Mother not named as will executor, is it too late?

[alexw57]

Hello, I will try and keep this short and succinct as possible. My grandad died late last year and the executors named in the will are also dead. It has therefore passed to my mother and her brother as equal beneficiaries to sort it out. Sadly trust has been lost between them both and the brother has named himself the sole executor of the will without consulting my mother. She would have liked to have been named as a joint executor for full transparency of proceedings relating to the monetary aspect since the trust isn't there anymore.

She has asked to be copied into all correspondence from here on in but is not convinced this will happen. From what my mother says she cannot get named as a joint executor now since all paperwork for this has been submitted and it is basically too late. I'm not sure if that is what get brother is saying or if it is her take on it. It has been mentioned you can only remove an executor of they are deemed not fit or capable or doing the job. My questions would be:

Is it actually too late to become an executor on this? I don't think the process is that advanced. The house has an offer for instance but conveyancing would be at an early stage. Is there any comeback on not being named since she wasn't consulted and trusted her brother to name her also?

Is it possible that she could be short-changed on the 50/50 split since the financials might not be fully exposed to her upon a settlement? Or will it all be exposed at that stage?

Would there be a solicitor over seeing the financials to ensure everything is kept above board?

Thanks in advance

It's very possible for someone to deal with an estate without ever using a solicitor. Noone oversees the process. The executor has to keep an account, but if someone fears that account is inaccurate I don't think there's much they can do except legal action.

Not sure about adding your DM as executor, I'd definitely take legal advice on that.
I was an executor for my DM, no-one in authority checks on you, we were under the inheritance tax threshold so probate was easy, again no checks done.
I was very transparent during the process, showed my dsis (I have three) all paperwork, bank details (amount) house sale estimates (you should get three valuations) outstanding bills to be paid, funeral costs, insurance, additional costs for other beneficiaries.
All added to a spreadsheet then divided four ways.
Your DM needs legal advice

Trust totally broke down between DH and his not so DSis, although they were joint executors of their parents' estates. She purchased gifts for her grandchildren and said they were for carers, and arranged for premium bond payments to go into her account. Lots of little shitty actions - just nasty. It was eventually sorted out, but has left DH with no relationship with his one sister.

I handled probate for DM entirely but was totally transparent with DB and copied him in on every little thing. Trust is the key issue.

Which country's law applies to this case.

Your mother needs to register a caveat at the relevant probate office. This will delay the grant of probate. This should motivate your uncle to act above board and share executor duties.

This is England