J
JJSefton
Guest
I am wondering if I should complain a solicitor to the Law Society for professional misconduct. The basics of the case are as follows:
My aunt died intestate in 2007, leaving a house and some cash. Her three brothers and myself - by virtue of my late mother - were the beneficiaries. An uncle of mine was appointed administrator of the estate. He hired a solicitor that he did not know to oversee the estate, and deferred to the solicitor's opinion on all major decisions relating to probate and the sale of my late aunt's house. I objected to many of his decisions, but was effectively sidelined and told my opinion was not welcome. I might also point out that my uncle lived in Dublin, and I - along with all my aunt's assets - was based in Cork.
The granting of administration and sale of the house took over two years to complete. I received a copy of the estate's schedule of assets from the solicitor, along with a copy of the IT38 Inheritance Tax form, in January 2010. I promptly returned this to his office. I heard no more about this for several weeks. Eventually I asked when the proceeds from the estate would be distributed to me, and he said he was waiting for me to return the signed tax form. I told him I had returned it to his office over six weeks earlier. About another week later he told me that the form had been misfiled. I eventually got some of the proceeds, but only after a two month delay following his misfiling of the tax form. I lost a considerable amount of interest on the principle during those two months.
Secondly, my father had paid several of the expenses for my aunt's estate, and was paid for some of his outlays. He died before he was paid the full amount owed. The solicitor claimed that the all outstanding debts to my father had been paid. When I challenged him on that, he became more insistent that all debts had been paid. I then went to great lengths to determine what had been paid, and what hadn't, and I produced receipts and itemized accounts to support my case. Eventually I received the outstanding payment. When I challenged the solicitor to explain his mistake and to reduce his fee as compensation, he claimed he didn't make any mistake.
Thirdly, my aunt had a credit union account with a balance slightly in excess of €1,000. This was included in the schedule of assets that was submitted to the revenue commisioners. Credit Unions often provide death benefit insurance to the estates of their former customers. I asked the solicitor whether my aunt's estate was entitled to such money. He replied on March 15th, 2010, that the matter was still ongoing. He didn't explain why it should still be on going when he had been dealing with the estate for two and a half years. Thus, I contacted the credit union myself. They claimed that my aunt's estate was entitled to a payment amounting to €1,300, and they also told me that they first received correspondence from the solicitor regarding the death benefit insurance on March 15th, 2010 - the same day he told me the matter was ongoing. More seriously, however, the credit union informed me that my aunt had named me as the nominee on her account, and thus I was entitled to all the proceeds of her account, up to a total of €23k, without a grant of probate. They had told the solicitor this in 2007, yet he had included the account in her estate, when it should all have been paid out to me. I challenged him on the matter and he flippantly replied that I had more information than he did. This of course overlooks the fact that getting such information is precisely what he was being paid for. I was also entitled to a life insurance payout from the credit union, amounting to about €600. I would have received none of these monies if I had not contacted the credit union myself. In addition, the estate would not have received the death benefit insurance of €1,300 if I had not inquired about it to the solicitor in the first place. Again, when challenged on such matters, the solicitor brusquely dismissed any suggestions of professional misconduct, and told me that my uncle had instructed him not to correspond with my any further. In effect, he should have been sacked for such infractions, and my uncle is probably neglecting his own duty of care to my as a beneficiary by letting the solicitor off the hook, but that is a separate matter.
These are just the main examples of unprofessional conduct on the part of this solicitor, but there are other examples of negligence and misconduct too. I'd have no hesitation complaining him to the Law Society, expect for the fact that he is a senior member of the society himself, and no doubt he'd be in a position to obstruct any disciplinary action taken against him. Any and all suggestions welcome.
My aunt died intestate in 2007, leaving a house and some cash. Her three brothers and myself - by virtue of my late mother - were the beneficiaries. An uncle of mine was appointed administrator of the estate. He hired a solicitor that he did not know to oversee the estate, and deferred to the solicitor's opinion on all major decisions relating to probate and the sale of my late aunt's house. I objected to many of his decisions, but was effectively sidelined and told my opinion was not welcome. I might also point out that my uncle lived in Dublin, and I - along with all my aunt's assets - was based in Cork.
The granting of administration and sale of the house took over two years to complete. I received a copy of the estate's schedule of assets from the solicitor, along with a copy of the IT38 Inheritance Tax form, in January 2010. I promptly returned this to his office. I heard no more about this for several weeks. Eventually I asked when the proceeds from the estate would be distributed to me, and he said he was waiting for me to return the signed tax form. I told him I had returned it to his office over six weeks earlier. About another week later he told me that the form had been misfiled. I eventually got some of the proceeds, but only after a two month delay following his misfiling of the tax form. I lost a considerable amount of interest on the principle during those two months.
Secondly, my father had paid several of the expenses for my aunt's estate, and was paid for some of his outlays. He died before he was paid the full amount owed. The solicitor claimed that the all outstanding debts to my father had been paid. When I challenged him on that, he became more insistent that all debts had been paid. I then went to great lengths to determine what had been paid, and what hadn't, and I produced receipts and itemized accounts to support my case. Eventually I received the outstanding payment. When I challenged the solicitor to explain his mistake and to reduce his fee as compensation, he claimed he didn't make any mistake.
Thirdly, my aunt had a credit union account with a balance slightly in excess of €1,000. This was included in the schedule of assets that was submitted to the revenue commisioners. Credit Unions often provide death benefit insurance to the estates of their former customers. I asked the solicitor whether my aunt's estate was entitled to such money. He replied on March 15th, 2010, that the matter was still ongoing. He didn't explain why it should still be on going when he had been dealing with the estate for two and a half years. Thus, I contacted the credit union myself. They claimed that my aunt's estate was entitled to a payment amounting to €1,300, and they also told me that they first received correspondence from the solicitor regarding the death benefit insurance on March 15th, 2010 - the same day he told me the matter was ongoing. More seriously, however, the credit union informed me that my aunt had named me as the nominee on her account, and thus I was entitled to all the proceeds of her account, up to a total of €23k, without a grant of probate. They had told the solicitor this in 2007, yet he had included the account in her estate, when it should all have been paid out to me. I challenged him on the matter and he flippantly replied that I had more information than he did. This of course overlooks the fact that getting such information is precisely what he was being paid for. I was also entitled to a life insurance payout from the credit union, amounting to about €600. I would have received none of these monies if I had not contacted the credit union myself. In addition, the estate would not have received the death benefit insurance of €1,300 if I had not inquired about it to the solicitor in the first place. Again, when challenged on such matters, the solicitor brusquely dismissed any suggestions of professional misconduct, and told me that my uncle had instructed him not to correspond with my any further. In effect, he should have been sacked for such infractions, and my uncle is probably neglecting his own duty of care to my as a beneficiary by letting the solicitor off the hook, but that is a separate matter.
These are just the main examples of unprofessional conduct on the part of this solicitor, but there are other examples of negligence and misconduct too. I'd have no hesitation complaining him to the Law Society, expect for the fact that he is a senior member of the society himself, and no doubt he'd be in a position to obstruct any disciplinary action taken against him. Any and all suggestions welcome.
