Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Legal matters

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

Original poster

Probate problem

17 replies

SherbeLemon · 11/04/2023 16:35

Hello everyone, my brother and I are stuck in a dispute over the house our parents left us in 2020. He moved into the house within a month of our mother's death, gutted it, threw everything he didn't care for away and has changed the locks, excluding me completely.
As we are joint executors and probate can I use a locksmith to enter the property to retrieve any of the items I've been told have been "lost"?

OP posts:
Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 11/04/2023 16:39

I really think you need legal advice here. Sorry you find yourself in this position.

Original poster
SherbeLemon · 11/04/2023 17:39

Thank you I have no money for a solicitor, I'm stuck.

OP posts:
Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 11/04/2023 17:45

Citizens' Advice Bureau? I'm just worried that it could get very messy otherwise. Or talk to the local police?

Original poster
SherbeLemon · 11/04/2023 20:49

Thank you, CAB, in fact everyone I've tried including local free legal help have just said get a solicitor. Then no answers when I say I've no money.

I haven't asked the police though. Thank you

OP posts:
whodafucisalice · 11/04/2023 20:54

Surely you have a fifty per cent share of the property he is living in so he should be paying you rent?

Timeforchangeithink · 11/04/2023 21:05

Any locksmith will require you to provide proof that you live there like a council tax or utility bill. You really do need a solicitor if you want to sell.

NoSquirrels · 11/04/2023 21:06

Was there a will? Who has filled in the forms to get probate etc?

Original poster
SherbeLemon · 12/04/2023 16:00

We have filled in the forms and both hold probate certificates and both of us are executors.

OP posts:
Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 12/04/2023 16:03

Check any insurance policies you hold - you may have free legal cover/advice with one of them?

HappyHolidai · 12/04/2023 18:46

Once you've sold the house and have your share you will have money for a solicitor.

I think this is a situation where putting the expense on a credit card is entirely appropriate. Get a 0% one if you can and then pay the solicitor with the credit card. Pay off the balance once you have the money from selling the house (or your brother buying you out)

Might take a bit of time but you have to find a way forward and you Really need a solicitor.

EATmum · 12/04/2023 19:08

What about contacting some of the pro bono legal advice clinics that are run by law schools? You might get some helpful advice there for free?

Tealsofa · 12/04/2023 19:12

Are you selling the house?

crossstitchingnana · 12/04/2023 19:16

This is awful, I hope you get it resolved.

Original poster
SherbeLemon · 14/04/2023 22:04

I can't get a credit card as I've no credit score, because I've never had a credit card. Catch 22

OP posts:
HappyHolidai · 14/04/2023 22:08

Have you applied for one?

Iizzyb · 15/04/2023 07:05

Op as an executor of the will, the estate will pay the legal costs. You wouldn't need to pay up front, the solicitors take payment directly from the estate at the end.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page