My brother has sold my deceased parents house without telling me

[Coffeecup123456]

Not sure what to do or where I stand. My brother who I chose to go nc with & I were made joint executors. I relinquished my role after my DM died as he is very untrustworthy and I was concerned about my name being attached to probate & him not doing things as he should. He is very controlling and would not have involved me at all. Since then I discovered that for 3.5 years he was renting it out. Solicitor said I could only regain some control if I followed a lengthy /costly process of renaming myself to be an executor. Without that it was down to him doing the right thing by informing me of what was happening with my parents assets. Out of curiosity I just looked up their house. It has been sold within the last 6 months. There is many reasons that I won’t go into here that I have avoided my brother at all costs. I would love to know if there’s anything I can do or somewhere I can go to find out more. He would not willingly share any info and would be prone to lying.

She was still supposed to inherit, if there is anything to inherit!

So yes first thing is to get a copy if assets in the estate less debts owed.

You can check the asset values roughly from zoopla etc.

Then do the liabilities seem correct -I assume you can ask for proof if they seem too high.

And also if any assets are missing you can afl about that (Ie any isas they may have had)

It should not cost too much to request this information. Then you can decide whether it's worth pursuing (which costs lots)

You can check the asset values roughly from zoopla etc.

No, no, no, never ever mention Zoopla, I've just been given a right royal bollocking upthread by @Ohthatsexciting for daring to suggest checking Zoopla - you are only allowed to suggest the OP follows the link provided by @Ohthatsexciting otherwise you'll get a bollocking too

Surely this is a valuable lesson to everyone - make sure one of the executors of a will is a solicitor! I'm sure the majority of non professional executors do a great job, but honestly the hassle there can be if anything goes wrong is horrendous.

@nowlook Thank you. Slightly different situation because although both owners died in the same year (different tax years) the property was transferred on the first death. I have been very patient but it has been many years.

🤣🤣🤣

Op if you go on the previously supplied gov site you can obtain info on the house. Word of warning though; there is a big delay on processing deeds info. We bought 7 months ago and the change in ownership etc is still not showing as updated

In that case re the property your brother doesn’t seem to have done anything wrong as executor

the bank has sold the property essentially.

Sensitive soul! 😂

The bank having a charge on the property doesn't mean the estate was insolvent. All it means is that there was some debt to pay. The fact that he rented it out for 3.5 years strongly indicates that the estate was not insolvent, in fact.

You need legal advice on your options.

The fact the bank has a charge on it would indicate your mother didn’t have an life assurance unfortunately

Nah tough as old boots, me

This means the bank took action to repossess due to debts and then sold the property. It doesn't matter what the difference is between original purchase price and sale price, because there may have been additional mortgages and/ or consolidated debt onto the mortgage. This may mean there was no money to inherit, or the banks might have taken e.g. half the money from the sale. Take the details to a solicitor, who can talk you through it and the options to follow up.

Given how much you dislike your brother, you need to decide if follow-up is really worth it when you may get nothing anyway.

As a residuary beneficiary (you haven't specified the full wording of the will, but that's almost certainly the case) you have a right to see the estate accounts: a full breakdown of where all the money went, including the proceeds of the house sale, any debts repaid, and the rent for the previous couple of years.

That's the first question you should be asking, but given the state of your relationship with your brother you might feel that you'd rather hire a solicitor to ask it.

As sole executor he didn't need to ask your permission to take actions at the time but he does legally have to answer to you for his actions at the end of the day.

Unfortunately it is all too easy for a dishonest executor to defraud an estate: the beneficiaries have the law on their side but it's left up the them to investigate wrongdoing and enforce their rights, which can be ruinously expensive.

But start by asking for the accounts, everything else flows from
there.

Must stand you in good stead against bullying managers!

Op in one sense this is good news as it means the bank is involved and so legalities will be adhered to as your brother doesn’t have free rein.

the bad news is there is obviously still a very substantial mortgage that needs to be repaid to the bank and the rest of the estate isn’t sufficient to cover, hence the property needing to be sold

I would guess your brother didn’t pay the mortgage but was raking in the rent.

It might not be your parents debt.

I really hope someone like you doesn’t have children

Harsh.

Legally OP is entitled to her share of the inheritance if there is anything.

This must have been incredibly distressing for you. I get it - my mother died around two months ago and existing tensions exacerbated so I went nc with my siblings too. Which has been beyond difficult actually but the only thing I could think of to do at the time.

As others have said there are things you can do that don't involve - contact. Or solicitors. You may need legal advice as someone said but re the psychology of it when you are already grieving and affected by trauma - if you can take back some control it will probably help you. Make a file:

1. Get hold of a copy of the will - as someone said - costs 1.50 online.
2. You can find out if probate has been issued - online and when, I don't have a link to this but if you google it you will find out.
3. You say you have relinquished being an executor - does that mean you have 'power in reserve? (in which case you should be able to step back in when required) - or have you filled in other forms to step back more permanently? Be clear about this.

Take the point that someone made about the death being 3.5 years ago and needing to check if he has done probate correctly or not. (Doesn't sound like he has).

Getting these 'ducks in a row' should help you feel more in control.

The other bit is about making decisions about how far you want to take this (if at all). A few things to offer:

This can be seen as a form of economic abuse - there is an organisation called Surviving Economic Abuse - which may help. They have a helpline.

I know of people who have gone to court against their siblings doing this, it can be incredibly painful and there aren't many counsellors who are aware of sibling abuse or estrangement it seems to be one of the last taboos. The book
Cain's Legacy might help. There is a chapter in it about what can happen following bereavements.

Ultimately I totally get - not wanting to make your trauma worse and letting the financial side of things go - because of this - it is your decision alone - but you might find that as others have said - it may be empowering to tackle it. Getting the papers in order - as above will probably - help. If nothing else it may help you with closure and save money on solicitors fees if you are fully informed before you contact them.

Personally as joint executor on my mum's will I opted for 'power in reserve' - and then let it go. I was aware that things would go on behind my back - due to sibling jealousy, narcissism, birth family dysfunctions - but ultimately if my siblings choose to act illegally (of course probate is a legal duty) and with disregard for my new family - and me then it is on their conscience not mine.

This kind of thing really hurts emotionally so please take care of yourself.

Good luck

And as previous poster has said - asking for the accounts (Credibility Problem) -
to put into your file (plus the title deeds which you can get from the land registry)

Having all this stuff in a file should help you make measured decisions and manage your trauma as if you are feeling really bad about it you can leave it for another day.

CP's words...

Quote
As a residuary beneficiary (you haven't specified the full wording of the will, but that's almost certainly the case) you have a right to see the estate accounts: a full breakdown of where all the money went, including the proceeds of the house sale, any debts repaid, and the rent for the previous couple of years.

End of Quote

You went non contact.
You relinquished your legal responsibility as executor.

And now you’re complaining he hasn’t told you that he sold the house? Wow.

YABVVVU!

I mean, at least try and read the OPs posts before spouting bollocks

She is still 50/50 beneficiary so is entitled to half her mums estate. Although she's relinquished her responsibility as executor, she is still due the proceeds ££ from the sale of the house. Her brother therefore has a responsibility to not only tell her, but give her her share of the proceeds

The question now is whether he sold the house or the bank did

You should order the TR1 transfer documents from the Land Registry costs £12.50 (you can print the order form) paying the £3 for the Title Deeds will only show the current owner, the TR1 will show who sold it, whether it was your brother or a bank, the sold price and details of the conveyancing solicitor.
In any case write a polite letter to your brother requesting the estate accounts.