Estranged parent not passing on inheritance..

[Elizabeth120914]

I have no relationship with my parents with very good reason.

My grandmother died and left me some money. My father is executor as far as I can tell and has my money. They are not passing it on and are trying to use it as a bargaining chip to see my new baby.

I have had no letters from solicitors or anything confirming the money nor has my sister but it was definitely in the will and she has had her money as they have given it to her she's in the good books.

I don't even know who the solicitor is and I'm not giving in to them to get the money does anyone know the legal position?

Assuming that you were left a direct legacy in the will it is their duty to pass it to you. There are options as to what you can do but my baby brain has kicked in and I don't want to mis advise. I believe the HMRC site has loads of info but I would recommend speaking to a solicitor or someone well versed in that area - one may be along soon!

Best of luck

Not a lawyer, but I think if an executor does not "execute" the wishes of the deceased as expressed in a legal will, then s/he is acting illegally.

Can you ask your sister who the solicitor is? Do you have a family solicitor?

I think you can also trace a will via a public office, something to do with probate?

But your father is acting illegally (very illegally) if he does not instruct the solicitor to contact you.

Sorry for your loss.

I think you'll need to try and find out who the solicitor is, did your grandmother live in a big town or could you ring round the solicitors where she lived to try and find out who is dealing with it?

Would the funeral directors who dealt with her funeral know who the solicitor is, maybe if they paid towards costs?

I think if the money was left to you then it would still be held by the solicitors, not passed to your father, but I may be wrong, hopefully someone with more legal knowledge will come along who can help

Thank you.. I can't understand why there's been no paperwork at all about the whole thing it's really weird so hard to find out whose the lawyer etc.. Presumably they have had the paper work and aren't passing it on..

I don't know who the solicitors were she was from one area but in the end lived in another so it could be anywhere in the country..

We weren't informed of the funeral until it was too late so don't even have that information. It's not a huge amount it's the principle it was hers and not for them to sit on or decide who deserves it..

Thanks all il have to do some sort of detective work but I guess they will get to keep it because I haven't the stomach to deal with them at all I'm 37 weeks pregnant and just dont need anymore drama..

I just did a bit of googling, and found the info below and also there's details on Gov.uk about tracing details of probate

www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/searching-for-probate-records

Once a Will is proved it becomes a public document and copies are kept at Somerset House in London with the Grant of Probate. You will need as much information as you can get including full name, the date on which the person died, and address at the date of death, in order to trace it. If you don't want to carry out the search yourself, there are companies that will do it for you. I use Hoopers, www.hoopers.co.uk, and expect to pay about £50 for a copy Grant of Probate and a copy of the Will that is bound up inside it. At the foot of the Grant of Probate is the name and address of the firm of solicitors who extracted it.

Oh fantastic thank you! Il have a look into that tomorrow at least it's somewhere to start!

Looks like the Gov.uk site is your best bet to start with, rather than paying out for tracing details, good luck & by the sounds of things you should be able to find out without contacting your parents directly if you don't want to

Don't pay someone to find a will for you. Once it has been proved yoj are able to obtain a copy from the Probate Office for £10 ish I think. Info on the direct.gov link above.

You can file a complaint with the probate court if an executor doesn't carry out the instructions in a Will.

There may not be a solicitor involved. It's not actually a requirement and probate etc can be dealt with without the assistance of a lawyer.

What Juan said. I have been executor for both of my parents so a solicitor definitely isn't required unless the estate is particularly complicated.

Once you have details of the will and the estate I suspect small claims will be your best option.