Please help. Executor of Estate, - getting messy,

[SuitedandBooted]

I am asking for a friend whose father has died, leaving a quite substantial estate to his 3 children, (house alone is worth £700+.) I will call my friend *Kate.

Kate's divorced father died recently (very sudden). Kate has been appointed as Executor. Her elder brother is NOT happy. He had been mainly in charge of the financial arrangements for their father, and has been trying to bully her into appointing him as joint Executor, but Kate is standing firm so far.

Kate is working through things, and is gradually discovering that her brother has been taking money out of their father's bank accounts for years. For example, one account was set up in joint names, and was cleared by her brother within 24hrs of their father's death. Kate is certain her father did not know this could be done. He had explicitly told her that whilst her brother could manage the account, he (son) could not take cash out without clearance from him. (there is much more, but will be too long!)

My friends main worry is the house. There is a lot of her father's paperwork about. Kate also runs a business, which her father shared, and some quite valuable items are still in her late father's house.

Her brother has taken the spare key from the neighbour, and has been letting himself into the house. Just to be clear, he has not lived there for 30 years, and he did not have a key prior to their father's death. He has searched drawers, removed papers, photo's and some smaller items so far.

SO, Question!

Is Kate, as SOLE Executor, entitled to secure the house, so only she can enter, and nothing further can be removed? She is particularly worried that her brother is looking for more financial stuff to hide.

There isn't really much of a sibling/family relationship left to preserve. This is NOT all about the money, by the way, just decency and respect for their father's wishes.

Simple answer is yes, she can do all of that.

Yes she should change the locks. She should also contact the bank he withdrew money from to tell them of the death, she needs copies of the death certificates to give to all the banks, the accounts should be frozen. With an estate of that amount she may need the help from a solicitor to sort out inheritance tax etc.

I would really strongly suggest she instructs a solicitor to deal with the estate.

Change the locks and she needs to instruct a solicitor .

Many thanks everyone. She is seeing a solicitor, unfortunately not-so-dear brother is insisting on going too at the moment! (hopefully she will cancel and re-book alone)

On another technical point, when does a house officially become the property of the Will beneficiaries?

Is it as soon as the house owner dies?
When probate is granted?
When the Land Registry is changed into their names?

I thought it was sort of held in limbo, with the Executor as the "responsible" person, until all the details of the estate were settled.
All inheritance matters in my family have been very civilised, so I have no experience of the kind of "battle lines" stuff which my friend is getting dragged into!

One small point, if one person dies I believe the money automatically goes to the other named person on a joint bank account.

I believe that is the law, even if it might not have been the father's intention for that to happen.

Yes Mosaic, you're right. I think the Dad just misunderstood somehow.
It was all the Dad's money, but still, nothing can be done.

It's sad when things are not as the person intended them to be. It must be very upsetting for you.

You need a lawyer that specialises in probate. There are extra post qualification exams that lawyers can take to prove their competence in this specialist area. You need someone who has these.

Upsetting for your friend, not you.

Are there other siblings who can help?

There is a sister, but she lives some distance away, and is very upset, and completely nonplussed by it all. The brother has now said that if Kate spends any overnights in the house he will charge her rent. Bizarre, she won't be moving into it (she has her own place), but she does need to get things cleared and valued.

I really want to support her. I have had a look at the "what to do when someone dies" advice online, but it doesn't cover things like this! She might change the locks, but I know she feels bad about doing that, as it was the family home. It's all the usual family related FOG feelings, - fear/obligation/guilt

She might change the locks, but I know she feels bad about doing that

As executor, she needs to protect his estate. If this means changing the locks, she needs to do it and she needs to do it NOW. Today.

She also needs to stand up to her brother.

As others have suggested, instruct a solicitor to handle this.

She needs to secure the property, ensure insurance and keep track of every penny spent during the process.

Although she's not a professional executor and can't charge an hourly fee, she can recover legitimate costs from the estate.

