Probate, Legal costs incurred through actions of 1 beneficiary

[gatesheadcol]

Hi,

 

I have a question I hope someone can help me answer.

 

My mam passed away last year and left an invalid will that was unsigned. She therefore died Intestate, 1 of the 4 brothers was tasked with carrying out the administration of Mams estate.

 

The will had stated that the money was to be left to his children, however as it was unsigned and therefore invalid the money would be shared amongst the 4 brothers.

 

He then 'informed' us all several months later that he was going to go ahead with Mams wishes and give the money to his children.

 

I sought legal advice, sent 2 letters through a solicitor, put a Caveat in place to stop him dealing with the estate, etc etc. This stopped him in his tracks.

 

Now myself and another brother are going to administer the estate and share the money according to intestate.

 

However this has left me with a £1000 legal bil which I have now paidl.

 

My question is, since my brother acted in this way and forced me to take legal action, am I therefore able to claim my legal costs from the estate that i incurred in getting him to stop what he was doing. At the tijme he had not obtained the letters of administration or been to probate court but rather attempted to do it all without the need for this.

 

It was only when probate was required, to deal with mams flat and some shares that he then backtracked and said he was going to administer it correctly, At this time of course the trust had gone so me and another brother are now handling things.

 

I think its unfair that I have paid these costs through his actions, my other 2 brothers are now going to get money that he would not have given them, yet I will be significantly out of pocket.

 

I aim to get the legal costs from the estate which means that everyone shares the burden evenly.

 

I would be grateful of any advice as I am due to attend probate court on Monday.

 

Thank you

[Kraken1]

can't help I'm afraid. I do wonder if the will accurately reflected her wishes though, unsigned or not. If so, and you think it did, why not honour her wishes?

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

Have you discussed this with your brothers? If they've benefitted from your action, they might be willing to contribute.

 

When I helped my father to administer an intestate estate, we did claim reasonable expenses from the estate with the agreement of the other beneficiaries.

 

My best, HB

[citizenB]

Transcript_FM[1].pdf

 

Some information regarding Executors in the pdf attached. Dont know whether that will help.