Solicitors and confidentiality

[Laisiemaise]

I have recently inherited a sum of money along with my siblings from a family member. Because of the way the will was set up we had to agree that the late relative's brother - let's call him 'Uncle Alf' would receive 50% of the whole amount and we would share the rest.

If we hadn't agreed to this we would have needed to wait until Alf died. We would then have shared 100% of the sum. I am on good terms with Alf, see him regularly and talk to him every couple of weeks or so.

The solicitor dealing with the will was impossible to speak to, I left several messages as I had some queries but none of my calls were returned. I sent an email asking why he was so elusive and he has now reported my "rudeness" to Alf. Alf is furious with me and demanded that I apologise as the solicitor is coming round to see him to talk about it.

I am a bit annoyed at being treated like a child and also that the solicitor would discuss a private email with a third party, albeit one with a financial and personal interest in the matter.

Don't solicitors have a code of conduct that would prevent them from discussing matters like this?

It isn't clear from the post whether it was you who instructed the solicitor. If not, they owe you nothing and aren't bound by confidentiality

Eh? Since when does any beneficiary get a say in what another one gets?

I didn't instruct the solicitor and neither did Alf, he has a different one who drew up an agreement between them. I think that our late relative intended the money to be available as a safety net if Alf desperately needed it during his lifetime, he is about 20 years older than me.

It clearly stated in the agreement that by having the money now we were in effect, giving up 50% of our inheritance.

For as long as Deeds of Variation have been possible. A Deed of Variation allows one or more beneficiaries of the deceased to give up some or all of their entitlement and pass it to someone else instead.

@Laisiemaise Unless you are one of the executors, the solicitor dealing with the will does not have to respond to you. However, if "Uncle Alf" is an executor, the solicitor is absolutely right to disclose your email to him.

If you didn't instruct the solicitor why do you think they would enter into a correspondence with you, bar the question over taking a share of 50% now or 100% later. They only need correspond with the executor for whom they are working.

The solicitor wrote to me inviting me to ring him at any time to discuss the matter with him.

Thank you for the info, can they demand I return the money?

Have you signed anything yet? Maybe you should speak to your own solicetor?

Confidentiality is owed to the person who instructed them, which is presumably the person who died. It can also only really apply to the specific, not the general. It's probably known to both you and "Alf" that you speak to this solicitor and the solicitor calling you rude/a bit of tit to "Alf" isn't divulging anything specific. It's unprofessional and might be worth flagging to their supervisor but it's not a breach of confidentiality. Also, from a transparency perspective, the solicitor might be walking a tightrope because he or she has the same duty to all the beneficiaries.