# One year later and I have not been informed about my mother's estate



## PPSISSUE

Hi guys,

Wow - what a resource! You have no idea how much I am looking forward to your replies, even if it isn't what I want to hear, the uncertainty sorrounding my situation is draining me mentally and emotionally.

Long story short, I am not educated. I don't understand the law very well and I think as a result of this I have been taken advantage of? My mother died a year ago. A fairly wealthy woman (nothing astronomical) but she had her own business, had saved her pension, had a house and a car. She has 6 children. Many in the family always had a tendency to disagree, be selfish with money etc. and this seems to be coming to fruiton now. As soon as the funeral was over, I headed back to Australia (where I have been living for 14 years). That was in May 2010. I was not particularly close to any of my siblings, bar one. Since then I have heard nothing re: her estate. Allow me to explain further.

-All but ONE of my siblings have returned my calls. This sibling has informed me that there was no will, and that the solicitor was taking care of the estate. This solicitor had not been known to my mother. 

-She also informed me that proceedings had reached their final stage and that my other remaining siblings had been meeting the solicitor without her, she complained to him and asked him for all documents relating to the case and he eventually provided this and it threw up some interesting senarios. The house had been sold,the business disolved and sold and the cash about to be released. I asked how this was possible without the solicitor even informing me what was happening? She said she asked him numerous times to contact me but he hasn't to this date written/called once. He told her he had spoken to me over the phone (this was a lie, I have never spoken to the man and all my calls to his office are met with the following 'He's on holidays' 'The line is bad' 'I'll get him to call you back'.

-I have since been informed by my sister that he has a registered PPS number in my name. Now this is where it gets serious. The PPS number is listed on all documents she requested. When I asked her to read out the number to me it wasn't the one I used in Ireland years and years ago. It turns out that one of my siblings applied for the PPS number without telling me, and then provided it to the solicitor as they didn't want me involved in any decisions regarding the house/business and what to do with them.

Can they do this? Can a solicitor really just call all these shots and not inform me of whats going on or even return my calls?

Is it an offence in law for my sibling to call the dept. of social welfare and supply my old RSI number and get a new PPS number sent out to my mothers address? (my old address) by impersonating me? (I know she did this as she told my sister she did to hurry it along as she thought I would object or be awkward.

Why all the cloaks and secrecy? Is it really permissable for a solicitor to this??

I am banging my head off a brick wall here. All I have is email/phone in Australia. It is relatively easy to not answer my calls. I feel something untoward is taking place (knowing my family it wouldn't suprise me) and I am literally clueless as to what my rights and responsibilities are?? Will I just be sent a cheque and told it has all been done? Is too late for me to do anything at all???

I am sorry if my post seems slightly desperate or lacking in information. As I said, I am literally clueless when it comes to probate etc. and what a solicitor should/shouldn't be doing in regards to a beneficary.

My sincerest and heartfelt thanks to all those who take the time to write a reply, your advice is much appreciated here.


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## Complainer

I don't know much about the legalities, but perhaps for reasons of distance and expertise, it might well be worth your while engaging your own solicitor in Ireland to act on your behalf.


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## beffers

I agree. Get your own solicitor involved asap. You are too far away, and the time distance is to big to get results on your own, especially if shady stuff is going on, which it clearly is. E mail or call the Irish Law Society and you should be able to get the name of a solicitor(s) who specializes in probate law and estates.

Why are they doing this? Money. Sad, but true. If your mother died without a will & there is no surviving spouse, then BY LAW her estate is to be divided equally between ALL of her children. That means you are entitled by law to 1/6 of her estate, and an equal say in what happens with her estate. Where you live, and how well you do or do not get on with your siblings is irrelevant legally. If your siblings are trying to pull a fast one, and cut you out of all that for personal reasons, they do not have a legal leg to stand on. If they and the solicitor continue to dig their feet in, and refuse to communicate with you, threaten legal action against them. If there really is fraud involved regarding your PPS number and you have busted them on it, that may make your family behave better towards you, and the solicitor start paying attention to you.


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## T McGibney

Martinaann said:


> Unless you know or have a solicitor in your immediate family,I would  disagree  with the above two posts regarding getting your own solicitor..If you bring a solicitor in and that solicitor aware now that you are in Australia  well he could clean you out.



