I am the eldest of four siblings entitled to my father's estate. For identification I'll assign their names in order of age as R, S, T & P (me being R). Siblings S & P are the executors.
The estate comprised some cash in the bank plus a commercial building, the rent from which provided my father an income stream while he was alive. The will left the whole esatate to R, S & P while T was not entitled to any part due to significant debts to the estate. Needless to say he challenged the will.
There was also a house, which was put in the name of my father's female friend prior to death. She was also left a sum of $10,000pa from the estate (specifically, from the rent of the building) for the remainder of her life. None of the siblings have any issue with that aspect of the will, although it can complicate resolution since it effectively blocks the sale of the building.
Before any challenge was made, the cash at bank was distributed, and rent from the building was divided weekly between the three recipients. Once the challenge happened, costs for wills solicitors and accountants mounted and the weekly income was reduced accordingly. It is worthy of note that I am reliant on this income to survive, being both unemployed and homeless. So far I'm managing OK.
In March 2014 I was informed that because of the challenge, the estate needs to be taxed as a single entity before funds are distributed, adding a further 35% costs onto an already mounting pile. I fear that my income may be reduced to a point where I cannot survive.
I have attempted to broker several compromise deals to ensure that the situation is resolved in a timely manner, but the executors are dragging this on into a full legal case which may take years to resolve. It is now almost two years since my father's death and we are very far from a resolution.
After the latest attempt I was told that I should consider applying for unemployment benefits, since my income may dry up entirely. The "reasoning" was that the estate should not have been distributed in the first place. All well and good, but that's water under the bridge. I have also been told that I may be required to repay some funds to the estate in order to cover taxes for the past two years.
Executor S has stated outright that she would rather spend a fortune on lawyers than see T get a cent. Executor P has physical problems including alcoholism, back injuries and sleep apnoea and has been utterly ineffective in his duties.
My questions are as follows:
1. As a named beneficiary, am I entitled to a copy of the accounts? So far this has not occurred.
2. Do I have a viable case to have the executors removed? In the will, I am the person to whom the job falls should the executors be unable to perform their duties, but in my current circumstances it would probably be best to hand this to a public executor who doesn't have an intimate family involvement, for the sake of impartiality.
3. Am I entitled to be informed of any court dates so that I may attend? So far this has not occurred.
Thanks in advance.
The estate comprised some cash in the bank plus a commercial building, the rent from which provided my father an income stream while he was alive. The will left the whole esatate to R, S & P while T was not entitled to any part due to significant debts to the estate. Needless to say he challenged the will.
There was also a house, which was put in the name of my father's female friend prior to death. She was also left a sum of $10,000pa from the estate (specifically, from the rent of the building) for the remainder of her life. None of the siblings have any issue with that aspect of the will, although it can complicate resolution since it effectively blocks the sale of the building.
Before any challenge was made, the cash at bank was distributed, and rent from the building was divided weekly between the three recipients. Once the challenge happened, costs for wills solicitors and accountants mounted and the weekly income was reduced accordingly. It is worthy of note that I am reliant on this income to survive, being both unemployed and homeless. So far I'm managing OK.
In March 2014 I was informed that because of the challenge, the estate needs to be taxed as a single entity before funds are distributed, adding a further 35% costs onto an already mounting pile. I fear that my income may be reduced to a point where I cannot survive.
I have attempted to broker several compromise deals to ensure that the situation is resolved in a timely manner, but the executors are dragging this on into a full legal case which may take years to resolve. It is now almost two years since my father's death and we are very far from a resolution.
After the latest attempt I was told that I should consider applying for unemployment benefits, since my income may dry up entirely. The "reasoning" was that the estate should not have been distributed in the first place. All well and good, but that's water under the bridge. I have also been told that I may be required to repay some funds to the estate in order to cover taxes for the past two years.
Executor S has stated outright that she would rather spend a fortune on lawyers than see T get a cent. Executor P has physical problems including alcoholism, back injuries and sleep apnoea and has been utterly ineffective in his duties.
My questions are as follows:
1. As a named beneficiary, am I entitled to a copy of the accounts? So far this has not occurred.
2. Do I have a viable case to have the executors removed? In the will, I am the person to whom the job falls should the executors be unable to perform their duties, but in my current circumstances it would probably be best to hand this to a public executor who doesn't have an intimate family involvement, for the sake of impartiality.
3. Am I entitled to be informed of any court dates so that I may attend? So far this has not occurred.
Thanks in advance.
