AIBU to think there's something dodgy going on?

[RichPetunia]

I posted the following message a few weeks ago: "My uncle - my auntie's brother - has died. She has been named as executor and is selling his properties. She also had power of attorney before he died. I am now worried that she is abusing the trust that has been placed with her as: a collection (worth quite a bit of money) was, according to my aunt, given away rather than sold, his car (worth £55k) is now sitting with a DLA badge for executor outside her house. House and other property has also seemingly been put on the market but I can find no trace anywhere. He also gave her £100,000 before he died which has mysteriously disappeared. My uncle left everything to my auntie on the understanding that everyone else in the family was 'taken care off'. She is now saying that he only left everything to her. I am very concerned that my aunt is administering the estate for her own gain and need advice on how to proceed. My uncle was survived by his mother, brother and sister(the aunt I'm talking about)."
The advice from mumsnetters was to check for the will and probate. I have done this and there is no record at the Probate Registry. Offers have now been accepted on the properties. My uncle died at the beginning of May but I was under the impression that the estate could not be disposed of until Probate had been granted. I would now be grateful for any advice on how to proceed. Thanks in advance.

You should consult a solicitor who specialises in this area. And you should do it without delay.

From what I remembered when my gran died...

Dads power of attorney ended at that point. Whilst Grandad's stuff automatically defaulted to gran as she was his surviving partner, gran's had to probate as she had no living partner. Dad was main executor but this didn't matter. He thought as he had power of attorney and was main executor he could distribute the estate. It was only when he took gran's death cert into her bank that it all kicked off. They started probate proceedings then and there, then informed dad what they'd done. As if dad wasnt upset enough, they didn't have the decency just to explain what they were about to do. Though his solicitor told him that is standard practice.

That would lead me to believe that your aunt has not closed your uncle's accounts down, so no one has started probate. That in itself is very worrying.

Probate with a will in place is not a long process either.

As hectate says, get a solicitor onto this ASAP.

Just to clarify, was there a record of a will? You are sure he actually made one?

We did tell you at the time, you declined to update your thread

Cloudbase - Regarding the will, my auntie has now told my Dad that although there was a will (produced using a shop bought will kit) it was not properly witnessed.

In which case this definitely needs probate and you definitely need solicitors. There are laws surrounding estates with no wills.

Yep, I think your family definitely need to get some probate solicitors involved here. You need legal advice and quickly.

You need to find out exactly what the legal position is regarding the will/estate and ask your Aunt for a copy of the will.

But seriously, you need to sit down with your family and plan how you are going to resolve this then do it before anything else gets sold/goes missing.

My sympathies btw, not just for the loss of your Uncle, but because I know how tricky family dynamics can be.

Prob best to post this in Legal rather than AIBU too.

I always thought that if you'd been named as an executor of a will, then you can't be a beneficiary of it?

Executors can be beneficiaries - I am named as my dads executor, he was executor for his wifes estate etc

My dad was the executor and sole beneficiary of my gran's will. Dads cousin has been a beneficiary and executor of the same will. I don't think it's that uncommon.

You have got to take action. Go down the legal route. A halt will be put on everything and she will be unable to access anything. A will will either be produced or he will have died intestate and the law has very clearly set out what happens then.

What you cannot do, forgive me, is um and ah about it while your aunt gets on with things! It will be a million times harder to sort all this out if she has emptied his bank accounts and sold his house!

You don't have the time to thrash it all out on the internet, or wait for her to do the right thing. She's not going to, is she?

You need to get out there - on Tuesday if nobody works over the bank holiday - and take it out of her hands. Involve solicitors. Notify probate. Notify his banks. You have to take control of this.

YY to what bellyjaby said. With or without a will until probate is granted then bank accounts etc are frozen by the bank and funds can't be accessed until probate is granted. Altho some banks will release funds for funeral costs. If there is no legally binding will then all assets including car, house etc are divided equally between the next of kin - in this case brothers and sisters.

I'm not a lawyer but went through all this when I lost my Mum.

You need to get to a solicitor straight away.

Only witnesses are not allowed to be beneficiaries.

Wills have to be dealt with, of course, and I might be wrong but I think it is not the Law that Wills have to be recorded in the public domain. My mother's and sister's are not available to get a copy from the National Registry and they both died some years ago. Their estates have finished being dealt with.

No, apparently they don't need to be.

If there's a dispute, they obviously have to be produced.

If she can't produce one then I think it will be deemed to not exist and he'll have died intestate and be dealt with by probate.

Even if there is a will, it still has to go to probate.

I am not a solicitor, this is just my layman's understanding of the situation.

I really hope the OP gets her arse down to a solicitor ASAP because this needs dealing with.

Just read the responses and many thanks for all your help. If my uncle is deemed to have died intestate will his entire estate go to his mother, or should it be split between his mother and surviving siblings? The reason I am asking is that my aunt has power of attorney over her mother's affairs and we already know for a fact that her life savings (30K) have all gone since my aunt took over her affairs. If my gran is the main beneficiary and my aunt is her power of attorney she will access the funds anyway. Either way I don't think anyone else will - in the end - get a brass farthing.

There is a formula the courts use to distribute the estate of someone who dies intestate. You need to be waiting on the doorstep of a solicitor at 8.59 on Tuesday morning, assuming you're in England/Wales, or tomorrow morning if you're in Scotland.

Just to say that even if your aunt has POA for your gran your aunt has to be seen to be acting in her best interests and if she is not ( money going missing with no proper records or accounts etc) then the Court of Protection, or the Office of the Public Guardian needs to be informed. You can call them on 0300 456 4600.

But either way you need to speak to a solicitor specifically dealing in probate immediately.

you need to report your aunt if you believe she is financially abusing her mother.

Things can be done - and should be done - to protect her mother.

this isn't about how much you get, or should get, it's bigger than that. You need to contact social services and report the financial abuse of a vulnerable adult.

They can remove her from any position of trust and it sounds like that should happen ASAP.

You are not helpless in this.