- May 18, 2020
- Blog
- By Tom Dickinson
- 8 comments
The executor/administrator is refusing to pay me my inheritance during the pandemic. Can they do this?
If an executor/administrator is refusing to pay you your inheritance, you may have grounds to have them removed or replaced.
However, there may very well be legitimate reasons for the delay. Particularly, during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. If this is the case, any Court application to have them removed/replaced is very unlikely to succeed and you may then be ordered to pay all the legal costs. It is therefore always best to proceed with caution, to seek advice and to gather as much information as possible before taking any action.
An executor is appointed by the will of an individual who has passed away (the deceased). An administrator is appointed where the deceased has failed to leave a valid will. Collectively, they are known as “Personal Representatives”.
The primary role of a Personal Representative is to collect the assets of the deceased, pay off their liabilities and properly distribute the estate according to the terms of the will or rules of intestacy (if there is no valid will). Once all the assets are collected and the final figures in the estate accounts are agreed, payment should then be made as quickly as reasonably possible.
However, this process can take time and there are often legitimate reasons for delay. For example, if the primary asset in the estate is a property it can often take a number of months (at the best of times) for a sale to take place. Until that time, there might be no money at all in the estate to pay out. During the ongoing pandemic, nearly all property sales are paused meaning that delay in these circumstances is unavoidable. Other examples of legitimate delays might be when confirmation of the tax position is being sought from HMRC or some of the other beneficiaries disagree with certain figures in the estate accounts.
If there is a delay in your case, you should therefore always ask the Personal Representative(s) for the reason in the first instance.
If they refuse to tell you or have no valid reason for the delay, you may have grounds to have them replaced or removed from their role. The replacement (or remaining) Personal Representative(s) can then take the necessary steps to finalise the administration. Such an application would need to be made to the Court under Section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985. The key consideration of the Court in such cases is whether the Personal Representative(s) in question can properly administer the estate.
We would recommend that you seek legal advice before commencing any Court proceedings to remove or replace a Personal Representative. It is always desirable to try and resolve disputes at an early stage to save stress, time and legal costs.
If you want advice on removing a Personal Representative, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our contentious probate team.
*Disclaimer: The information on the Anthony Gold website is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. It is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied.*
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My aunt has been holding my inheritance for no reason. It’s been almost seven years and she refuses to communicate with mr
My daughter and son are beneficiaries in their grandparents will. My daughter received her inheritance rather quickly because she was 31 years old. The will as we understand it states they cannot receive it until age 30. My son is 29 and will be turning 30 April 29tu this year. He is looking forward to this as it is a large sum of money and he wants to invest and build a nice nest egg. Now the executor is saying he won’t be getting it then, that it’s up to her discretion. We have not seen the will, can he get a copy of it and does he have any recourse?
Dear Pamela,
Thank you for taking the time to comment, a member of the team will be in contact with you shortly via email.
Kind Regards
Hi, I have a problem with an EU country, in Malta. Myself, my brother and my sister are still waiting for almost a year now for our inheritance payments.
We are 3 of 40 beneficiaries, other members of our family received their payments in March 2021.
All correspondence is by email. I was told that the money would be in my account by the end of January 2022.
But since then, they are no longer replying to my emails.
Please can I ask you for some advice, in getting help with this.
Or if you know where I could get help.
Thank you
My mother passed in July 2021 , probate has been granted so i requested the insurance company pay us 3 sons equally , the reply was the the executor will get the funds to do as he pleases and he has already mention to us that he will be keeping the funds even though we signed as claimants , in this day and age can someone actually get away with this ? My Mother was paying premiums to leave the 3 of us something not just to 1 of us .
Dear Paul,
Thanks for your comment. A member of the team will get in touch with you shortly. Kind Regards
My brother died of cancer aged 65 in Feb. 2021, he was a very wealthy person, he had a wife whom he divorced some 15 years ago with whom he had 3 children.
He has a partner, ‘Ann’, which caused the split. She informed me that he had left a Legacy of £100,000 for me not long after the funeral. In his will he left everything to Ann even though they never married, and she obtained Probate through the will.
It’s over a year now since the funeral yet I have not received a penny of it yet. I email her from time to time but try not to be pushy & keep things respectful. Where do I stand in this situation ? Thank You.
Dear John,
Thanks for your comment. A member of the team will get in touch with you shortly. Kind Regards