to get a copy.
If the person doing the probate is not pushing things along, it can take a long time, but once you apply to the courts for a probate meeting, you are given a date to present all the details of the deceased. This can take up to a year depending how busy they are.

If you have questions about the procedure, ring the Probate office.  They are very helpful.


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## Vanilla (8 Apr 2012)

You don't say if or when the property was sold. If it is not sold, there is no cash to distribute. If you don't know, find out- yes, ring!


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## sunnywalk (10 Apr 2012)

thanks for replying to my post vanilla

the solicitor did send a copy of the probate notice ( which was obtained in march 09) and on it there was a sum of money which we understood to be total assets including the value of the house at that time.
solicitor did say they were not selling the house at that time and we do not know if the house has not been sold. My OH uncles have not being informed either if the house has been sold or not.  
The executor has not been informing his uncles on progress off the house sale etc.  I know it really is as simple as someone asking him what is going on
to the best of my knowledge probate was granted march 09 and of course house had to be sold. Its mainly the lenght of time and lack of communication from executor which is starting to bother OH uncles and my OH too.
I will let OH know that the best solution to find out more info is for someone to contact the executor before we start looking at other avenues.


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## Bronte (16 Apr 2012)

It's very difficult to sell property in Ireland at the moment.  That is probably what is causing the delay.  Did you check if the house had been advertised for sale?


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