Solicitor claims overpayment of dad's estate

[GoddessMoon]

In November 2022, the solicitor dealing with my dad's estate closed our case and all money was distributed to the beneficiaries. The week before Christmas 2023, and the same solicitor - since retired because he is in his 80s ffs - contacted me via the firm in which he is still a partner, to say that they had overpaid the estate by over £8000. My thoughts are well, they wouldn't ask for this back if they didn't think they were entitled to it, but I think it is unfair if they expect us to pay back when the money has been spent (although in my case it is in savings - everyone else is younger and had plans!). I am the main beneficiary who received 55% of the estate.
Granted, when that final letter with all the costs came through, I only glanced over it and did not add anything up - they are professionals, right, I assumed they would have done their sums correctly. I signed and then the money was transferred.
I guess my questions are:

• are the legally entitled to this money back given the time that has lapsed? (I guess yes)
• Are they legally obliged to at least allow people to pay back in installments? I can pay mine back, albeit reluctantly, but the others are not able to.
• At the time of them finalising my dad's estate, I think one of their secretaries had gone on maternity leave and the place was in chaos. He says as much in his letter, that 'things were up in the air' in an attempt at an apology. I requested he leave the other beneficiaries out of the whole thing and to leave me alone until the end of January. Another letter arrived 3 days ago - the only letter to have been on time! in which he says we need to discuss the matter and that he will start to contact the others despite me saying not to do that because I have a suicidal niece who will most likely crack under this stress. Not to mention, none of the other beneficiaries have any money left over.

Any helpful advice is warmly welcomed, thank you.

I'd keep asking how this happened and who checked the accounts. A mistake of £ 8,000 when you're relying on them to get the distribution of funds right isn't a small amount.

I. Terms of who had to repay

If you are the residual beneficiary then I assume it's you? If everyone else is fixed sums.

Is the tax correct if the accounts were wrong?

My husband will review all this in due course. I can't bring myself to look. I have dyscalculia and get distressed working with numbers. He doesn't - but he is at work at present.

It was apparently a simple typo. But we need to go through both accounts (the one with the error and, apparently, the correct one).

We all got a %. As the only living child of my father, I got 55% and the rest distributed to my sister in law (15%) and my dad's grandkids. (5% each).

I totally get the money isn't ours. The others have spent theirs, I know that for a fact. I'm willing to offer to pay back maybe half of my share in one go and then installments for the rest of it.

How on earth can a firm have a deficit on their client account for over a year?

Either they're breaking the rules or they've had a book keeping entry, sort of deficit suspense account, for it.

I think I would contact the law society for help before replying

For a start I would expect whatever they charged the estate to administer probate needs to be refunded seeing as they failed to do this to an acceptable standard.

I'd also start asking them rather pointed questions about how this was not found at the time, was it an overpay from their client account, have the reported themselves to their regulatory body for this yet, have they notified their professional indemnity insurers etc...

I agree with the PP that you should be looking to offset some of the overpayment by a reduction in their original fee as they provided a less than competent service.

First of all, have your husband identify the mistake. You state you are an executor, which means the onus is on you as well as the other executor(s) to make sure everything is correct.
I completely understand that as the other executor is a solicitor you would rightly assume that the disteibuted figures are correct.. the final statment sent to you should still have been checked over against the money available.

Imagine if it was the other way around, and you were underpaid £8000, you would want that money.
The fact is, you were overpaid. You didn't pick up on that, the solicitor did, after the event. That money isn't yours/other beneficiaries and should be paid back, like you would expect it to be paid to you if you were underpaid

I agree it has to be repaid (if proven) but would get advice from another solicitor on it and see whether there is any claim against them for professional negligence. To be settled for, oh, let's say eight grand.

I'd be wanting everything you paid for them to do the work originally taken off the bill before you pay them anything - the fact its such a big amount and it's taken them over a year are huge factors here. The fact that this wasn't caught during financial year end seems VERY fishy to me, but maybe someone in the field knows of a weird accounting quirk as to why it might not have been spotted.

I'd be seeking compensation for their incompetence! What did they take in professional fees to undertake the work for you? I'd be offsetting that against the "debt for starters.

Do you mind telling us what proportion the £8,000 was in relation to the entire sum? I would have thought this was the sort of thing the solicitors would deal with internally - as in give someone a bollocking - but not expect you to repay.

Yes I thought so too!

Yeah, this. I'll bet that this is an audit and/or it's been picked up in the year end figures.

First port of call is the Compliance Officer at the firm, they are obligated to list who this is and the contact details for them on their website. It'll most likely be info@ type email address. Do not pay a penny, do not offer to pay a penny.

Seems a bit rich for them to turn round and, without any evidience, say that was a mistake but this new calculation definitely isn't so cough up

Obviously the only thing that matters is where you stand from a legal point of view, but it sounds like they are chancing their luck to me - hoping you'll just accept it so they can balance their books without a fuss.

Edited for typos

If you owe it, you will have to pay it back but I would also flag how they were allowed to release client funds over and above what that client has in their account, I would flag it with their governing body as they’re clearly arent handling funds correctly.

Having worked in law firms previously, if monies don't exist in client account they aren't distributed, so how did they distribute the estate to you if the amount was £8K too much. Probate estates go on client side when paid in, then they're distributed to the appropriate person and it should leave the office and client ledgers at zero.

Seems a bit rich for them to turn round and without and evidience, say that was a mistake but this new calculation definitely isn't so cough up

While I'm not saying that this is the case here, people's respect for professionals like solicitors, ignorance of accounting and debt recovery procedures is what a lot of companies rely on to get people to cough up out of fear of what will happen if they don't. At work I've had companies and debt collectors try this one - you owe us £ X so pay up - to which my response is fine, send me the evidence.

That's a very good point raised here. They should hold separate client accounts so if the money doesn't exist it couldn't be paid

I'd ask them to have a separate independent solicitor verify their accounts. They will need tonpay these costs. Just because they've come up with a statement on account that is now 8k less doesn't make it necessarily right.

If, after your husband has looked at the accounts, you agree that you have been overpaid (you don’t ‘owe’ them, they have overpaid you, there’s a subtle difference) I’d go back and say well I and the other beneficiaries have spent the money, it’s gone, we can’t pay it back, so what now? I’d suspect they’ll have insurance to cover it but they have to ask you for it back before they can claim, and £8k when the error was theirs, isn’t enough to pursue. If they continue offer then them £1 a week.

You need the SRA rather than the Law Society.

https://www.sra.org.uk/home/contact-us/find-us/

My solicitor came back 6 months after my house sale to say they had made a mistake on my bill and I owed them several hundred pounds, I point blank refused to pay and they never chased me for it.
My story is to show that mistakes can be made by solicitors.
However, I agree with pps to ask for a line by line breakdown but I think, as it's a lot of money, you're going to have to pay it back.
You have my sympathy, what a stressful situation for you, hope you get it sorted

No I wouldn't be re paying this straight away, I don't work in a solicitors but in financial services and can tell you one thing that sticks out with me is that they are coming back to you for the money as the excess on their insurance for error and omissions will be far higher than £8,000!!! So first point of call is you.
Don't panic this is their error.
At a push I would agree to half way max so £4000 but don't rush into anything.
If this was in my work we would get a rollocking and we in house would be writing it off

OP can’t approach the SRA until she has gone through the firm’s own complaints procedure.

OP - ask for the complaints partner and ask them to help you understand the very good point raised by @MiniCooperLover Their accounts department should have noticed this before the payment was issued.

There are lawyers out there that specialise in Professional Negligence.