Executor trying to extort money from estate - what to do?

[AchillesLastStand]

I’m at my wits end and don’t know where to turn next. My dad died in June this year and he left a valid will leaving his estate of 115k to be split equally between his 2 children, my brother and I. My brother and one of my stepbrothers are Executors. My stepbrother (not a beneficiary) is refusing to start probate because he insists he should be entitled to 75% of the estate. He won’t start probate until we agree with him on the division of the estate.

We have email evidence of his demands and threats, and this clearly represents a conflict of interest with him continuing be an Executor. Is there any way to remove his as an Executor without costly legal fees? I am sahm and disabled. I don’t have the money upfront for the £200 an hour plus VAT legal fees we’ve been quoted. We have already paid for a solicitor to look through the will and say it’s valid. My stepbrother is very wealthy and can afford to take my brother and I through the courts.

You need to find the money. A judge would look at the evidence and likely remove him as Executor due to the 'strained relationship' and personal interest (even though he's not named in the will). Then award your stepbrother to pay your legal fees.

How are people who haven’t got the money meant to find it upfront? My brother is extremely intimidated by the legal costs of it going to court.

I spoke to the probate helpline this morning and they suggested my brother start probate with power reserved for my stepbrother. Is that possible without my stepbrother’s consent?

What is the rationale behind the stepbrother's perceived entitlement to 75%?

Do either of you have legal cover with your home insurance? Might be an avenue to explore - I have no idea if it would cover a case like this.

Good luck!

Their mother, who died 12 years before my dad, owned her house which my dad lived in until he went into a nursing home in 2022 and then it was sold. In her will she left 75% of the house to her three sons and 25% to my dad or upon his death going to my brother and I. My step brothers are demanding the same distribution for my dad’s estate, 75% for them, 25% for us, when the will says otherwise. They claim the will doesn’t reflect his true wishes. They have no evidence for this.

So they've already had their 75% in 2022?

In that case her dh (your dad) got the other 25% which he's sharing between you and your brother?

Your dad's will trumps their claim, unless they have substantial evidence in black and white that he intended otherwise.

Your stepbrother is looking at 50k minimum upfront legal costs to contest this will if its as you say, more likely going into 6 figures to fight this. It sounds like he's just threatening you with his deep pockets knowing you don't have money for legal fees, but don't forget what solicitors will be advising him about his chances of success.

Just fyi, I recently helped a friend who was in court re executor removal. Costs were awarded at 3k so nowhere near that.

I have to say I find the entitlement of your stepbrother breathtaking. Sadly I've come across people like this too, and they always seem to be extremely entitled and grabby, despite the fact they have plenty of resources.

I agree with PPs that, he must know that without evidence for his 75% claim (?!) he hasn't got a leg to stand on. You know the will is valid based on the advice you have already had.

Would you consider approaching a solicitor, offering them payment of their fees from the estate as security? No idea if they would accept that, but I do know that where solicitors are named as the executors, they take a percentage of the estate as their fees in administering it, so this may not be so different. You will definitely need someone in your corner though, as this sort of bully won't back down until they can see you are serious about ensuring your father's wishes are honoured.

I'm sorry you are having to deal with this whilst grieving for your father.

Yes, they had 75% of their mother”s house. The other 25% was for my dad and then came to my brother and I when he went into care and the house was sold. I didn’t get half the 25%. My brother got 75% of the 25% share. I got 25% of 25% because my stepmother didn’t like me.

My brother and I received an email from my stepbrother, the one who’s the executor, a few weeks ago with my dad’s estate distributed along these lines with a neat table showing the shares we’d receive under my dad’s original will and under their mother’s will distribution. My share of £57k in the original went down to £7k. In short, Id get 1/16 instead of 50%. My 3 stepbrothers would all get £30k. Surely this is evidence that he’s not acting in good faith and is abusing his position for his own financial gain?

You need proper legal advice, it sounds like they're wrong but you need someone to fully review the papers. Don't settle for any suggestions at this point. Could you get an estimate of costs from the solicitor you have already used? This isn't my area but I have supported someone through a horrid will issue recently where they were in the step position following death of their parent whi left everything to their spouse and ultimately when the step parent died they had no grounds for a share in that will, it was a really difficult situation.

Your stepmothers will has no authority here
https://www.wrighthassall.co.uk/knowledge-base/removing-and-substituting-executors
lots of information here

"They claim the will doesn’t reflect his true wishes. They have no evidence for this." Tough then,

Its a real shame your late father made the stepbrother an executor when he wasn't even a beneficiary, but what's done is done.

Did your father mention the stepbrothers in the will? Ie, did he put in writing that he didn't want them to be beneficiaries? It's much more straightforward if someone is excluded in writing in the will, otherwise the stepbrothers may try and say he forgot to include them.

Interesting that the stepbrother feels he should benefit from your DF, but sounds as though you got nothing from their mother when she died.

Im sorry for your loss OP.

No he didn’t mention them in the will. The will states ‘my estate should be shared equally between my two children’. However, the will has a codicil which states that should the ‘said children or stepchildren’ in the original will not survive then the estate should go to their children, ie the grandchildren.

My stepbrother is latching onto the stepchildren word in the codicil even though it’s not relevant because the beneficiaries in the original will are alive and the ‘said children’ in the original will does not include stepchildren.

What we think has happened is that my dad and stepmother had their wills drawn up at the same time and the solicitors has cut and paste the codicil in her will into my dad’s. We’ve spoken to the solicitor in question and they’ve confirmed that is what has happened.

Disclaimer : not a lawyer.

But I have just been through the Scottish version of probate with my dad's estate. The lawyer we used for part of the process did say that if we couldn't afford to pay their fees up front, they would take a deposit and then balance to be paid when estate was released. Would something like that be an issue? A legal firm may be prepared to act on your behalf, and wait for their money a bit given that they know between you, your brother and you are in line for £115k.

Worth an ask.

Your step brother has a legal duty as an executor which he is not fulfilling.
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-and-probate/content/103429
He cannnot rewrite the terms of the Will. As your brother is joint executor they both have the legal responsibility of carrying ou the terms fo the Will, applying for probate and distributing the estate as per the terms of the Will, they both have to apply for probate together and one cannot act withut the other. You are going to need professional guidance froma contentious probate specialist (a sternly worded letter from a solicitor letter may well be enough), but ultimately I think you will have to seek to have him removed as executor. Your step brother cannot just state what portion of the estate he believes he is entitiled to as he is not a named beneficary. He's just trying it on, but he can of course contest the Will if he so wishes (I doubt he'd have a leg to stand on).

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/103565