Exector of a will won't answer queries from beneficiaries (parent dead almost 2 years).

cailin70

Hello, hoping someone can clarify. The executor of our parents will won't answer any queries (even though the "executors year" has passed). Our parent's house never went on the open market and they entered into a "sale agreed" for €30,000 less than it's valuation. The sale has not completed and the house is falling into disrepair (they turned off electricity/heat etc). I'm worried about the state of the house and asked if it's insured. They are refusing to answer all queries and are insisting I address all queries through my solicitor. My question is - do I have to employ a solicitor to ask for information from the Executor? Should it not be way more straightforward and transparent than that?

Peregrinus

Nobody needs a solicitor to ask the executor for information. And in 99 cases out of 100 asking for the information will get you the information you need and move matters along.

But in the 1 case out of 100 where asking for information does not result in the desired progress then the question becomes, how can I force matters along in the face of an uncooperative and possibly incompetent executor? And for that you probably will need a solicitor — initially to advise you on the courses of action that are open to you to try and progress matters, but quite possibly also to represent you in court proceedings, which is a course of action that you may have to consider if other courses fail.

Jim_Hodge

Get a solicitor

cailin70

So it's normal to need a solicitor to ask for an update from the Executor? That's the question. Is it legally required to pay €500 to a solicitor to write to an Executor to ask for an update? Are the Executors not supposed to keep beneficiaries updated, without the need for legal representation?

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120872701#Comment_120872701

Didn't you just say you got nowhere going directly to the executor? Do you want somebody on Boards to write to them? But seriously, no amount of confirmation of what the executor should do will make them do it.

cailin70

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120872716#Comment_120872716

Are you for real? I heard boards could be toxic - people only come on here for help, not to be spoken to like they are stupid. If you don't know the answer to the question, just dont reply

sameoldname

While I sympathise with the situation you find yourself in, I'm afraid Jim is probably correct. Even if by law they have to give you the information you are looking for, you have no legal method of forcing them to do so except through the courts. The fact this has taken over a year means the executor is already in a position where they can find themselves sued. Add to that the issue of non-maintenance of the property which could lead to a devaluation of assets, which is exactly the opposite of what an executor should be doing. I don't see how else you can go forward without at least talking to a solicitor.

cailin70

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120873045#Comment_120873045

Thank you for replying. I don't think Jim is correct in thinking I want someone from the board to write to the executor (incidentially, Ive already done that). I know need to go to a solicitor. I just wanted to know it that's the norm - that a beneficiary would need legal representation to ask for basic information from the Executor. That was all. Sorry I wasted peoples time! Clearly I'm in the wrong place.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120873064#Comment_120873064

Well it is a very long time ago since I did any work in that area, back then there was no obligation on executors to give anyone an update… But what you are suggesting is that the executor is not carrying out their duties as required and that is a serious matter, so seeking legal advice is probably the way to go.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120872922#Comment_120872922

I gave then the answer.

Princess Calla

Have you contacted the original solicitor your parents employed while drawing up the will and naming executor?

I would have thought they still have some level of duty of care until probate is finalised.

I'd be contacting them, if I got no where with them I'd be hiring my own solicitor and finding out exactly what legal options are available to me.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120873838#Comment_120873838

Unless the solicitor who drew up the will has been instructed by the executor, they have no involvement at this point.

3DataModem

1. Always ask in writing. It will help when you sue the estate / executor later.
2. Preferably ask via your solicitor. They will word it in a way that will elicit a response.

MikeCairo78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120873064#Comment_120873064

Peregrimus answered your question succinctly. It isnt the norm. And as such you will have to consider other options. He answered it and the rest is just noise.

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120873862#Comment_120873862

Fair enough at least the op would know that's a dead end.

At this point I'd be engaging with a solicitor to sue the executor. I know forking out more money is far from ideal plus the added stress but if the property is falling into disrepair and not selling at market price etc you're losing money anyway by doing nothing.

Andrea B.

Is it not a case that the OP can lodge a complaint with the Probate Office with concerns about the execution?

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120884400#Comment_120884400

No. The Probate Office isn't a regulatory agency. Their response will be "take it up with the executor and, if you're not satisfied with the outcome of that, you have the option of instituting court proceedings".

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120872931#Comment_120872931

You got a very clear answer in the first reply. You chose to ignore it and repeated the same question.

Saying things like "If you don't know the answer to the question, just don't reply" after you've in fact been given an answer is pretty obtuse. If you going to be difficult be are going to give you an impatient answer.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120888979#Comment_120888979

I think cailin70 may in fact be a victim of some king of a glitch in the board's software.

My reply, which currently appears as post #2, wasn't in fact the second post in the thread. If you look at the time stamp you can see that it came after posts #3 to #9. I don't know why it now appears as post #2.

So, the way the posts are ordered now, it looks as though when cailin70 posted posts #3 and #6 she was ignoring post #2. She wasn't; post #2 wasn't there then.

Mellor

That's pretty bizarre. But makes more sense that them choosing to ignore the perfectly reasonable first reply.

I'll leave my post up to draw attention to it, other posters might also be scrolling past.

feelings

Solicitor + High Court. Have your spoken to any other beneficiaries of the Will?

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120889026#Comment_120889026

I've seen this a fair few times since vanilla.

It's very random and doesn't happen every time a question is asked.

However there are times when it seems to recognise a question and then picks the best answer. That reply scoots up to be the first reply even if it came late into the discussion. You will notice the thread has an "answered" tag on it

@Boards.ie: Mike might be able to share the background workings.

28064212

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120889152#Comment_120889152

It's relatively straightforward, it's something which just doesn't fit the Boards model. When you create a discussion on the new Vanilla platform, you can either choose "New Discussion" or "Ask a question" - both result in a new thread, but if you select the latter, you then have the option to mark replies as an "answer". If you mark a reply as an answer, it gets brought to the top of the replies (and you can mark more than one reply, so multiple posts could be moved).

In some forums, this makes sense (e.g. tech support forums, where it might take a lot of back and forth to get a solution, but once you have it, the solution post is the only interesting part of the discussion). On Boards, it completely breaks the established linear flow. It should have been disabled before the migration to Vanilla happened, but it wasn't