Please help

A question about : Please help

To set the scene. My brother has always been nasty to me all my life. He is a full time dole scrounger who has had drug problems and run ins with the police. I made a career and live in Europe. In the last 15 years alone , I have paid for holidays for him, brought all his tobacco ( I am a non smoker ), brought TVs, DVD player, digital camera, XBOX games, clothes, shoes and countless other stuff. My wife is tired of it that I take money from our household budget to help him only to receive abuse each and every time. I am 50 and before I met my wife 15 years ago I was doing the same thing with the same results. Saying that, when my mother's health went down hill he cared for her full time for 3 years and did a fantastic job, he was available as he never left home and had lived there paying a pittance in food and board as he is long term unemployable. During this time I used all my holiday entitlement giving him a break although my care was not as outstanding as his. Our father died in 2008 and we each received 25% of the house. My mother died recently, it wasn't unexpected, it must have been a relief for her as she constantly said she was tired of the pain and her existence, so we will both soon be 50% owners.
We have not even got to will reading and he is making life difficult. I asked if I could come to the house and pick up my own personal possessions and maybe some keepsakes from my mothers stuff. He said he does not want me at the house. He is named as executor of the will. I have no idea how this is progressing as he refuses to communicate. As for my mothers bank accounts I do not even know if the accounts have been frozen yet, they contain about 23k. He says I am not allowed at the house yet he allows his druggy friends to doss there and I strongly suspect he has a small cannibis farm set up. He has about 20k in the bank that my mother gifted about 5 years ago but is now back on JSA, I understand with such savings he should not qualify. He has said he wants to live there for another 2 years. I would prefer to sell the house straight away but would have no problem with him staying if he was reasonable. My questions are:
1. Can I enter the house ( I am now 50% owner )
2. Can I take some of my late mother's possessions ?
3. If he stays in the house, what are my options ? Can I legally make him pay rent on my half ? ( I only wish to know for leverage to make him a bit more reasonable )
4. Is he forced under the terms of the will to split whatever is in the bank and what do I do if he doesn't ? And what about items in in the house ? he seems to be giving stuff away to his friends especially stuff he knows I want to spite me.
5. Can I sell my half of the house without his permission just to get out of this mess ? If I sold my half would the buyers be entitled to live there too ?

Please help, this whole situation is unbearable. Any answers to the questions above or advice in general would be gratefully received.

Best answers:

• I do know what the contents are. My mother and father had a joint will, everything 50-50 between me and my brother.
• He was appointed executor as he was still living at home and me abroad. While taking care of my mother he also had power of attorney. I had no problem with any of this as I didn't think he was going to get really nasty about things. As for "will reading" it was just a figure of speech. I wasn't actively supporting the negative aspects of his lifestyle, I just wanted to look after my only brother but you are right, I should have realised long ago that any compassionate deeds would go unappreciated. I will not be so naive and stupid in the future.
• You only know what was in the will you have knowledge of,
  There may be a newer one.
  Has he ever been convicted of anything?
• If you think he's using your mother's house for cannabis farming then shop him. This is a crime.
• In answer to questions, I am sure he has only been on weed the last 10 years, nothing more. He was very close to my mother and I am not taking anything away from him at how he looked after her. There is only one will. As far as finances are concerned he received carers allowance and my mother also used to give him money.
  The problem he has is with me and it has always been a problem but the sudden increase in nastiness is shocking.
  I thank everyone for their replies but so far none of my questions have been addressed and I am still none the wiser. I wanted to to avoid legal action by getting sound advice here but it looks like I may be forced to seek professional advice if no one else has ever experienced anything like this.
• If the OP already owns 25% of the house can he force the sale anyway?
• One thing to consider were the terms of your fathers will 2008
  There may be CGT implications.
• First thing would be to contact the probate office and get a copy of the Will and probate.
  If there is no will filed, then you can pursue on intestacy grounds that you own an equal share of all assets, it is then up to someone to cough up a will naming them as executor or let you do the estate.
  https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate
• Your brother has not only lost his mother, but has lost the main focus of his life for the last few years, caring for her, and is now facing losing the only home he has known as you say he never moved out. Not that this excuses all his actions, but putting yourself in someone else's shoes can be helpful for deciding how to deal with them.
• Mojisola's advice is good.
  If you already own 25% of the property under our father's will then you have a right to access it.
  Your brother has no right to give away items to his friends - once the eastate has been settled he can of course chose to give away the items he inherits.
  Have a look at this guidance from STEP - https://www.step.org/tackling-troublesome-executors
  As a first step, I;d suggest checking with the Probate registry to see whether your brother has yet applied for probate. if not, you can either apply for letters of administration or /and enter a caveat.
  This is potentially a very comples situatuion and I would advise you to get some proper advice, even if you then chose to approach your brother directly in the first instance. I would suggest that you look for a firm of solicitors who deal with both contentious and non-contentious probate, as that way you will be able to stick with the same firm even if things get very sticky.
• I understand where you are coming from. I have been recently in the same situation where my brother was an executor to my father's estate and was no help to anyone. Although you may not want to take legal action, as it sounds so severe, rather than have your share of your parent's legacy disappear and leave you with a sour relationship with your brother I would advise either calling him on the phone, with a witness present on your end and ask him why you are not allowed in the house considering it has been left to both of you. Ask if he has filed for probate...as previously mentioned by another forum member, these records are public and easily attainable if he has filed for probate.
  If he hasn't, and is refusing to talk to you or explain where the will is heading or not allowing you into the house, then he is acting illegally and employing a legal practitioner who specialises in inheritance and probate disputes is your only hope. It's horrible to think that it boils down to this, yet a solicitor can help iron out any issues you have an explain your rights to the house and give you the support you need.
  Most solicitors will give you the first half hour consultation free of charge to see whether you have a case or whether it would be pointless to pursue it. They can also advise whether it is worth going through a procedure to remove him as executor to the will if there is enough proof that he is not doing his job properly.
  Good luck!
• Hard to know how to handle this one without knowing the brother better than a few lines of detail on the internet.
  The legal route does sound favourite and a well worded letter may have the desired effect. I would imagine that should he fail to execute the will according to the law, any resulting court case would find in your favour and direct costs in his direction.
  Do you have any close family or friends who he may listen to?