Executors can sometimes fail or refuse to administer an estate. There are steps that beneficiaries can take to get over this problem, as one recent case of ours suggests.
McGrath Mullan LLP was recently instructed in relation to an estate where the deceased, an Irish resident with assets within Ireland, had died in 2013. The firm was instructed by children of the deceased who resided overseas.
One of the executors appointed under the will of the deceased, was another child of the deceased who was resident in Ireland. This executor had indicated that they would arrange to extract the grant of probate and administer the estate but unfortunately this did not happen.
Despite extreme patience and countless requests and attempts by the clients to arrange for their sibling to complete the duties of an executor and administer the estate, the estate remained unadministered for a number of years.
In desperation, our clients contacted the firm to see if anything could be done to have the estate administered. Following instructions, McGrath Mullan LLP, arranged to make a series of applications to the Probate Office of the High Court and ultimately secured the removal of the sibling as executor.
We were then in a position to make an application for Letters of Administration with Will annexed on behalf of our clients which we did.
Once we received the Letters of Administration with Will annexed, we were then in a position to proceed with the administration of the estate and the eventual receipt by our clients, of their inheritance.
Although it can very often seem extremely difficult, if not impossible to resolve such a situation, particularly when the clients reside overseas, it is possible to take steps which can ultimately result in the matter being resolved.
If you are a beneficiary to an estate that is not being administered properly and want to discuss your options, please feel free to contact us at info@mcgrathmullan.ie or on 01-8735012.