Has 'Kate' seen the Will and does she know who the main beneficiaries are?

I have recently had to sort out my mothers estate and while it wasn't complicated we used a solicitor who was worth his weight in gold!

Probate takes a couple of months (or at least it did in our case - solicitor appointed less than a week after my mother died).

Another point - make sure the house insurance and utility companies know that the owner is deceased and that the property is empty.

Another advantage of having a solicitor handle the estate, in addition to their professional skill, is that it takes some of the emotions out of it.

The solicitor will be able to stand up to the brother, if needed, without any hint of FOG. He or she would also be able inform the brother that stuff about charging an executor rent to stay in the house is utter nonsense.

I think as executor it is her duty to secure the property. She needs to do it now. Like today.
And then see a solicitor, by herself, so she can explain the issues. If it makes easier she could go for a separate, subsequent appointment with the brother so that the solicitor can explain the executor s duties.

The solicitor will need to see the Will, if the house has been left between 3 Siblings it will become part of the estate, probate will need to be applied for and at the end when all debts and tax are paid the property and money can be distributed. The house needs to be valued by an estate agent for probate purposes, it could eventually be sold and the money split 3 ways or one person could buy the other two out if they all agree. He has already benefitted from withdrawing the money from the bank, the solicitor will know if that can be deducted from his final settlement. Has he ever paid into the account, she could get advice from the banks bereavement line. The insurance company need to know the property is empty, the premium will go up and they may say she has to stay there one night a week. Kate should photograph the valuables, keep an inventory, have things valued if needed and move them to somewhere more secure. She should change the locks and see a solicitor independently, the brother doesn't need to know, she is acting as Executor so it's her responsibility to make sure the Will is respected.

Notify bank(s)

Notify utilities

Instruct solicitor. Money well spent.

If she fails to secure the estate iirc she would be liable for its losses.

If the bank account was a POA on dad's account then brother has stolen from the estate. If it had been a joint account why would he have withdrawn the funds so quickly?

Unfortunately the line of family cohesion and cooperation has already been crossed. :/

As pp said if there was a p.o.a. in place for the money then the money should not have been taken out, same if it was third party mandate.

Thanks again for all the advice. I'm passing it on.
Kate's taken readings, called the utilities, and is buying the locks tomorrow (hopefully she will change them..!). We went round the house last night with suitcases, filled them with all the paperwork and took it away - there is loads, but at least no more can go "missing" now.
She is seeing the solicitor with her brother next week, and then later without. She's hoping he will back off once things are properly explained to him, and then she can talk alone. I think she is feeling a bit more sure of herself now.

She has seen the Will - it's an even split, with some addition gifts to others. I don't know about the POA? Could her brother have got it arranged without either of his sisters knowing? Would it affect all the bank accounts - ie would every bank know? The cash he took out was in an account with his name, and their fathers name. He may have paid into it, but it's more likely it was just the Dad's cash. I don't think there's much than can be done about that, sadly.

Yes he could hàve arranged p.o.a. without their knowledge but it becomes invalid when someone dies so money can not be withdrawn from a bank. The solicitor will ask if he had p.o.a. which can be checked with the office of the public guardian. With the joint account the solicitor will advise you and can ask for statements.

If she is the executor she does not need to take the brother, change the appointment without telling him. There will most certainly be inheritance tax to pay on the estate as well

I agree with the others saying that it is her duty to secure the house. Since your friend knows about the withdrawing of money from the account that may not matter much - money in a joint account would only belong to the joint account holder on death if it was a spouse and only then assuming the will didn’t say something different.

When Kate’s BIL gets his share of the funds in the estate, the fact that he has already had part of his entitlement (I.e. this cash) can be taken into account. The brother is not as clever as he thinks he is.

I would also point out to the solicitor that there may be a reason why 'Kate' has been designated as executor and not her brother... no legal standing on this but it kind of makes sense after you said he emptied the bank account etc. Sorry for your loss and hope she changes the locks!