An Inheritance Claim Handled Badly - By: Tim Bishop

What happens when your father dies and your brother is the Executor of the Will, but you are not on speaking terms with that brother and therefore have been frozen out of the distribution process. You also then find out that brother helped your father devise his Will and you have no one else to turn to.

When your dad dies, you are not happy at the way your brother is conducting his role as Executor. You think that he might just be acting for his own benefit. One of the major reasons for clients contesting Wills is that the Executor or Trustee are not doing the job correctly or are acting improperly.

These individuals are 'personal representatives' or 'PRs'. The law does require that they follow a defined code of conduct. If they step outside the boundaries of what is correct procedure, this can give valid grounds for contesting a Will. You are then raising concerns over their conduct when dealing with the Estate.

Conflicts of interest can arise where an Executor is also a beneficiary of the Will, where family company shares are involved as part of the Estate or is a director of the company.

There may be tensions between the Personal Representatives or between the PRs and the beneficiaries under the Will; this can arise within families where there are already underlying frictions.

In the case of your brother you may suspect he is being dishonest and not acting in the best interests of the Estate and beneficiaries.

Your brother could be behaving obstructively or unfairly in which case an application to the Court for an order to remove him can be made or a substitute PR or trustee is appointed. In this case you are challenging the manner in which the Estate is being managed or distributed.

It is frequently the case that Executors are not acting in the best interests of the Estate or the Beneficiaries.

You may suspect that the PR's are no distributing property correctly or are making uncessarily risky investments with the Estate funds. They might be transferring property into other names or selling property and dealing with the proceeds other than in accordance with the wishes of the beneficiaries. Steps can be taken to prevent this conduct from continuing.

Speak to a qualified lawyer who specialises in contesting a Will; this person will be calm, guide you through the process and will not get tangled up in family divisions or arguments. They will give objective, controlled and legal support.

About the Author

Make sure you have solicitors experienced in contesting a will when considering making an inheritance claim. Tim Bishop is senior partner at the firm, responsible for all major strategic decisions. He has grown the firm by 1000% in 13 years and has plans for further expansion.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Tim-Bishop/62652

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