Help I am the executor and can't find a beneficiary

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KIM F

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Please help:I am, as the eldest of four sons, the executor of my mothers estate. One of the parts of my mothers will was to manage a sum of money how I saw fit for the 6 grandchildren that existed at my mothers death, until each reached 18 years old. This I have done for 17 years.

The last child I can not trace as the mother fell out with my brother shortly after my mother's death and moved away.

I have tried and tried to trace her and don't know what I can legally do. I want to just divide it amongst my brothers and have done with it. But one brother wants it to go to all new grandchildren post my mother death, he has 3 further children and there is one other. I'm not keen on that. Can I as the executor just do as I want?

Please help
 
I don't know the legal answer, but why don't you just continue to manage it?

She may well show up at some stage and wouldn't that be a nice welcome back to the family?

Brendan
 
I am doing that currently. But having managed all the accounts over the last 17 years I want to just complete this last one. The likelihood of her getting back in touch is very remote, I know my brother. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
Up front, I am not a legal person of any kind. As executer my understanding is that your job is to administer the will as it stands, not to vary it in any way. Therefor you can't pass the money on to the grandchildren born since the will was made. Is there any way of tracking down the grandchild that your brother has lost contact with, without involving your brother?
 
Again thanks for replying. This is why I'm asking. The Pearson I'm trying to find was 4 months old at the time of my mothers death and fell out with my brother the month after the funeral. Her mother who was just a girlfriend of anout a year just up and left with her over night leaving no adress or contact numbers. I have tried for two months to find her without luck.
 
I think you have done a magnificent job to carry out your mother's wishes to date, a huge task.

As above IANAL but have acted as executor. If you wish to finalise the estate, you will need to advertise in the national dailies and / or in the papers local to their last known address requesting contact.

If after a reasonable time (90 days ?) there is no contact, I believe your only option is to divide the residual estate amongst the original 16 grandchildren, or their surviving children if they are since deceased. If they had no children I think the next step is their surviving parent, or if that parent is not a blood relation of your mother's, it gets divided again between the original surviving grandchildren.

I'm sorry you seem to be "stuck" (wrong word but it's the best I can do right now) with this for far longer than you anticipated, but well done.

Just to agree3 with previous poster you cannot take it upon yourself to add beneficiaries willy nilly, you need to follow the bloodlines of the original wishes set out in the will. You will of course need proper legal advice
 
I believe your only option is to divide the residual estate amongst the original 16 grandchildren,
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You will need to take advice on this.

I would have thought that the money which could not be paid, would go back to the estate and would be paid to whoever got what was left over after specific bequests.

However, it could be argued that if €6000 was to be divided between 6 children and one could not be found, then the 5 should get €1,200 each.

But a solicitor will be able to tell you exactly what should happen reading the will in the context of the Succession Act.
 
Thanks guys you have all been very understanding and helpful. I think you all seem to be saying what I thought. I think the best way would be, as I don't even know what country to search for the final grandchild. Would be to devide the final sum between mymothers four surviving children (my brothers and I). They can then choose to devide it how they see fit amoungst their children, my mothers grandchildren new/original. But as the last two posters suggest, I should seek legal confirmation that this is what I can do. Unless anyone knows differently - Thank you all.
 

When you say you have tried for 2 months to find someone, what exactly does that mean? Have you ran advertisements seeking information about this person? Have you checked public records offices?

Two months does not sound like much of any effort to me and my concern would be that you could be held liable for damages later should this person show up.... I'm not sure, but I think it may even be possible to get insurance against such an event happening.
 
All I have to go on is a first name with three possible sir names (mother had a habit of using double barrelled name) and the mothers unmarried name 17 years ago that's it. No location country county nothing.
 
Hi Kim f have you tried Facebook if he is over 16 he is bound to be on it . Worth a try
 
Thanks but yes one of my first stops along with LinkedIn but no luck. If it was a larg sum I'd hits sombody but its not a lot and the fee would probably take most of it. Thanks though.
 
KIM F said:
All I have to go on is a first name with three possible sir names (mother had a habit of using double barrelled name) and the mothers unmarried name 17 years ago that's it. No location country county nothing.
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But surely your brother must know a bit more than that if he had a relationship with the mother... at least the country and her age? If it every did come to a court case for damages, it is going to be very hard to convince anyone that that is all your family knew... particularly something like nationality... I would imagine that at some point the child may try and get in touch with her father..
 
All I have as I said erlier is a birth date first name and three possible surnames. No I don't have anymore info. We all have relatives like my brother. Unfortunately some people do not have lives as well ordered and simple as the majority. It is why I have so little to go on for a search.
 
How about finding a friendly Garda and ask them to check with mobile-operators for all combinations of names and the birthdate? I imagine you'd have a pretty small list to go through after that.

(AFAIK telecom providers under law have to provide Gardai with information following a request)

I wonder if the local church/priest might know - would there/could there have been a request for a copy of a birth-cert etc?

Another poster has asked about newsppaper advertisements - has this been done ? A LinkedIn search by itself is laughable.
 

In that case, i would suggest that you need to get written legal advice and act strictly upon it, so that if you are ever challenged about it, you have a defence. Because honestly it is very hard to imagine that a woman entered your lives, had your brother's child and yet none of you have a clue about her!

Did you in fact run advertisements seeking information about this person? It would be a basic expectation of any executor seeking to carry out the wishes of the testator.
 
You could always try posting the information here or on a few other forums - I've seen a few instances where people are trying to reconnect with someone from their past or trace an unknown parent and it's amazing what the collective web userbase can come up with.
 
You obviously know the surname of the person's mother 17 years ago, as she was your brother's girlfriend. Have you tried the register of births, (I think they are still in Trinity Street, Dublin.) As already mentioned, regardless of which religion she is, the mother would have had to register the Baby and possibly had the baby baptised. The Catholic Church are normally quite good at sourcing information especially if you knew a county where the mother was living at the time.

Just remember that the amount you find small, might be a fortune to those who need it. Your mother would have been proud of you, for carrying out her last wishes to the tee. Don't give up now.

Please post back on this intriguing post, BUT GOOD LUCK TO YOU AND THE BENEFICIARY.

If you find more information (a small bit might do), ask the Gardai to make contact with Interpol. Believe it or not, they take these matters very seriously. I know of a recent case where a family needed to make contact with a brother as the father had died. The brother had not being in contact for 15 years, but they found him. Contact was made, but the person concerned told the family to FO.
 
KIM F said:
The last child I can not trace as the mother fell out with my brother shortly after my mother's death and moved away.


Please help
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I think you said that this child was 5months old when the mother left with the child. Was the child baptised? were you at the baptism?If so was the child given your surname? Have you any reason to believe that they left the country? ie. were they non-nationals?
 
KIM F said:
I want to just divide it amongst my brothers and have done with it.
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Kim, from what you posted earlier I don't think the actions above are what your mothers wishes were.You are managing the money for the 6 grandchildren alive at the time of your mothers death not for your brothers or grandchildren born after her death.

 
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