Sister refusing to move, contentious probate

[Peaches1407]

Hi there, I inherited a property 3 years ago from my dad who passed away. The property was left to me and my sister, our names were on the deeds as joint tenants. Ive severed the tenancy so that we are tenants in common. My sister who has been living in the house by herself for all this time is now refusing to move and won't buy me out. She was also PoA whilst dad was ill and then executor and has taken the cash etc without declaring it. Am I able to contest the probate and force a sale of the house by law?

You need to get a copy of the Will from the solicitor and also find out whether the POA was registered with the bank.

As PP’s have said, there’ll be a digital trail if she’s been emptying accounts, it’ll be v. obvious.

info here on what to do if your sister will not provide a statement of the accounts
https://www.clough-willis.co.uk/news-events/what-are-beneficiaries-of-an-estate-entitled-to-know#:~:text=If%20a%20legitimate%20request%20to,and%20Account%20to%20be%20ordered.

Have you been thru Gov.Uk to try and find the will and probate.

I have applied to probate and purchased copies of people's wills in the past I think it's somewhere in Birmingham you pay so much and they send you a copy. It's on Gov.uk.
If money has gone missing since your father died I would say you are within your rights to contact the police as soon as possible. She should be able to produce accounts as executor for her expenses incurred and any other monies should be in the pot and should be distributed. Smells like theft to me and you have a right to call it that.

Do you know which bank he was with, if you do then contact their fraud department, same with the life insurance policy if you know who it was with.

I'm in an identical position except that I'm the executor. Reported theft to the police and the bank. Arrest made six months later. In spite of overwhelming proof, CPS took months to decide not to prosecute but said I had the option of a private prosecution. He's now agreed to sell the house but it hasn't been easy.

PM me if you want to.

That’s horrific, @OutingPosts and sadly probably not that uncommon. I have a friend who suspects that her sibling is using their Mum’s money for their own purposes-Mum has dementia and can’t keep track of her finances anymore. It’s awful how low some people will stoop. 🙁

@BruFord if there's an LPA in place your friend should contact the Office of the Public Guardian. They're very helpful but unfortunately have no jurisdiction once the person has died.

Surely if the solicitor has the will you would have been informed & involved if you featured in it? How odd.

I've been able to locate the probate and will, lo and behold I'm also an executor and it took 1.5 years for the probate from start to finish. My sister has always been controlling and manipulative, at times I've suspected a personality disorder, but I never thought she'd stoop this low.

I can't believe you have left it so long to let her get away with pilfering.

Well done! What now then?

Now locate the missing money.

Well there are two seperate issues, the missing money and the house that she won't leave. I'll need to find a suitable legal representative! Thanks for all your help today xx

@Peaches1407 I contacted the bank and got copies of the seven years of bank statements needed to check loans/assets for probate. It was an eye opener.

If you were an executor I’m pretty sure you have to sign something to say you don’t want to be the executor

I know that both myself and my sister were joint executors
but because I was dealing with a firm that did probate for you ( Farewill who are very good if anyone can’t do it themselves )
My sister had to agree she was happy with me doing everything and had to renounce being an executor and sign something

I wouldn’t bother with the money unless you can definitely account for it

I would go straight for getting the house sold.

Oh just seen your update
You want to look for insurance payments to insurance policy’s

I know that one of the policy’s my dad had Friendly Society paid the beneficiaries of the will direct
But the other one i think a Sun Life policy and a Scottish Widow one had to come to me and then I gave it to the beneficiaries

If the house has been put in both your names then probate must have been granted, so the will must be online.
You need to check the Land Registry here to see who it says actually owns the house. You also need to check Probate records for a copy of the will.
I have posted both the correct links below. It will only cost you a few £s. Do not use other websites, they are not direct and will cost you far more.

https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/
https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

I would advise you to see a solicitor who deals with wills and probate. Take all your documents including the death certificates, copies of will / probate and house deeds plus proof of your identity. They will then advise you of the best way forward.

Did you sign a waiver to say you were withdrawing your executorship at any point in the process? Surely your sister could not take out a grant solely in her name if you were joint executor. That's odd.

OP honestly the PoA is really a much harder battle.
Focus on the estate. There needs to be a record of the assets held at the time he passed away which would be the house and anything else. She needs to show accounts for these.
Lawyer up!

I didn't sign a waiver, god knows what she's done.

She could have applied for probate in both names without telling you. If she applied for probate in her own name, there are various ways she could have done it, but it is almost certainly fraudulent.

Thanks, @OutingPosts. Yes, there’s an LPA and I believe she’s listed as one of the Attorneys, but her sibling’s the primary one. I’ve advised her to investigate further, I think she’s currently reeling from the shock of realizing that her sibling could behave like this.

The LPA has gone and would be difficult to prove anything she can say she had your father's permission.
It's what she has done since his death you need to nail her on.