Beneficiary in 3 year old Will. Solicitor not responding to correspondence

Send the first hardcopy letter by ordinary post and if that doesn't elicit a response, send the next one by registered post with proof of delivery.

Breaking all my own rules now for the OP in extremis, respond to the original email from the solicitor, after installing a free, limited functionality version of a tool like Mail Suite (was Mail Tracker). This tracks the delivery, opening, etc of an email and removes the deniability of receipt.

In all three communications ask the solicitor what steps need to be taken, by whom, to replace the documentation set he admits to losing, and when that will be completed. Mention the elapsed time since the original email.
 
mathepac said:
Send the first hardcopy letter by ordinary post and if that doesn't elicit a response, send the next one by registered post with proof of delivery.
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The solicitor is again under no obligation whatsoever to communicate with the beneficiary except as and when instructed by the executor(s).
 
Why keep repeating yourself? Are you suggesting the OP do nothing? The solicitor is the only link they have to an inheritance; in a similar situation, I'd be figuratively battering that door with the shiny brass plaque down.
 
mathepac said:
Why keep repeating yourself? Are you suggesting the OP do nothing? The solicitor is the only link they have to an inheritance; in a similar situation, I'd be figuratively battering that door with the shiny brass plaque down.
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Any enquires they make should be with the executor.
 
jokemuss said:
My relative died 3y 3m ago. I .... am not in contact with other beneficiaries
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Is this by choice? Are you able to contact the other beneficiaries?

Strikes me that this is the easiest option to find out who the exec is & what's the delay.
 
mathepac said:
Now you're repeating other people's posts and ignoring OP's post No 4.
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. . . in which he says that he doesn't want to contact other members of the family to ask about this in case he'll be seen as a money grubber.

OP is within his rights to send repeated and increasingly strident correspondence to the estate solicitor as an alternative to contacting the executor. But he should realise that the solicitor will report to his client, the executor, that OP is doing this.

So, if the exector thinks that enquiring about the administration of an inheritance that has been outstanding for more than three years is "money grubbing", they're going to think of him as a money grubber anyway. Plus, they'll think of him as a money grubber who, in preference to talking informally, and in a friendly way, to members of the family about the issues that might be causing delay, is running up costs for the estate by trying to involve the estate solicitor in correspondence (that the estate solicitor will certainly charge handsomely to deal with, if he ever gets around to dealing with it). All-in-all, this is not a good strategy for avoiding reputational harm.

OP, find out what you can from the Probate Office about who the executor is and what the will says. Then talk directly to family members. Asking the estate solicitor, while a reasonable approach in the first instance, clearly isn't working. It's time to stop flogging a dead horse.
 
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Perhaps the solictor
Brendan Burgess said:
It is necessary to repeat oneself and others if people don't read what they say.
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Except to an incompetent solicitor who has lost OP's documentation after initiating contact by email of all things.

If the cage gets rattled often enough, the executor's solicitor, if that's what s/he is, might talk to the executor about this annoying person and ask for guidance about how to deal with the dude.
 
mathepac said:
Except to an incompetent solicitor who has lost OP's documentation after initiating contact by email of all things.

If the cage gets rattled often enough, the executor's solicitor, if that's what s/he is, might talk to the executor about this annoying person and ask for guidance about how to deal with the dude.
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If what you're trying to do is get the issue looked at by the executor, then a strategy of badgering a solicitor that you believe to be incompetent and who doesn't appear to deal with his correspondence in the hope that someday he will escalate it to the executor looks like a poor one. OP should be doing everything he can to communicate with the executor without going through the solicitor.
 
TomEdison said:
If what you're trying to do is get the issue looked at by the executor, then a strategy of badgering a solicitor that you believe to be incompetent and who doesn't appear to deal with his correspondence in the hope that someday he will escalate it to the executor looks like a poor one. OP should be doing everything he can to communicate with the executor without going through the solicitor.
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I don't think 3 brief e mails in nearly 40 months is badgering.I was told estate would be finalized by Dec 2023...if not before.It is now Jan 2025.
Families are complicated. I don't want to engage. I think I'll just have to write off this inheritance. S
 
mathepac said:
Perhaps the solictor

Except to an incompetent solicitor who has lost OP's documentation after initiating contact by email of all things.