This post should be ignored. Advising someone not to engage professional legal advice is irresponsible. If you have concerns about a solicitor, or need reassurance regarding the Irish legal profession, contact the Law Society


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## horusd

Can only agree with all posters recommending a solicitor. You really need that kind of professional help. I had to deal with an intestate parent, I live here and didn't have all the complications you seem to have, and altho I did a bit of the leg-work myself, I did get a solicitor too, and he was great. I think the story of dodgy solicitors is just that, a hype on perthaps a few bad eggs.  

If you're concerned about the cost, ask up front.  I did recommend my old solicitor here on AAM for probate, and I think there are a few other recommendations as well. And as others have suggested you could get a recommendation from the Law Society too.


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## beffers

Agree. Yes, there are bad solicitors operating here, just as there are bad doctors and dentists out there. That is not a good reason to never go to the doctor or dentist if you have a bad belly ache or a tooth ache.

The OP is clearly getting no where by trying to take care of this on their own. The next step is getting a solicitor involved. What else can he/she do? Sitting back and doing nothing, and leaving things as they are gets him/her no where. Given the amount of information out there on the internet, and the fact that one of the siblings in Ireland is keeping them informed with what is going on, it can't be all that hard to find a good solicitor who will do right by him/her.


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## robbie00

Some advise in regards to your problem with the probate of your mothers estate. 

My father passed away last year and after one year I have only just got the last of the details in order to enable me to continue probate on his estate. So only being one year is not the biggest issue as the solicitor would have had to make sure he gets all of the monies due to the estate etc.

Your mother had no will so her estate is intestate and you sisters/brothers get an equal share of the estate please see link which states this:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/the_deceaseds_estate/what_happens_the_deceaseds_estate.html

Once your sister which you still speak with gets advised how much she is due from the estate you would be due the same amount. 

Also on the probate forms there is a revenue e-mail address you can contact in order to get a persons PPS number in order to deal with probate. The solicitor will put your pps number in the box and will not tick the box that states you are resident in Ireland.

Have you tried calling the solicitor? I would suggest getting your sister who you are still chatting with to call him and ask him when the monies will be released. You cannot be legally cut out of any money due as the law states you all get an equal share.

In regards to the person doing the probate (the solicitor) he swears on an oath to complete this work and also is liable for any money that is not distributed correctly so I do not think he is holding this from you. Its a long process so before getting a solicitor involved and costing yourself money ask you sister to contact him to see when the money will be released. My estate was an uncomplicated estate to deal with and its still taken me over a year to get all the details of the money due to it.

Hope this helps,
Rob


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## Vanilla

Your information seems to be secondhand- ie through a sister. You mention that the sister said she asked the solicitor to phone you. But have you directly telephoned or emailed?

The solicitor must take instructions from the Administrator- who is this? I assume one of your siblings has taken on the role.

A year is not unheard of, especially where there was a property to be sold also.

The issue with the PPS number is unusual- it seems your sibling impersonated you, obtained it from the Dept under false pretences, and gave it to the solicitor. Your gripe here though surely is with your sibling?


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## robbie00

Sorry Vanilla there is an option on the probate forms to contact  the revenue on a specified e-mail address to gain a persons PPS number needed for probate. 

This can be done if you are not able to contact the person etc, if they dont speak maybe that person didnt have a contact nubmer so just got it off the revenue to continue the process either way the PPS number is needed for the probate process so there is no problem with this being requested. Its needed for the forms I know I just filled them out the other day.


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## mercman

OP. AFAIK, any costs which you might incur in having the wrongs of others corrected are claimable through the estate.


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## PaddyBloggit

Employ a solicitor .... they aren't all tarred with the same brush ...


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## robbie00

There is no need to go getting a solicitor just yet. It can take years to complete probate on an estate especially one which is complicated business, property and accounts etc, its made more difficult when theres no will.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/the_deceaseds_estate/what_happens_the_deceaseds_estate.html

As per the above link shes is entitled to the exact same as each of her brothers and sister, She has to get the exact same as her sister.

The OP only said they e-mailed the solicitor, it would be more appropriate to call the solicitor in regards to any query she has. 

