Inheritance

[Blue2blue]

My MIL and her sister lived together as her sister (our Auntie) was unable to care for herself and she had no children either to do so. They both sadly died within days of each other 6 years ago. I remember at the time being disgusted as we had a phone call within 3/4 hours of my MIL dying, from my BIL and SIL to say they had taken all the paperwork, bank statements, etc from MILs house. I remember us sobbing as the phone went, she wasn't even cold and they were thinking about bank statements!

There wasn't a will due to dementia, so my BIL and SIL had gone to get power of attorney for themselves.

However after 6 years the money which was supposed to be shared out is still sat in BIL and SIL own bank account. They keep saying they are going to share it, but nothing happens. My other SIL has also ask them for her share but is also still waiting for it.

BIL and SIL has had loads of work done on their own house since they passed away and she's been on lots of holidays. He says he hasn't used the inheritance for that, but we don't understand why 6 years down the line they still have all the inheritance that should have been equally shared out.

Is 6 years too long for this still to be sorted? We don't want to fall out with them but feel they should have sorted it by now. .

Have you consulted a solicitor?

You need to speak to a solicitor.

I would imagine the inheritance has been spent. 6 years is way too long.

If they keep hold of it much longer I’m sure it’s their by default!

You need a solicitor.

This should've been sorted 6 years ago,
That money has long gone and they have spent it.
No way that amount of money is sat in a bank account,
You've been mugged off and will need to seek legal advice

of course 6 years is too long. in my experience within 6 months after the home/assets are sold/disposed of.

If these are your in laws, surely your husband should be the one dealing with this as it's his family.

Who’s the executor for the wills? They should be sorting it out.

The OP says there are no wills.

Money long gone

I also think they've spent it.

Probate is usually granted in 6–12 months in the UK depending on how complicated things are.
The money is long gone.

In that, it needs to be distributed accordance to the inheritance laws.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/who-can-inherit-if-there-is-no-will-the-rules-of-intestacy/

You need to get proper legal advice on this (and also think it’s a bit suspicious all the extra work has been done)

(Nb English laws, I believe Scotland is different).

What did the estate consist of ?
Did MIL own her house and if so what happened to it
Did they go through probate ?
Who had the letters of administration ( executors)
You all may be able to claim against above under the inheritance act
Rules of intestacy mean siblings inherit first so you should all be able to claim against the estate not sure if there is a time limit

Thank all. I really appreciate the information to Riverlea.

I guess I already knew it was too long and suspect it may have been spent. I've left it to my husband and kept out of it up to now, but I can see he is growing frustrated. His brother knows money is extremely tight for us l, so probably doesn't expect that we would get legal advice, although it very clear now that we do need to get some.

How about sending a "letter before action" telling them you want your inheritance within 28 days or you will start court proceedings?

You say you don't want to fall out but they have stolen your inheritance? How can you maintain a relationship when that is the case?

What do you mean that they had gone to get power of attorney themselves? POA is nothing to do with wills and ceases to exist once someone has died. It is managing someone’s affairs whilst they were alive and has no bearing on who the estate goes to.

If they did have POA whilst mil was alive then she must have been part of this process. If they had it they may have unlawfully moved all her money before she died.

Or you could have your terms mixed up and mean that they applied for probate on their own saying that she was intestate (no will- this would be true). You can contact the probate office or do some research to work out what should have happened to the estate once the letter of administration was granted.

If asking for your husband's legal share of the inheritance causes a fall out, it won't be you falling out with them.

You can ask them or not. You can do it via a professional or not. But you need to decide what you want to do, and do it. Currently you're so scared of falling out that you won't push your point, and if that's the case, you need to accept that they're not going to give you the money. If they cared about you and you're pushed for cash, they'd have offered something by now.

I think it would be a good idea to let them know that if you can't have some official documentation to let you know why it's taking so long, you're going to have to pursue professional advice. Take it from there. Citizen's Advice will be able to help you, too.

They would not have got poa without the court of protection being involved, only deputyship and this will be on record so your dh can contact them.

Did they say Power of Attorney or Letters of Administration? In you grief at the time you may have misunderstood.

I would start by searching probate for both MIL and Aunt https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

Where there is no will the laws of intestacy apply. This tool helps you to work it out https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will Fairly straightforward for MIL but also useful for Aunt.

A solicitor will not be cheap but once you have the above information the cost of an appointment and a letter may be worth it.

Power of attorney ends the day the person dies. Having POS does not give rights over the will, entitle someone to be an executor etc. After a death it’s all down to the will and if there isn’t one it gets distributed according to set rules eg any surviving spouse gets 50%, children the rest, if no kids it goes to siblings etc. if they’ve helped themselves to the estate that’s theft. You can legally try and claw back money but be prepared for a fight.

Six years down the line and only now is your husband starting to get frustrated?

It might be important who died first. If MIL and Auntie had other siblings, then they would have all inherited an equal share from Auntie if she died first, rather than everything going to MIL.

The quicker you act the better now. Bear in mind he may end up having to sell his home to pay those debts. If that happens so be it.

What happened OP?