Hi My brother has dismissed the solicitors dealing with our late mothers estate (she died intestate as the will seemed to have disappeared?) and has had the letters of administration passed over to him & cleared her bank A/Cs.

He has sent me a really abusive email & has threatened to spend my inheritance.

I have sent him an email requesting that he pay my share of the estate into my bank A/C directly.

I cannot see him complying with my request.

Is there a legal time frame for settlement?

If he does not comply with my request is he breaking the law & if so what is my course of action.

Any advice would be greatful.

Thanks.

David

Was he one of the executors? If not, I dont think he can do this.

Will try and find someone who can help.

Not an executor as no will was found (tho my mother pointed out to my brother & cousin shortly before her demise a folder that she said contained her will).

Post mortem the file disappeared therefor intestate.

So with the letters of administration my brother becomes a personal representative of the estate, & has the same legal responsibilities as an executor.

Spending your inheritence would be a breach of duty on his part. He could get in to a fair amount of trouble for doing that.

You're going to need speclialist help, is there a law centre near you? http://www.lawcentres.org.uk/

No law centre close to me as I'm in Spain at the moment and unable to travel due to a series of recent heart attacks, & will not be able able to travel for at least a month.

Just wondering if there is a timescale for distribution of the estate & whether having asked politely for my inheritance to be passed on & his non compliance constitutes a breach of duty.

On a separate note would it be helpful & allowed under forum rules to post a copy of the correspondence I have received?

It is not pleasant reading.

Hello there.

I'm not sure if we need to see correspondence at this stage, and if it's posted you would need to remove anu identifying details. If it become necessary, we can talk you through how to post pdf images.

Let's see how the thread progresses for a day or two.

HB

Hello again.

Have you had a look at the Probate Office's website? It has a lot of information on how an estate should be administered with or without a will.

I have also rung them in the past and they were helpful.

HB

Thanks HB good advice. will contact tomorrow & let you know their views.

Probate office (helpful but not legally qualified) say to take legal advice & issue a summons (which i cannot do from outside of the UK).

Bit stumped at the moment as to what action to take.

You should be able to instruct a UK solicitor by phone.

I've been advised by my best friend (who has extensive experience of issuing summonses & debt recovery) who has seen the correspondence that a summons is too weak & that this is a case of theft pure & simple & a criminal complaint should be issued.

His argument being that his refusal to transfer the funds or respond to the request shows intent.

Any thoughts?

As iv said, you can instruct a solicitor from abroad and this will be the easiest course to follow.

Although there is nothing to stop you reporting this to the police, no criminal offence has been committed as yet hence I don't think there is anything the police could do. In any event a police investigation would take time.

If your brother spends your money, ultimately he will be ordered by the court to pay back all the money and most likely all of your legal cost on top, which if not paid quickly would entitle you to make him bankrupt or obtain a charging order against his property. Not to mention this will also be theft and a breach of his legal duties as trustee. I think you should tell him this. Hopefully if he is educated about the consequences of what he wants to do then he will be a bit more sensible.

The most aggressive approach would be to instruct a solicitor to seek an injunction that he refrain from doing this and/or remove him as administrator, but this would cost.

I don't think there is a fixed time frame, but if he does not act in a reasonable time that would be a breach of his duties as trustee and ultimately entitle you to use the court system to seek compensation and/or his removal from the position.

Thanks Steampowered, succinct summation of how things would normally be viewed & dealt with & how I am dealing with the situation.

There are however other significant factors involved Vis joint ownership of property which he is refusing to let me have my fair share of as well.

Would you mind if I pm'd the email I received for your consideration?

Would really appreciate an objective view.

Oh and in case I haven't mentioned it many thanks to the site it has so far helped me cope with a very traumatic period in my life, its really good to be able to pour out ones troubles to an objective audience.

Davey1309

Glad the site is useful to you. If he is refusing to let you have the share which you are legally entitled to, then you would write a 'letter before action' to him requesting that he comply with his legal obligations, and if he still refuses then you would issue a court claim against him.

Regarding the PM we prefer to keep things on the forum for the protection of all concerned, it is better to post the email or a summary of it on here with personal identifying information removed.