Surprise solicitor letter.

tringo

. It says I am inheriting a fifth of his intestate estate. I have never heard of this term before but realise now that he died without a will. My question is, is this

Danzy

It is the norm, it doesn't indicate the size of the estate.

Hopefully it is a large estate.

A letter from America as they say.

God have mercy on his soul.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058347508/surprise-solicitor-letter

Just contact the solicitor who wrote to you and they will talk you through the process.

If you have any doubt or problems you can seek independent legal advice.

JVince

I'm guessing that your uncle had 5 brothers/sisters and your father has already passed away.

Estate split between 5

Effectively your father's 20% gets passed to you.

Btw "estate" is simply the total assets. It could be 50k, 500k, 5m.

tringo

you are correct. My father is deceased. surprised that this man had any money at all and wondering if this type of correspondence was an indication of the size of estate. It would have to be a large amount for me to reconnect. Apologies if that sounds crude but it’s with good reason.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036567#Comment_122036567

You have no way if knowing what it's worth without making contact. And you will be connecting with the solicitor and only the solicitor. There is no need to have connect with any of the family whatsoever.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036536#Comment_122036536

I don't think it works that way. If someone dies who had say 5 siblings, but one or more has died, the estate is split between the surviving siblings. The children of the siblings who have died do not figure in the calculation.

What may have happened is the uncle had no surviving siblings or children, so the nieces and nephews become next in line.

tringo

five siblings. One deceased, my father. The original post is correct I think. Thanks

20/20

May I ask if you had no contact with your fathers family for over twenty years and no contact with your uncle for over thirty years , who found you ? or how did they find your address for the solictiors letter to arrive by post. ?

If your uncle died six months ago , It seems a very short space of time to be tracking you down for the inheritance.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036595#Comment_122036595

if one of the siblings dies their share of the estate goes to their descendants.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036644#Comment_122036644

I've just confirmed my understanding was wrong:

brothers and sisters only – the estate is divided equally between the deceased’s siblings. The children of a pre-deceased sibling are entitled to receive that sibling’s share of the estate in equal shares

https://www.probatelawyers.ie/probate-services-ireland/intestacy-no-will/#:~:text=The%20Rules%20of%20Intestacy%20are%20briefly%20summarised%20out%20below.&text=parents%2C%20no%20spouse%2Fcivil%20partner,parent%20if%20only%20one%20survives.&text=other%20relatives%20%E2%80%93%20divided%20equally%20between%20nearest%20equal%20relationship.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036595#Comment_122036595

Nope. If no will, no spouse and no children then it is split equally between siblings. If a sibling has already died, their share goes to their children.

tayto lover

Good luck to you OP. Hope it is enough to change your life and make up for the things that made you break connections.

Kaisr Sose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036681#Comment_122036681

What a nice thing to say. I second that.

@tringo you have nothing to fear by contacting the solicitor. They can deal with your inheritance independently.

Lenar3556

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058347508/surprise-solicitor-letter

It gives no indication of the size of the estate, however there must be something there to warrant the effort of whoever sought the letters of administration. Died 6 months ago - They didn’t hang around either!

tringo

we live close by, always have(same county) My address is no mystery to them. Our lack of contact is by choice not by geography

_Whimsical_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036714#Comment_122036714

The solicitor should engage with you indepently of your family and without insisting you have unwanted contact with them. Just make your wishes clear at the outset. I hope whatever you get from it brings something positive into your life.

tringo

thank you. What if he owned his house and I now own a fifth of it. Do they need my permission to sell it? Could it be sold already without any contact from me. Will this mean communication with rest of family.

holliehobbie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036536#Comment_122036536

or minus €5,000!

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036760#Comment_122036760

Someone will have been appointed as administrator of the estate. The letter you have received may tell you who that is. If the deceased had other surviving siblings, it's most likely one (or more) of these.

If we assume - to keep things simple - that the estate consists just of a house, the administrators have the power to (a) transfer ownership of the house to those entitled (which would mean you get a 20% share of the house) or (b) sell the house and distribute the net proceeds of sale to those entitled (which would mean you get cash equal to 20% of the net proceeds of sale). It's up to the administrators to decide which of these two things to do, but they should make the choice in the best interests of the beneficiaries. That would ordinarily mean that they would consult the beneficiaries before making their decision. But in the case outlined it's a no-brainer; you don't want a 20% stake in a house, the other 80% of which is owned by people you don't talk to, and pretty certainly they don't want that either. So the administrators might feel able to take the decision to sell the house without consulting you.

Suppose the estate consists of (a) a house worth €400k plus (b) €200k in cash. Total value is €600k; you're entitled to €120k. The administrators get to decide which assets to distribute to which beneficiaries, so they could decide, e.g., to give you €120k cash, and to give each of the other four beneficiaries a 25% stake in the house, worth €100k, plus €20k in cash.

In short, you're entitled to a 20% share of the entire estate, but not to a 20% share of each asset in the estate. The administrators get to decide which assets go to which beneficiaries, and they get to decide which assets get transferred to beneficiaries and which get sold, and the sale proceeds transferred. They should make these decisions in the best interests of the beneficiaries, attaching equal weight to the interests of each beneficiary and not preferring the interests of one beneficiary over another. Consultation with beneficiaries to find out what they would like/what would suit their circumstances is common, but not mandatory.

If there is going to be consultation, it's possible that the administrators will prefer to do this directly, rather than through the solicitor (to save money — solicitors charge by the hour). You can decline to deal directly with the administrators, but if you do you forego your opportunity to be consulted — you can't force them to pay a solicitor to engage with you.

tringo

wow that’s is a brilliant summary. Thank you very much and you made it very clear.

cml387

Just be aware of any tax implications if you are inheriting , I think it's about €30,000 before tax is payable.

Pistachio19

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036973#Comment_122036973

I assume you are an only child of your fathers? The other beneficiaries may want to hold onto the house, in which case you could end up in a battle to get your cash share if they drag their heals. Contact the solicitor asap to confirm what your potential share is.