Her original query was about her PPS number being stolen this is also not the case as you can request this from the revenue for the purpose of filling in the probate forms. 

This topic is dealt with as far as I can see, her PPS number wasnt stolen its standard practice as its needed for the forms and its only one year since her mothers death which is definately not enough time to deal with an intestate estate were there is property, business and accounts etc.


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## PPSISSUE

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses. The waiting time is normal so? That adds clarity.

Alot of people have said why don't you contact the solicitor directly - I have, many many times. My calls are never returned. The receoptionist is used to me at this point, she often claims I 'have a bad line'. He has been instructed to contact me by the administrator at least twice and on one occassion lied and said he'd spoken to me briefly (he hasn't, I think I'd remember this). 

This is what makes me frustrated beyond belief, that even the solicitor won't answer my calls or queries. All my information is second-hand because for whatever reason he point blank won't deal with me. It is an incredibly frustrating experience to have someone who is dealing with your deceased parents estate NOT want to speak with you.


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## AlbacoreA

Is it usual to just ring and email. I would have thought that it would be better to send a registered letter to follow any call, or email that gets no response.


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## PaddyBloggit

Going by the stone walling that seems to be going on, a solicitor would be the best investment you could make.


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## mercman

Or you could give the sibling that is passing you information a Limited Power of Attorney.
Robbie00, i am unable to understand your point; in probate every case is different, and frankly from what I read this matter stinks.

The OP needs to have somebody represent her now, because once the assets are distributed, it would be near impossible to retrieve their share.


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## Vanilla

If the solicitor isn't returning calls, it is probably because the Administrator has not given him authority to do so. Who is the administrator? This is the person you need to get the information from.


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## beffers

That is a valid point, but it has gone beyond his just not returning calls now. He is lying by saying he has spoken to the OP when the OP says they have never spoken to him. He is getting his receptionist to make up stupid excuses for him such as being on vacation, and their having a bad phone connection as a way to get out speaking to the OP. This has gone on for a whole year. Why do all that if he has nothing to hide? 

If he has been instructed by the Administrator to deal with them and no one else, why not simply tell the OP that? It would not be an unreasonable or unusual circumstance. His refusing to even do that reeks of someone who has something to hide, or that he is someone who knows darn well that there are shenanigans going on with the OP's PPS number, and he thinks that if he just sticks his head in the sand and ignores the OP, the OP will go away and stop trying to rock the boat.


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## Bronte

PPSISSUE said:


> -, she complained to him and asked him for all documents relating to the case and he eventually provided this and it threw up some interesting senarios. The house had been sold,the business disolved and sold and the cash about to be released.
> 
> 
> .


 
So your sister managed to find out what was going on from the solicitor.  She was provided with all documentation and can she not send that on to you via email?  Also you know that the assets have been sold and the cash is about to be released so everything looks above board.  A year is not a long time in probate and two assets had to be sold.  

You should write a registered letter to the solicitor, with a cc to which ever of your siblings is the administrator asking for clarification as to what is going on and asking to be kept informed of all developments.  But based on what you've posted all seems to be in order.  

The getting of a PPS number sounds like an administrative requirement and doesn't necessarily mean that anything untoward has happened.


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## NOAH

did you get sorted?

"All my information is second-hand because for whatever reason he point blank won't deal with me. It is an incredibly frustrating experience to have someone who is dealing with your deceased parents estate NOT want to speak with you."

Send him a nice polite email outlining the poor service, then cc to law society. I guarantee you will get a response. And there is a website rate your solicitor, could be worth checking, do a google.

noah


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## COLAKO

All these posts about probate taking years are a complete untruth. The only thing that delays probate are lazy solicitors and lazy executors. An uncomplicated case should take no more than 3 months to gather the information and then between 8-15 weeks to get the probate issued and then its a matter of giving out the funds. Any delay further would only be if assets like a house need to be sold. Unless there are objections to the will or other complications (overseas property etc.....joint accounts, shares etc...) do it yourself. Its easy to complete the forms and the probate office are very good. Dont make the mistake I made, letting people get away with doing nothing. YOU are the beneficiary and the executor and solicitor are working for you


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