Brother Refusing to Leave Probate Property even after Court Order

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My older brother and I are executors of our late father’s estate, and we are also beneficiaries along with two other siblings. I currently live in the property with the youngest sibling, who is one of the beneficiaries.

We’ve obtained a possession order from the court, which required him to leave by a certain date, but he has not complied. We are now just waiting for the bailiffs to act. He also stopped paying bills last year, leaving me to cover them.
The youngest sibling is living in the property with his son, who is also being evicted at the same time. He has been verbally abusive, sending us voice messages and occasionally swearing at me in person.
Last year, we put the property on the market, but he sabotaged the sale. He told a potential buyer that he wanted more money or he wouldn’t leave, causing the buyer to withdraw. He also blackmailed my brother and me, demanding money in exchange for vacating.

He’s now upset that we’re evicting him and took legal action. He claims we’re selling the property too cheaply and says we owe him £50k. However, the property was listed for £1.2 million, with 30 viewings. We received 4 offers: two under £1 million, and two at £1.1 million, with one offer at £1.125 million, which we accepted. He believes the property could sell for £1.4 to £1.5 million.
We went to court, and he told the judge he has nowhere to go. The court issued a costs order against him for £4k, which he hasn’t paid. The 28-day deadline for him to vacate has passed, and he’s still refusing to leave. I’ve instructed our solicitor to proceed with the next steps in the eviction process.

Not sure what your question is and IANAL but I guess you just have to let the legal process proceed and they are evicted. Then change the locks. And accept you no longer have a relationship with your sibling.

You need a locksmith lined up same day as the bailiffs, and change any alarm code.

Thanks, I can change the locks myself. He mentioned that my older brother and I won’t like what he plans to do when the bailiffs arrive.

Whatever damage he does or bills not paid will come out his share surely.

You can only follow the legal process through and get him evicted.

Any reduction in value of the property is due at least in part to his sabotaging of the sale process so that's a totally reasonable defense if he tries to force you to pay him more than he is due.

I think you need to warn the bailiffs of this. They may need to arrange for the police to attend.

What's he likely to do? Fire a shotgun out of the window? Rip radiators of the wall? flood the place? Remove all the light bulbs? Set fire to the place? Or is it bravado?

Make sure your paper work is correct and available on the day.

Police if he gets violent/obstructive/ won't leave.

Accept that some damage is going to happen and be as prepared as you can be.

You probably need to make a judgement as to whether to be present or not on the day.

I don’t think he’ll do anything; he’s all talk. I wouldn’t call the police unless the bailiffs ask him to leave and he refuses. Then, the police will get involved. My older brother and I would need to be there for that. He has no common sense. He and his son have been freeloading off me for months. He keeps saying he’s not paying bills because I’m getting evicted. I’ve seen his emails asking for bills and PDF documents for months, but he just ignores them. He also said Don't touch with my money he must know that me and my older brother will be deducting it from his share.

I would flag it to the bailiffs but it won’t be anything they haven’t dealt with before, and they will be able to judge whether the police should be called. Sounds a rotten situation, you have my sympathy.

I hope so. My brother and I aren’t going to put the house back on the market with him still here. He uses the fact that he’s here to stop us from selling. He’d say that if the house sells and he’s still here, he won’t get into trouble, but my older brother and I, as executors, would be the ones in trouble. He’s just trying to throw us under the bus. Thank God my parents didn’t make my youngest brother an executor. All I want to do is sell the house and distribute the proceeds according to the will, but he doesn’t get it.

Going through the same thing OP, my mum died Intestate and left a house and a piece of land that is currently being squatted in by my brother's sons. I can't even apply for probate as my brother, equally entitled to apply refuses to do so. Currently going to court so that solicitors can take over the administration of the estate but his sons have said they ate going no where even if High court bailiffs turn up. They will block the entrance to the land with the multiple hgv's they have.

I believe there is something called powers of restitution that a Judge can attach to an order so anyone attempting to return to the property once evicted can be imprisoned.

Unfortunately, civil law is weak where property is concerned and costs orders are pointless if the person has no money or refuses to pay. Not sure if those costs can come from the occupying siblings share of the estate ?

