Access to a family home you are executor of

A question about : Access to a family home you are executor of

My mother passed away on November 10th following a brief battle with cancer. My sister and I were not allowed to care for her as she was living with our eldest sister, neither were we allowed to help out with the funeral arrangements.

Following a few weeks of struggles, we eventually received a copy of the will, which had been kept in our family home which only my eldest sister had access to.

We are all named as executors and all of our children are beneficiaries. She has been left all chattells. She is refusing to give us a key or access the family home and states that she will give us a key when she has cleared the property in approx 4 weeks time. She states that anything that she believes is ours she is putting to one side.

I have voiced to the solicitor who is administering the estate that I have considered instructing a locksmith to gain us entry and whilst verbally he has told us we are entitled to access he will not put it in writing as he does not wish to worsen the situation if I go ahead.

The solicitor has commented that it may be considered as criminal damage???

The police would attend if there is considered to be a breach of peace but if I inform them of my plans on the morning they may come along to ensure all is peaceful.

Help..............Advice..............Comments.... ...........
All we want is access to our family home whilst it is still that, not when it is 4 walls and literally a shell. It has been hard enough losing both parents in 50 weeks without now being refused access to our family home and 'personal' items.

Best answers:

• I would say that as joint executors you are all entitled to enter the family home of the deceased and your sister as no legal right to refuse you entry. It sounds to me that there is some fear by all parties that another may take more than they are entitled to. Would it not then be possible for the three of you to arrange a time when you could all go together and this way no one will feel the other is trying to take what they are not entitled to?
  Rob
• Rob - we have tried to 'talk' with our sister - via text, phone calls, voice messages and in person. She just ignores us and is not willing to be amicable at all. On the day of our moms funeral we all had to stand on pavement outside the family home as she didnt open up house. She (and her family) arrived in the funeral cars and we all followed. We consider our only option is to change the locks but do not want to risk and trouble with the police :-(
• Sorry for your loss
  MIL died last Jan
  5 children
  Will divided everything equally between all five
  2 were executors
  They held the house keys and no one else was permitted in without prior appointment
  A lot of things were removed before "viewing"days
  Now because three were not executors the family has split, you really do t want to hear how new year was in this house
  As equals you go into the house and change the locks if need be, you have as much right as she and although things may not be nice now, it will make the long term a lot easier
• If the three of you are executors, why is the solicitor dealing with the estate? Have you all handed over the executor's job to him?
• As with Mojisola - what is the solicitors role in this? Who instructed him, to do what?
  How have the three Executors agreed to work - who is actually applying for the grant of probate? Who is gathering the initial financial info to go on the forms? Are any the three Executors stepping out, i.e. declining to do it or 'reserving power' (so not involved now, but could step back in). Who actually needs to be a key-holder would depend how you were goind to work, but the starting point is that all Executors have every RIGHT to enter the property.
  For dividing up the work, I can see that eldest sister, who inherits all chattells, is the obvious one to clear the house, but the other Executors have every right to enter to look for paperwork for other assets, prepare the property for sale etc.
  If you have appointed a solicitor because you KNOW you can't work together, then HE should have a key and be co-ordinating everything. Employing the solicitor will cost the Estate ЈЈЈ/ЈЈЈЈ/ЈЈЈЈЈs but might be worth it if it provides peace of mind if there is distrust/inability within the Executors.
  Two final comments:
  1) Sounds like a poor solicitor if he can't put a simple procedural point in writing to someone who is flagrantly disregarding procedures.
  2) If the other 2 Executors have concerns about eldest sister as an executor, you could discuss this with the Probate Office. They are very helpful and would guide you through what SHOULD happen. You wouldn't have to name any names in the first instance, if you just wanted to air concerns.
• Was your mum living in the family home with your eldest sister? Or living in your sister's house and the family home is elsewhere? If the latter, definitely get locksmiths but all 3 go together.
• The problem I see with changing the locks it two fold. One it could be construed as a breach of the peace especially if the said older sister is still living there and second the said sister could then just have them changed again. Also a locksmith would want proof that you live at that address otherwise they are unlikely to do this for you either. Like the others I am wondering why you have a solicitor administering an estate where there are three executors.
  The police may well not attend the property either unless there is a high chance that a breach of the peace may occur as they will see this as a domestic incident.
  Rob
• The correct answer is take independent legal advice. The joint solicitor will be in a very difficult position to take action or write a letter which in any way acts against your sister because she is part of his client, the Executors.
  If your sister lives in the house under any kind of right of residence - rather than having had her own home in living in to help mother, you would be ill advised to get a locksmith, although if you sister were not living there, I imagine that probate is equal authority to engage a locksmith to any proof of residence.
• Suki - Christmas and New Year was the same here. That is what I really want to do but are we leaving ourselves open for legal action ourselves?
• Mojisola - she instructed him and we felt like we had no option than agree as we were told it was that or we would be (cant remember the terms) but a non interested executor where she would be able to make all the decisions................
• Tuesday Tenor - the solicitor was asked by her to apply for probate as soon as we said that we not stepping out. The solicitor has written and voiced that we are allowed keys and access but she has pointedly refused until 9/10th February when she has removed everything
• whitewing - mom was leaving with sister in her house somewhere else. All 3 of us cant do it together, as she is refusing to deal with us and she is only one to have a key
• madbadrob - eldest does not live then - she has her own family home
• valhaller - I can confirm that sister does not live in the property that is part of the estate we wish to have access as our family 'childhood' home
• securityguy - my children are both minors and their funds will have to be held in trust for 11 and 9 years. I have wondered whether her children (her youngest is 18 in April) will try to purchase the property at a much lower market value. The solicitor asked us what we considered the value to be and he was most surprised that our 'guess' was Ј40k over hers!!! The estate agent she wants to instruct does not normally market this type of house in this area and it was later dropped out by the solicitor that my sisters husband knew him!!!!!
• securityguy - the chattells were left to her.................