Probate/Funeral Costs Problem

[TooOldForGlitter]

Hi,

I am posting here on behalf of my mum and dad. I apologise for the length and if I don't explain it very well.

Three years ago my great-aunt, my mums auntie, died. She had appointed my m & d as executors of her will and had said that the remainder of her estate was to be distributed equally between her son, her daughter, my m & d and my sister & bil.

My parents appointed a solicitor to deal with the legalities. They were instructed to pay the costs of the funeral from the money in one of my great-aunts accounts. As far as my m & d was concerned everything was done. The solicitors bill was paid and then the money was distributed out amongst the four.

Fast forward to now and my parents have received a letter from a debt collector who are collecting on behalf of the funeral home. The costs of the funeral have not been paid. Mum contacted the solicitors who checked their records and admitted that yes, they had made a mistake and missed making the payment so basically the funeral was not paid for. Mum spoke to someone in the in-house legal team at the solicitors and he said he would look into it, he would try to "persuade" the senior partner to pay the funeral costs from their own account because it was their mistake that missed this payment at the time. The senior partner has said no, and they are now being told that between the four of them they owe around £600 each to clear the debt.

I cannot see how this is right? The solicitors were paid to administer the estate and part of that was to pay the funeral costs out of the money in my great aunties accounts. They failed to do this. My mum is not sleeping with worry (both parents are in their 70s and not well off at all). I have suggested they get a free half hour appointment to find out where they stand but I have also told her I will post here and see if anyone can help.

Really appreciate any advice that anyone can give. Thank you.

Sorry, I will add (although I don't know if it is relevant), the funeral home had been chasing the debt themselves for a while but all of their letters had been going to the wrong address i.e. number 1 when m& d live at number 91, so they didn't know anything about it until the debt collector letter arrived.

It is professional negligence on the facts you have given. Write to the senior partner to file a complaint. Have your parents got legal assistance insurance with their contents insurance

Thank you for replying. Does professional negligence mean they (the solicitors) would be obliged to settle the bill or is it likely my parents will have to get a solicitor themselves to prove this?

I will ask them about their contents insurance.

Really apprecitae your reply.

You need to think carefully about what has happened and the consequences.

If the solicitors had done what they should, what position would everyone be in? The beneficiaries would each have received an amount of money that was smaller, by 25% of the funeral costs each.

The failure of the solicitors to act correctly at the time may have led to interest being added. The solicitors should certainly pay the interest, and any additional costs that have been added to the debt.

The beneficiaries should pay the funeral costs, because they have had money that they should not have received. But it is likely that they may have spent it by now. So in order to pay the funeral company, let us say that your family members would have to borrow money (if they could get loans). The cost of borrowing would be another loss that the solicitors had caused, which they should pay for.

So any beneficiary who can do so should repay 25% of what the funeral would have cost at the time. Any beneficiary who can't raise that money should deduct the cost of borrowing it. The balance should be paid by the solicitors.

Definitely make a formal complaint with the firm, and also make a settlement offer in a separate letter.

First off, as executors your parents should have received accounts to approve once the estate was administered. Did they? And if so, do they still have them? It would be helpful to see if the funeral costs were listed on there. If not, it's not fatal to their case, though they might have been expected to point that out at the time.

In any event, it is not unreasonable to think that 3 years down the line the beneficiaries would have spent their legacies and not have the money to pay an additional debt. Also, I'm not actually sure that your parents can even recover that money from the other beneficiaries as they are the executors and required to administer the estate properly (and obviously they delegated this responsibility to the solicitors).

The starting point should be a formal complaint. If that doesn't get them anywhere, escalate to the Ombudsman. This is exactly the kind of thing that the Ombudsman's Office gets its teeth into, and it's quite possible that the firm will be ordered to pay a sum in compensation equivalent to the funeral expenses.

I do think in these circumstances a decent firm would just pay up generally, but times are hard at the moment, especially for small high street firms, so your parents may have to take it further, but I doubt they'll need to actually sue.

Thank you. Appreciate your reply.

Not saying anything to m&d yet but will have a talk with them both tomorrow. Thanks guys.

But it isn't the beneficiaries that are responsible,it's the executors. So executors are extremely out of pocket. If your parents have employed these solicitors and paid them to deal with it then it is a clear cut case