If the cage gets rattled often enough, the executor's solicitor, if that's what s/he is, might talk to the executor about this annoying person and ask for guidance about how to deal with the dude.
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Does 3 brief 3 line mails in 40 months asking for update
TomEdison said:
. . . in which he says that he doesn't want to contact other members of the family to ask about this in case he'll be seen as a money grubber.

OP is within his rights to send repeated and increasingly strident correspondence to the estate solicitor as an alternative to contacting the executor. But he should realise that the solicitor will report to his client, the executor, that OP is doing this.

So, if the exector thinks that enquiring about the administration of an inheritance that has been outstanding for more than three years is "money grubbing", they're going to think of him as a money grubber anyway. Plus, they'll think of him as a money grubber who, in preference to talking informally, and in a friendly way, to members of the family about the issues that might be causing delay, is running up costs for the estate by trying to involve the estate solicitor in correspondence (that the estate solicitor will certainly charge handsomely to deal with, if he ever gets around to dealing with it). All-in-all, this is not a good strategy for avoiding reputational harm.

OP, find out what you can from the Probate Office about who the executor is and what the will says. Then talk directly to family members. Asking the estate solicitor, while a reasonable approach in the first instance, clearly isn't working. It's time to stop flogging a dead horse.
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If you can suggest an example approach to relatives that would be helpful.Families can be complicated and judgemental.Some more than others.There is no indication as to who the executor is on any correspondence Given that the executor has chosen not to communicate any updates I feel cements my reticence in contacting.
Does 3 short e mails in 40 months make me annoying to a solicitor?
I think I need to just write this inheritance off.It is flogging a dead horse.Wonder where the money went.
 
mathepac said:
Perhaps the solictor

Except to an incompetent solicitor who has lost OP's documentation after initiating contact by email of all things.

If the cage gets rattled often enough, the executor's solicitor, if that's what s/he is, might talk to the executor about this annoying person and ask for guidance about how to deal with the dude.
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This "annoying dude" has only sent 3 brief emails to the solicitor in 40 months asking for quick update. Only one response received which said estate would be completed by Dec 2023,it's now Jan 2025.
No idea who executor is,was not on any correspondence. The fact that the executor has not made themselves known or seen fit to give a quick update is a measure of how fragile the situation with family can be.All the other beneficiaries will be in touch with eachother as close in distance and relationship.
I guess my only option is to write off this inheritance.Shame as due to ill health in my family it would have helped enormously which I know my uncle would have been pleased to know.
jdwex said:
Did you find out who is the executor?

If probate has been granted you will find out

It may be the solicitor or a relative
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Did you check probates.courts.ie to see if probate has been granted? If it has you can obtain a copy of the will and find out who the executor is. If probate has not been granted yet you know the estate is still going through the process and the timeline the solicitor gave you has not worked.
 
I checked on that website and no details of my uncle are on it.
I'm not sure what this means.
I see a previous relative's name and that estate was cleared within a year by a different solicitor.It has probate written in red and the executors names (who are all now deceased).
 
That’s great, now you know that the estate is still in the process of being made ready for probate submission. While 3 + years is a very long time there are probably complications. The executor may be disengaged from the process, they may have changed solicitor, anything is possible. You may have only been left a small amount by the deceased person, a lot of wills give €1-2K to a whole bunch of people so if I were you I would put it out of my mind and perhaps only check the probate website once every 6 months.
 
Clamball said:
That’s great, now you know that the estate is still in the process of being made ready for probate submission. While 3 + years is a very long time there are probably complications. The executor may be disengaged from the process, they may have changed solicitor, anything is possible. You may have only been left a small amount by the deceased person, a lot of wills give €1-2K to a whole bunch of people so if I were you I would put it out of my mind and perhaps only check the probate website once every 6 months.
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Thank you that is reassuring.I was told in the original e mail it was over 20,000 euros. I think I'll just put it out of my mind as suggested.
 
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