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?

Thanks guys, yes I am definitely shocked to see that I was also executor but was never asked to sign or do anything. The whole situation is shocking and a massive lesson learning. From your advice I will need to let go of the money taken during the LPA before my.dad died because she could lie and say my dad knew about the case taken during that time. I wonder if there was even anything left by the time my dad passed. The property is significant in value so I will be pursue that. I will make my own case anyway of the things she has done LPA and beyond. I have definitely learnt so much from you all and I am so grateful-thank you.

Good luck with it. Hopeful that you'll find a good solicitor to help you with it all

With the financial poa the bank, and opg should still have a copy, maybe online now, there is a section where it has to be ticked that poa is to be used either when it's registered or when he loses capacity, if its the latter there will need to have proof he lacked capacity. Its always worth checking, even if you can't recover the money it means fraud and abuse of poa.

Good luck nail her.

Where do you live OP and I can see if I can recommend someone?

When we had to deal with contentious probate, we used the website www.human-law.co.uk There is lots of very helpful legal advice, as it was set up by a solicitor who specialises in elderly law.
However we used a different solicitor who was fantastic. It was a very lengthy process. Sadly it’s quite common for friends or relatives to commit fraud when someone had died.

Quite invested in this thread, going through something similar, please keep us updated OP

You also need to contact the Solicitor your sister used as Executor of the Will.

If you were both named as Executors, they will need to explain how everything was managed without your input. That is a serious failing on their part.

Thanks for this, veery helpful.

We live in London

I will defo report back once we go through it all and there is a resolution.

Such a valuable point. Thank you x

Try this firm. Highly rated for contentious probate but without top tier pricing

https://osborneslaw.com/wills-probate-and-disputed-estates-solicitors/contentious-probate/

OP are you the poster whose son is also inheriting from his DGF? Your sister is in a poor relationship, hence not living in her house - and she has no DC?

If so, I’m sorry this is still going on, I remember your previous posts where you were trying to deal with her.

you don’t need a solicitor to apply for probate, you can apply as the executor. However, as you and your sister were both named a PA15 should have been completed if not all executors wanted to manage the estate.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-pa15-give-up-probate-executor-rights

What a nightmare this all sounds like good luck.

Nope that's not me

Gosh in that case, there’s an almost identical thread on here - sister living in the house, won’t budge, allegedly did all the paperwork. It was only 2-3 weeks ago. May be worth a read to see the advice she got.

Here it is https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/legal_matters/5005531-probate-advice-needed

Sorry, that’s the wrong one!

There’s a programme on ITV tonight that is very topical “Fraud: Ripping Off the Elderly” on at 22.45-23.10
Apparently there are more legal cases now.

I work in a profession adjacent to Safeguarding and I've seen a huge increase in financial abuse cases including by those holding LPOA for finances . Some of the sums involved are hundreds of thousands and it is very difficult to get these investigated by the Police and OPG

Agree, abuse is rife and frequently not reported as the victims and perpetrators are relatives, and the victims have often lost capacity.

You have really, really got to trust someone who holds a finance LPA.

@Peaches1407 If you want a recommendation for a solicitor then send me a pm. After one useless one who charged a lot and did nothing (suspect he was trying to drag it out for as long as possible!), I was recommended to one who was fab - empathic, not greedy and knew her stuff! Mine was complex - involved 3 different countries. She sorted it quickly because she knew exactly what to do, and charged me £1500.

Any update OP ?