Inheritance worries - scamming brother?

[Confusedclaim]

Asking for help over a very awkward family situation, I’ll try and keep it succinct.

Parent passed last year leaving, amongst other things, an insurance policy. Brother is NOK so everyone had to provide their details to AXA and sign to say we understood it would be paid to him for splitting between us. AXA could not advise of any amounts at this stage.

However there is a debt to be paid and brother has said he’s been told the insurance amount to be paid (or it has been already as it’s been months since this was said) and it apparently is the exact same amount as the debt, which is oddly convenient. He's quite an overbearing individual so none of us can ask to see anything.

My question for MN is does anyone know if AXA would write to us all advising the insurance payout has been completed at X amount? It feels like they have a duty of care to do this to prevent fraud, but it’s been months now and no one has received any notifications although we believe the payout has been made.

Everyone is financially secure so it’s not that anyone is ‘after’ this money it all just feels very uncomfortable in the way brother is being with how the rest of the estate is being dealt with.

You can ask AXA, but they may not tell you.

Is he executor of the will/estate? I believe you could also look into petitioning the court to investigate his handling of the estate. They would force him to release all relevant paperwork inc the amount received from AXA, and the amount of the debt, and proof the debt was paid in full using the AXA money, and that there was no money left over.

If the life insurance was written in trust, it does not form part of the parent's estate so is not available for paying off debts.

If it was not written in trust, it forms part of the estate. However, if your brother is executor, he must provide you as beneficiaries with the estate accounts. Don't let his overbearing approach put you off demanding to see the accounts. If you have evidence that suggest he is not handling the estate correctly, you may want to consider having him removed. You should consult a solicitor if you want to go down this route.