I feel your pain 😢

I’m sorry you’re going through something similar, it’s really tough. It sounds like you’re in a difficult position with your brother and his sons.
It’s frustrating when people refuse to cooperate, especially when it comes to property and probate matters. The powers of restitution you mentioned could be a useful option, but unfortunately, as you pointed out, civil law doesn’t always have the teeth it needs to enforce orders effectively.
Regarding the costs, they can sometimes be taken from the estate, depending on the court's ruling, but it might be a complex situation since your brother is refusing to apply for probate. It’s worth checking with your solicitor to see if that’s a viable option in your case.
I really hope things get resolved soon, hang in there.

It's been a year of horrific stress and physical violence and damage to my property by him, and the police have done nothing. I'm broken by it all.

I'm at the point of walking away but it's my inheritance (and his, however money isn't an issue for him, he's blown millions on drugs ) . When it's all over I'm going to write a book x
Hope you get resolution soon OP x

Are you using county court or high court bailiffs? I believe that county court bailiffs can’t physically remove someone or get police to actually respond where high court can?

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this level of stress and violence it’s unimaginable. It’s heartbreaking that the police haven’t been able to help, and I can understand why you're feeling broken by it all.
It’s a tough situation when your inheritance is tied to such turmoil. It’s admirable that you’re still pushing through, despite everything. You should seriously consider getting an injunction to protect yourself from any further violence or damage to your property. It can legally prevent him from coming near you or your property and can provide some immediate relief. A solicitor can guide you through the process, but it's worth looking into as an option for your safety and peace of mind.
A book sounds like a powerful way to process and share your story once this is over.
I hope things improve for you soon and that you find peace with the resolution. Take care of yourself.

I'm using county court bailiffs. My solicitor advised me that high court bailiffs would take longer. He recently dealt with a case where it took 11 months just to get a bailiff date through the high court, so county court seemed like the quicker option.

Interesting that’s obviously changed as when I did it a year ago high court was much much quicker!!!

He'd not comply with an injunction, I'm under Domestic Violence services and even they agreed he'd just see that as a challenge.
Imprisonment holds no fear for him, he is a very dangerous individual with links to high level drug dealing, partly why the police let him get away with what he has over the years. It's absolutely horrific what I've been through and there is no help whatsoever, none.

I asked for the high court but my solicitor said " I acknowledge your request to transfer enforcement to the High Court, which requires submitting an application. However, I advise against this and recommend using the County Court bailiff instead. The Court typically only approves transfers in exceptional cases, such as when the occupants are violent. Additionally, the application process can take longer than securing a bailiff appointment; for example, a recent application I filed took 11 months to receive a hearing date."

That's just awful OP, the law just sides with those that break it in my experience 😕

You’re doing the right thing OP. It’s clear you need vacant possession before attempting to sell.

I hope it doesn’t take too long. I had to deal with contentious probate once and it was awful, it put the house sale back by around 18 months! Absolute nightmare but we got there in the end (and had our costs paid by the 20 years estranged relative who was challenging it)

So you live in the property as well?

Yes

My dh is/was in a very similar situation except only bil lived in his late df house. He had only moved in a couple of years before.

He then changed the locks and refused access.

There is a lot of back story and complicated family rekationships. Also nobody else was living in the house.

Dh did get a solicitor but they weren't great so has done a lot of this alone. Long story short dh got a county court order for possession a couple of months ago. The notice was ignored and he refused to move out. Dh was also aware that county court bailiffs had a massive waiting time and no certainty of success.

However because bil was not a tenant dh found out he was entitled to apply for a high court writ of possession which was granted and he was able to get high court enforcement officers to do the eviction. The waiting times are much shorter and they have more powers than county court bailiffs and can bring locksmiths etc.

Obviously this may not be the same in your case.

The county court was in October and the eviction took place at the start of Feb - it would have been quicker except the courts don't grant evictions over the Xmas period.

All that happened a few weeks ago. It hasn't been cheap but he is now out.

It might be different because you are living there too.

Wait til he goes out, put all his stuff outside and change the locks?