I need a solicitor. Concerning a Will.

[NeedLegalHelp]

I live abroad and, due to health issues, I can no longer travel. My parent recently died (in the U.K) and I am named co-executor along with my sibling who is currently in the U.K. My sibling, who has a track record of not being trustworthy and has attempted fraud in the past, is not replying to my emails. My attorney here has suggested I get a solicitor in the U.K. to do my duty (stand in for me) as executor. Is this even possible?

They can't stand in your place but you need to instruct one to represent you, without a shadow of a doubt.

As coexecutor your sister cannot do anything without your approval. Can you fly home for a few day s to sort things out? A solicitor will charge a fortune if you're not careful!

As coexecutor your sister cannot do anything without your approval.
No grant of probate has been made. That's kind of the point about getting a solicitor involved.

A solicitor will charge a fortune if you're not careful! Not as much as you might think. The cost must be balanced against what might be lost if your rights are not respected. Also, costs should come out of the estate,

My sister has applied for Grant of Probate and told my parent's solicitor (when she collected the will from their office) she will be the sole representative.

Travel would be next to impossible for me and I'd have to travel alone.

When I write to a solicitor what should I ask them to do? I'm not sure of the legal terms I need to use. I am more than willing to pay them for their time to correspond with me.

I gave my son power of attorney for me here in this country, could he come to the UK and apply for the Grant of Probate in my place?

Thanks so much to everyone who answered.

If your sister has applied for probate maybe you could call the Probate department at the Office of the Public Guardian or email and explain the situation. You can give up your role as executor but it needs to be done through a legal process.

Thank you, wiggly. I will try that.

@NeedLegalHelp Just explain the situation to your solicitor and tell them what you want (which is unclear from your posts here). Do you want to be executor, or are you happy for your sister to be sole executor? Your solicitor should then handle the rest.

My siblings and I were joint executors. They agreed I should handle it but I emailed them almost every day as to what was going on. It sounds like in your case there is no trust with the sister. Is it a complex estate with a lot of money? If it is just a house that will be sold and not very much savings below inheritance tax limits and to bdivided between the two of you there may not be much damage your sister could so other than running off with the proceeds of sale of the house but best to keep a check on things.

As probate has been applied for it sounds like your sister lied on the form - I think I remember having to say we had agreed I would do it and not my siblings on the form and I did have their agreement. Here your sister has not had your consent to do it alone. You can do an awful lot from abroad at a computer actually so I don't see why she is excluding you. I got 10 originals of the death cert by the way which was really useful as you have to post an original to each bank that has savings and it speeded things up having lots of originals.

Dont worry about needing to know what to say to a solicitor ,as Collabrate says just explain what the situation is .They'll ask questions to clarify .

I'm just doing probate for my BIL.
When you apply for probate they need to see the will. The will shows who the executors are and so it will be obvious that she should not be the sole representative.
I'm pretty sure power of attorney won't allow your son to act as executor.
The probate office are very helpful, I'd definitely ring them.
It's possible to do most of it online but you would need the information about assets to do it. Do you know who your parents solicitor is? If so they should know about the will and if they are acting for your sister they need to know about your interest. Maybe ring or email them with your concerns.

Thank you for everyones help.

I'm going to explain the situation to my parent's solicitor and also ring the probate office.

I am told my sister intends to be the sole executor and she has the original copy of the will. I have not seen the will yet. She still has not replied to my email concerning all this. Based on what my sister has done in the past, I believe she intends to leave the country with the proceeds from the sale of the house and any remaining savings. She also lives abroad, but right now is staying in our late parent's house.

Do you want to be executor, or are you happy for your sister to be sole executor? Your solicitor should then handle the rest

I would like to be an co-executor but can't see how I can from where I am. (I don't have the will or any way of accessing my parent's bank accounts etc). If I give up my right, I am sure my sister will abscond with everything. Hopefully my parent's solicitor will know what do to.

When you apply for probate they need to see the will. The will shows who the executors are and so it will be obvious that she should not be the sole representative

I expected she has lied on the forms. It is what she does.

Thanks so much everyone.

Get legal advice as soon as possible. I'm sure being away won't matter, there's always alternatives and your solicitor can advise - good luck

Goodness: tell tne solicitor dealing with the will everything!

They can send you the will straightaway.

When probate has been granted you'll be able to get a copy of the will from the probate registry. Take it from there.

By which time the sister may have vanished with tne money!

You are an executor, talk to the solicitor dealing with the will ASAP.

I know it is the weekend but I would send an e mail this morning saying that as executor you have NOT agreed that your sister be the representative,that you would like to see the will ASAP and have a conversation on Monday morning.

Yes, she may have lied on the forms. In my own case my siblings both agreed by email that I would do the donkey work ., I cannot remember now if the form said list the executors and I listed all 3 and then asked have they agreed one of you will handle it and I ticked yes but I think it was like that. Certainly my silblings were not required to attend at the London probate office in person as I had to do (and we were not in dispute so it was a totally different situation and our father always sent us copies if his will during his life anyway so everyone knew everything).

It sounds worth asking a UK solicitor to write to her asking for a copy of the will now. You could also ask the solicitor when it is worth while to incur legal costs to wrench back an executorship form one person eg they may be able to persuade your sister in order to avoid legal action against her that the solicitor and she will be executors together (although the solicitor will charge you for that work obviously)