Hope its OK to post this here....

[Onetwistedsista]

Hi all. Will try to be brief. First of all im not in the UK but just curious to see how things work there regarding deceased estates. My dad passed on last November. He married a woman about 2 years ago and she, along with her 2 daughters and 1 granddaughter went to live with him. In his house my 2 brothers, 1 sis law and 3 nephew's also reside and have been most of their lives. I moved out a long time ago. Before he met his wife my dad promised them they would always have their home (Our childhood home). Things have been horrible for them :( this woman is making their lives hell also because she's pissed my father didn't leave everything to her! Unfortunately he has left her and her kids the house. The executor doesn't communicate at all! Does he have an obligation to do so? I've been told this can take a while but my father's shouldn't be a 'complex case'. He worked for the city council for 40 years and has an excellent pension. The only reason why i want the money part sorted is so they can move out, they cannot afford to now. AIBU to wonder why its taking long or is this normal throughout the world. Thanks

Your brothers need to seek independent legal advice. You can't do anything from abroad...they need to try to get to the bottom of this.

Have your brothers or you seen a copy of the will yet? Have you had any communication at all from the executor?

it will all hinge on what the will said, or if he didn't leave a will.
Have they seen a will?

You need a solicitor.

Yes We all have copied of the will in our possession. He called us siblings as well as the wife the day after my dad's funeral last year. In March I sent an email asking for an update. I was informed that he had just received the Letter of executorship from the high court and he's working on it. That's about it.

My father left half of his policies and pension to us. The pension part (nothing to do with executor) has been approved. Now we're just waiting. Just wanted to know if in other countries it takes this long

His executor will have had to apply for probate first, my understanding is there is currently a backlog leading to waits of several months which could have exacerbated the delay?