Brother has appointed himself executer of will AIBU to be concerned about this

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My parent died a couple of years ago, with an incomplete will, I think it was drafted but not finalised but apparently that doesn't matter and for all purposes, no will has be left so laws of intestacy applies instead. For various reasons a couple of years went by (I'm not sure how relevant the reasons are, but I'm caught between creating an unreadable long post and drip feeding!) and now new solicitors have been engaged by surviving parent as estate really needs to be wound up. I don't know much about law. I know my surviving parent did not want to be an executer and I thought there would be a discussion about who among our siblings would. There are 4 of us. I have since found out that a couple of months ago my brother applied to be sole executor. Now I understand this isn't a fun job, it's time consuming and can be stressful, so on one hand, I feel I should probably just be grateful I don't have to worry about it and appreciate it has been taken out of my hands. But on the other hand, I'm struggling with there having been no prior discussion (or update since). I'm not saying there's any reason to assume there's something fishy going on. But could there be? Is this just an attempt to expedite things? Is there any benefit to being executer that I am missing? Would it be sensible or a waste of time to apply myself... sorry for the long post. I just don't know if I'm being silly or it is a little off. Any thoughts very welcome.

Being an executor is a pain, and it’s harder when there’s more of you (as often, all the executors have to sign all the things, so if you’re geographically dispersed that’s makes everything take longer). But - there should have been a discussion, and potentially concerning that there hasn’t been. Can you ask for an update / how things are going / if they need any help, just to get a bit of an idea of what’s going on?

I am a little confused. Were your parents married? If so, surely the estate just passes to the surviving parent if there was no will left with any other instruction.

Has your brother been appointed sole executor of the surviving parent’s will?

Unless your brother appears likely to be ripping you off, then there's no benefit to him in doing it. You've already said that a solicitor was appointed, so there will be oversight of what he does. Just be grateful someone is stepping up and doing a thankless task.

Hi, OP -

I am sorry about the loss of your parent. It sounds like it has been difficult for your surviving parent to move forward.

Laws of inheritance under intestacy are very clear, and different in each nation. The executor has a duty of trust to all heirs.

I agree your sibling should have discussed this, but I don’t think it necessarily follows that they are trying anything underhanded. Your surviving parent’s solicitor will certainly protect their interests and may be willing to act for you, too. The executor owes all the heirs transparency.

Any chance your parent has asked this solicitor to be the executor?

Do you know why its taken so long if your parent died several years ago. You brother would need to have applied for letters of administration, do you know who the solicitors are and why they are not being administrators. Who does your surviving parent say are the administrators of the estate. Just because he applied doesn't mean it was granted. What have the solicitors been asked to do, if he is sole executor then why appoint a solicitor.

In terms of what happened when your parent died, is there any good reason to believe they didn't want everything to go to your surviving parent? If not, then there is no need for an executor or anything. Everything will be eventually transferred through marriage. Just make sure your surviving parent writes a clear will and names the executor(s) clearly.

They were married yes, I think the assumption was that the estate passed to the spouse, that's what was in the draft. Apparently this isn't the case, but I think I'm reading conflicting information online about how anything remaining is divided.

Nowadays in England, amounts over £322,000 are shared between the surviving spouse and children

I'm even more confused now - yes, the draft will said everything was to go to remaining parent, and we assumed that was all fine and what would happen. Then new solicitors were contacted by my brother who said this wasn't permitted, an unsigned will is not good enough and intestacy is the only legal way forward

After initial 270k has gone to spouse? We are in Scotland if that makes any difference, I'm not sure

I am seeing what I quoted above as the law for England and Wales since 2014, OP.

Are you in Scotland or NI?

Sorry, cross post

Just be very clear about how much the solicitors are charging. When my Dad's cousin died intestate the solicitors charged 30% of the estate. Plus VAT.

There was a sale of a family business involved, and that took precedence, we all assumed it was all in hand and that solicitors would advise accordingly, but after a few years it seems they were primarily focused on the sale and the will just fell between the cracks I suppose. So my brother hired a new solicitor to get this done.

Sorry, I am editing to address your other points, thanks for your input: I didn't know solicitors could administrate. Is it a cost saving perhaps if one of us does it?

Scotland

That's a lot, i assumed it would be a fixed rate not a proportion - I read this can all be done online and solicitors not really required, could that actually be the case?

It's hard work and you have to be very organized. Your brother being very kind offering. Offer to help.

Some solicitors do charge a fixed rate but if your brother has appointed a solicitor to act as administrators then their fee will come out of the estate when the accounts are finalised. You need to find out exactly who the administrators are, the rules on inheritance in Scotland are very clear, there are several websites and flowcharts you can look at.

OK thank you

If you are in England, the rules of intestacy are very clear.
If the estate is worth up to £322,000
The husband, wife or civil partner gets all of the estate and is entitled to apply for probate.
If the husband, wife or civil partner died after the deceased, their share will become part of their own estate.
If the estate is worth over £322,000
The estate will be divided between the husband, wife or civil partner and the children of the deceased.
The husband, wife or civil partner gets:

• up to £322,000 in assets, and half of the rest of the estate
• all of the personal possessions of the deceased

The children of the deceased are entitled to a share of the half of the estate above £322,000. If any of the children died before the deceased, their children (grandchildren of the deceased) will inherit in their place. If any of these grandchildren died before the deceased, their children (great-grandchildren of the deceased) will inherit in their place.

The fee of 30% +VAT sounds more like a finder's fee than a solicitor. The law firm I work for cbarges 2.5% +VAT in most cases. Finders work by locating intestate estates and then tracking down missing heirs who then instruct them to administer. The fees are very high because they are effectively working for free until an heir is located.

Going back to the intestacy point, the entire estate only goes to a surviving spouse if it is worth less than £322,000( in England & Wales). The balance is then split 50% to spouse and 50% to children.

It looks like in Scotland the first things is that the surviving spouse has the right to the house, contents and a certain amount of cash. Each of these allowances is capped.

The remaining estate is divided into thirds. One third to the parents, one third divided amongst the children. One third is called the ‘free estate’ and is possibly more complex, but often seems to go to the children. It may be at the discretion of a judge, I cannot tell. Your surviving parent does need legal representation.

If several years have gone past and none of the 4 of you have stepped up to help your parent get this sorted, you have grateful that someone finally has. You could have done it. I’d assume your brother assumes no one else wants to do it, so he’s stepping in.

First the debts have to be paid including funeral costs, debts and taxes.

The surviving spouse has rights before the children inherit anything.

Right to the home, if they live in it, up to £473, 000 of property value.

Right to furniture up to £29,000 in value.

Right to cash, up to £50,000 if there are children.

These rights come first.

They you divide the cash, shares etcetera. I think the children equally split 1/3.

It's all very complicated.

Thank you for this, I really don't understand the intricacies but this seems consistent with what the solicitor has said - to be clear, does my parent need somebody different to represent them - different to the solicitor my brother is now using?