Took 10 years for this to be settled, and it still wasn’t done fairly. But with no money to fight it, we just had to accept it or fade losing more money for everyone

Well here we are the beginning of September, I really hope you have been able to get some clear direction , and the nightmare is over.
One thing I did learn is that the law is the law, and the will is the will, and the fact that now the person has passed, family and others now deciding they hate my guts, doesn’t matter, the executors MUST do as the will says. Executors cannot try to rewrite the will a couple of days after the person dies in a way they would have preferred the will be written.
I also learnt that no matter how much I want it to be true, blood is not thicker than water, and some relationships can be so toxic, it’s safer to step away from them forever.
Hope you and your husband are OK

Wow it sounds very drawn out. When it is still in probate, you can apply to the court for a copy of the will and details.

Here it is, beginning of August, sale was supposedly finalised in mid June…..and hubby has still heard nothing. Hasn’t even been notified by the executors of the sale, nothing! It’s frustrating as we don’t know who to ask, his executor siblings are not responding and the other siblings haven’t heard anything either. That’s what they’re telling us anyway. You’re not the only one to be highly suspicious. After all the things that were said and done after mil died by nasty siblings, nothing surprises me :,(

Having now gone through two really spiteful, stressful fights over wills, I’m just wondering has anything been finalised? I hope things are now much clearer for you, and you know where you stand. The whole thing sounded odd to me, but having gone through so much before, I think I’m probably more suspicious than most.

It wouldn’t hurt to talk to a lawyer just to see what they say

One other thing I forgot to mention is if they rented it out, it should have been agreed to by all beneficiaries. I personally know of a case of somebody offering to rent a house from a deceased estate. One person said no so the house sat empty where it could have been earning an income to pay ongoing rates & taxes.

On your Mother -in-Law’s death the bank should have frozen all her bank account to prevent illegal transactions. The executors then have to apply for Probate and pay for that. If there is sufficient funds al outstading accounts should have been paid. It seems strange that it too so long to sell the house. Did they let somebody live in / rent it to cover the rates & taxes incurred during that time?? If not it sounds suspicious to me. It makes you wonder what has been used for. I suspect they may hve had the garden/grass done instead of doing it themselves. When you finally receive your share you are entitled to a statement showing total assets at the time of her death minus expenses. Even for a small amount of cash apart than just the balance of a specially set up bank account/investment, you are also entitled to a copy of the will. (We got the balance + interest for the time it was being held in the existing bank account. My Nana left all her grandchildren a set amount, held until we reached the age she stipulated).The Executors have to abide by Government Laws. If they refuse to give you a copy of the will and a statement showing income – expensives and how the funds are divided in my opinion they are hiding something (dare I say, probably no doing as they should and breaking laws) If you are definitely being “underpaid” you may have to consult a specific “type of lawyer” and decide whether it is worthwhile taking it to court.

Tried all this. Lawyer intervening got us nowhere, he actually said the more answers he went looking for, the more questions he found. For him to continue and finalise it all, he quoted between $5000 and $10000. We don’t have that kind of money. He said it could be claimed from the sale of the house, but we didn’t want to do that either as we don’t know how much profit there will be. It’s been 10 years and our lawyer found a lot of debt test needs to feel paid. Have contacted real estate, who contacted executor who threatened to have us charged with harassment. This came to nothing, didn’t scare us because of our legal advice, but this is the sort of brick wall we hit when trying to find answers. The sale was finalised around the 17th of June, it’s now the 24th of July, over a month later and we’ve heard nothing. We even had to learn of the sale via word of mouth, no official notification.

this seems rther strange and as they are his siblings it is an area of mutual involvement and benifet or not!. Think your husband should seek legal advice as to his rights from a non involved party

The executors should definitely have the lawyers information. As for how long it takes to settle, it usually doesn’t take long at all but now sure if because its taken in excess of 10 years if this changes anything.

Good luck. It is even worse if it happens overseas and siblings can never be reached!

Information from lawyers or a legal service may be the way to get the best advice?

The lawyers who handled the sale of the property are most likely the lawyers handling the estate. The name of the law firm should have been on the contract of sale. If you didn’t have a copy of the contract, you could ask the estate agents who sold the property for a copy of the contract or for the name of the legal firm that prepared the contract. I hope you’re able to get some information.