What to ask solicitor

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nicole84

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Hi all,
My father passed away a year ago. One of his siblings is an executor.
Things have moved fairly slowly, but as far as I know from the executor(not close and sporadic contact): probate and tax has been finished just before Christmas.
I have anxiety, and I was trusting things to keep going, didnt want to cause bad blood between the family, but I realise I need to put my foot on the pedal and take care of my assets.
I have organised and am ringing the solicitor for the first time this week (in the uk). When I emailed the solicitor right after my father's death he informed me sharply that he was representing the executor not me, so I am a bit unsure of what to say.
Can anyone advise me what would be useful questions to ask at this stage.
A house needs to go up for sale, can I ask for the final approval of the selling price?
 
Do you know if you have been left anything? It's possible you've inherited nothing, in which case the solicitor doesn't need to contact you at all.
 
Do I infer that the will was made in the UK ?
If so, some different rules might apply in how you go about matters.
In view of your unease it might be helpful to go around the solicitor and get information from public records.
Try this link to go about getting information https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/searching-for-probate-records

If you just happen to be in the UK and this is an Irish death and an Irish will the solicitor has no obligation to tell you anything if he is acting for the executor. If you are a beneficiary you are entitled to be informed of any inheritance by the executor or the executor's solicitor acting on his instructions.

Also, if this is an Irish will and you have a properly founded reasonable expectation of an inheritance you may be entitled to make a legal challenge under S.117 of the Succession Act 1965. Link http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1965/act/27/section/117/enacted/en/html#sec117

The first priority for you is to get sight of the will that has been admitted to probate as everything starts from that document.

If it is an Irish will you can get a copy of it from the Probate Office if it has been admitted to probate i.e. a Grant of Probate has been issued. Link http://www.courts.ie/offices.nsf/65...be735bced234bbbc80256e45005861c7?OpenDocument Once a will has been admitted to probate it becomes a publicly available document.
 
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nicole84 said:
A house needs to go up for sale, can I ask for the final approval of the selling price?
Click to expand...
No. But if you feel the price is unusually low or that there is something afoot you can challenge it. It's unusual for probate to be given prior to the sale of the property if, as you seem to infer, that the house 'needs' to be sold. The reason for waiting till sale agreed and contracts signed by buyer prior to seeking probate is that you are not liable for CGT as the house may rise in value in the meantime. A year is a reasonable timeframe according to revenue.
 
"unusual for probate to be given prior to the sale of the property if, as you seem to infer, that the house 'needs' to be sold"

Why do you say this? I can't imagine Grant of Probate being withheld because the house is unsold?

"If you are a beneficiary you are entitled to be informed of any inheritance by the executor or the executor's solicitor acting on his instructions." I'm open to correction but prior to probate being granted I don't believe beneficiaries are so entitled.
 
noproblem said:
Do you know if you have been left anything? It's possible you've inherited nothing, in which case the solicitor doesn't need to contact you at all.
Click to expand...
I did the say the house needs to be sold. Does that not infer that I have been left something. Yes, I and my brother have been left all of my father's estate, and we were informed of this immediately after his death
 
DirectDevil said:
Do I infer that the will was made in the UK ?
If so, some different rules might apply in how you go about matters.
In view of your unease it might be helpful to go around the solicitor and get information from public records.
Try this link to go about getting information https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/searching-for-probate-records

If you just happen to be in the UK and this is an Irish death and an Irish will the solicitor has no obligation to tell you anything if he is acting for the executor. If you are a beneficiary you are entitled to be informed of any inheritance by the executor or the executor's solicitor acting on his instructions.

Also, if this is an Irish will and you have a properly founded reasonable expectation of an inheritance you may be entitled to make a legal challenge under S.117 of the Succession Act 1965. Link http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1965/act/27/section/117/enacted/en/html#sec117

The first priority for you is to get sight of the will that has been admitted to probate as everything starts from that document.

If it is an Irish will you can get a copy of it from the Probate Office if it has been admitted to probate i.e. a Grant of Probate has been issued. Link http://www.courts.ie/offices.nsf/65...be735bced234bbbc80256e45005861c7?OpenDocument Once a will has been admitted to probate it becomes a publicly available document.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information. It is a UK will.
 
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