How Can Our Family Law Solicitors Help?
The Executor is the person named in the Will as being responsible for dealing with the deceased’s estate. An Administrator is the person who takes responsibility for dealing with the deceased’s estate where there is no Will.
Their responsibilities include:
- Collecting the deceased’s assets;
- Paying any outstanding debts;
- Preparing accounts detailing the assets and liabilities in the estate;
- Distributing the estate in accordance with the Will (or intestacy rules in the event that there is no Will).
The Executor has a duty to carry out these tasks and to do so without any undue delay. If you are a beneficiary, you may feel that the Executor is failing to comply with their duties and that they are not acting in your interests.
Alternatively, if you are one of two or more Executors you may feel that another Executor is delaying the process or failing to comply with their duties. In either case, you may be able to apply to the court to have an Executor removed from their role. You may also be able to pursue a claim to recover any losses that might have been caused to the estate by the Executor’s breach of duty.
Our Dispute Resolution Team are regularly instructed to act in relation to disputes relating to the administration of estates and have acted in numerous applications to remove Executors, both on behalf of Claimants and Defendants. We will aim to identify your goals and the most effective ways of achieving your aims at the outset of your case. We will try to resolve your case without the need for court proceedings wherever possible and we are skilled in all forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (including mediation).
Success Stories
Removing a co-executor
We acted on behalf of an executor in an action to remove a co-executor, who had refused to cooperate in obtaining a grant of probate and administering the estate, due to a family dispute. We were successful in securing the removal of the executor and securing a costs order against the uncooperative executor.
Dispute between client and sibling
We acted on behalf of client to defend a claim for her removal as executrix, against the background of a long-running dispute between our client and her sibling. We were successful in negotiating terms of settlement and preserving our client’s executorship.
Withholding the testator’s original will
We acted on behalf of a client whose brother and co-executor withheld the testator’s original will and refused to apply for grant of probate. We subpoenaed the uncooperative executor to deliver the Will to the Probate Registry and were compelled to enforce the subpoena via committal proceedings due to a continued refusal to comply. We were successful in securing the order sought, together with payment of our client’s costs.
Failed to take action to obtain a Grant of Probate
We represented a client whose sister and co-executor had failed to take action to obtain a Grant of Probate for a period of in excess of 2 years following the testator’s death. We were successful in resolving the dispute via negotiation, following the commencement of court proceedings, and securing payment of our client’s costs.
Refusal to cooperate
We acted on behalf of a client whose brother had moved into the testator’s property following the date of death and who refused to cooperate with the administration of the estate, which would have required him to vacate the property so that it could be sold. We secured an order for the brother’s removal as executor and payment of our client’s costs.
How to Make a Will
Making a Will is commonly associated as something you do in later life however, in reality anyone over the age of 18 can have a Will and we would strongly recommend it to anyone with children.
The steps cohabiting couples should take when drawing up a will
There’s no denying the huge steps forward seen in creating equality for same-sex couples in the UK during the 21st Century, first with the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and then the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. However, as heterosexual couples have marriage as the only option open to them to make their relationship formal, there have been suggestions of a new inequality having now been created. A legal challenge by mixed-sex couple Rebecca Steinfield and Charles Keidan to be able to enter into a civil partnership instead of a marriage was unsuccessful earlier this year, meaning it’s unlikely the situation will change for heterosexual couples in the near future.
Wills and Planning for the Inevitable
Research just published underlines how ill-prepared most people are in terms of their end of life planning.
The Jones Family: Family Wills Bundle
Wills for everyone in the family can be expensive. Read about our exclusive Family Wills Bundle offer, easily explained by the Jones family, here!
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