Parents deceased, three siblings left, what next?

genuine leather

The father of a close friend of mine recently passed away, his mother passed away many years ago.
He asked me to see if i could find out some info with regards sorting out his late fathers estate(monetary wise) with three siblings.
Sadly two siblings had little or no contact with him in the latter years which may, i think, make things somewhat awkward.
As far as i know there was no will.
Is it a clear cut situation of seeing a solicitor, going thru the procedures and the estate being split three ways?
Thank you for any advice

seamus

If he died intestate, you will definitely need a solicitor to sort it out. Where one or more of the children are not in contact and potentially uncooperative, it can get messy.

On the other hand if you can get all three siblings to agree on an even 3-way split, then it should just be a rubber-stamping exercise. By law in this situation the default entitlement is an even split of the estate among the children, so if no-one registers any legal dispute to that split, then that's how to proceed.

The first thing you do is appoint an administrator; this can be one of the children, but probably best to appoint the solicitor that you ask to handle the paperwork.

genuine leather

Thanks for that seamus.
It would be nice to see agreement on all three sides and proceed with what would then be an amicable split of the estate,hopefully.
Appreciate the help

schemingbohemia

Make sure that there isn't a will before you do anything. You'll need to do more than just assume.

genuine leather

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Make sure that there isn't a will before you do anything. You'll need to do more than just assume.

Agree certainly, im just helping in any small way i can, the death is still very raw for him. Thanks

Santa Cruz

Check personal documents of deceased to see if there is a will. If not see is there any reference to a family solicitor. If so make contact and request to check if there is a will and who is executors. In a country area the solicitor will probably be aware of the death.
If there is a will it is the executors job to sort matters out. If there is no will arrange meeting with your friend and a solicitor so that the estate can be established and then contact made with the other brothers. After that the attitude of the brothers will dictate progress.
Bear in mid legal costs.

Of course the absence of a national register of wills makes cases like this very difficult

Rudiger

If there is no Will, a Grant of Administration will need to be taken out to deal with the assets of the deceased. You will need a Death Certificate, a certificate of valuation of property from an auctioneer in relation to property as well as other probate documents. The application is usually made by a solicitor and will take at least 6 months. The estate will usually be divided in accordance with the Succession Act 1965 and will most likely be divided equally amongst the kids if the spouse is predeceased.

genuine leather

Chatting with my friend he said he was talking with the sister and brother and they stated to him that they dont want a share of their fathers estate, that whatever is left after all funeral expences is his.

In fairness it has been very amicable between them,which i am delighted is the case. In this situation what details need to be covered to finalise this.
He has not yet contacted his solicitor, just trying to get his head around it all, along with the loss.

Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Rudiger

A disclaimer should be signed by the siblings who are not claiming their benefit. It should confirm that they do not wish to extract the Grant of Administration and that they are disclaiming their entitlement under the Succession Act. It should be witnessed and preferably they should obtain independent legal advice.