Receiving money from a will

[Lex78ab]

Hi, the executor of a Will I’m a beneficiary of is hostile towards all the beneficiaries waiting to receive inheritance. The executor is insisting we need legal representation to receive the money we are owed and will only transfer the cash to a law firm. Does he a right to force beneficiaries to incur legal fees to receive monies owed from an estate? The Will is not in dispute. Thanks

I've never needed a legal representative to receive money from an inheritance . The executer has always just paid directly into my bank account

No. Payment to any bank account is fine. But he does have a duty to settle the estate and pay the creditors and beneficiaries in a reasonable timeframe

The executor of a will can only transfer the property to the persons named in the will, or their nominated representative if they have appointed one.

I have been the beneficiary of 3 different wills and have never had or needed legal representation.

You can apply to the courts to remove an executor from an estate if they are being obstructive. See if Citizens Advice can help?

Thank you all! That was my understanding, to be frank he seems very erratic and unstable. Seems very determined to make it costly and difficult, thanks for confirming.

Of course you don't need legal representation to receive monies from a will! This executor sounds like an idiot, don't be bullied into anything - and make sure the money is paid in a timely manner, as they are required to do.

As others have said, he has no right to do this. If it has been more than one year since death, you and the other beneficiaries can take legal action to force him to distribute the estate.

Some executors do seem to make a meal out of things.

A friend and I were in a similar position recently. We did eventually receive the legacy, but rather embarrassingly only after we had enquired of the executors. We had heard nothing from them even though the person had died over a year previously. They hadn't even officially told us that we had been left some money.

Can I be cheeky and ask @prh47bridge if it is the case that legacies paid out more than a year after the person's death attract interest? My understanding is that they do, but when we asked the solicitors involved, they misunderstood the question and said that it was the estate that got the interest. We have now queried that twice, but have received no response.

We haven't yet decided whether it's worth pursuing as the amounts are small, and any interest payable would be tiny, but there is a principle involved.

Also is it reasonable for the solicitors to refuse to answer our question? I appreciate that we are not paying them (they are acting for the executors) but it seems rude not to respond, especially if they have already given us incorrect (or at best misleading) advice.

Thanks.

Ive inherited twice. Never had any solicitors

@Fifthtimelucky Yes, unless the will says otherwise, if you have been left a specific sum of money, you are entitled to interest from the first anniversary of death. Up until 28th April last year, the interest rate was 0.05% so a legacy of £1000 would attract 50p interest if it was paid a year late. It is currently 2.65%.

As you are not their client, the solicitor doesn't have to respond to you. Any questions about the administration of the estate should be directed to the executors. If they need to ask the solicitor, that is their business. If the solicitor answered your question, it would increase their bill to the estate, hence reducing the amount to be paid out to the residual legatees. For all you know, when they saw that they were being charged for answering your first question, the executors may have instructed the solicitor not to answer any more questions from beneficiaries. I wouldn't get worked up about that.

Thanks so much. That's really helpful.

I think given the amount involved it's not going to be worth following it up. But it's annoying that the executors drafted it out for so long.