Incompetent Executor

[Clamball]

It’s not that I think you are clogging up the forums, or that you have a boring question. You have a very complex situation that has been ongoing for 20 years. It sounds as if some of your relatives have spent an awful lot of money and have not got the resolution they were looking for. You have been to a solicitor looking for professional advice.

All we can do here is urge you to follow the advice of your solicitor but be aware that it might cost you an awful lot. Both in money terms and mentally. A legal fight could consume years of your life. mf1 is well worth listening to, he gives very sound advice.

I don’t think anyone has a magic bullet that will solve everything for you. Only you and your solicitor will be able to gather all the information that will allow him to advise you of the next legal steps to take. Maybe you didn’t like his advice and will ask another solicitor. Every step like that costs money.

And maybe the best advice is to do nothing. I don’t know. But people are not advising you to do nothing because they think your relative is right, you make him sound like a truly horrible person, who should be told how awful he is. But it might only be all sorted when he dies. If you are significantly younger maybe wait until then and sort it out.

 

[NewToMortgages]

Thank you for your reply yes I understand where you are coming from. I am significantly younger so yes I could wait a bit.

I wonder if anyone could offer some insight into moving into the house. I have access to it and it might push the issue forward if I did? Is it trespass if I have been gifted shares but they are not legally transferred due to his lack of action. I cannot get in touch with my solicitor with the lockdown going on which is why I ask here.

 

[Pete123]

are executors not held liable for the assets they are instructed to disperse. I was an administrator for an estate and was made sign a document to say I am liable to double the value of the estate

Yes you do have to sign a bond that you are liable .

 

[Pete123]

I’ve recently been gifted shares in a family property. This property was probated in 2011 after 10 years of battle over the will. In that time and in time since then the property has been neglected and let fall into disrepair. The walls are wet, lintels burst, floors damp, black mould throughout, no electricity, no water, shed roof collapsed just this winter, and generally ignored with I believe the intention to devalue the property to the extent that none of the beneficiaries will benefit other than the executor. The executor also unduly influenced the deceased which is clear in solicitors notes but it never went to court due to the distress of those fighting it. From what we can see the only duty the executor performed in 20 years was to transfer the land (not the property) into his own name.
All family members have been too distressed to deal with it since the court date.

I want to protect my shares in the property but the executor refuses to give a key. I understand the duty to protect the estate but he clearly is not doing so. There is a hole in the front door and smashed front window that anyone can enter through. He also has failed transfer the property into the names of the shareholders and title cannot be found in the registry.
Can anyone advise me on the best course of action? Have him removed as executor and to proceed to sue for loss?

I think there is a time limit that the executor has to distribute the assets one year , if this is the case he is in breach of his duties as excector and can be held accountable. I would ring the probate office and inquire. He would have had to sign a bond . What was the outcome of the court case . Surely he was instructed by the court to distribute the assets.