Father estate concerns Solicitors mismanagement please hep

[Panders969]

Hi this is my first time here
I would really like some clarification and advise regarding our late fathers estate.
My brother and I live in australia and lost contact with our father 18 years ago as he moved to the uk without goodbye.
In may this year we discovered that our father had passed away in February via a google search we did 3 months later , and found his memorial notice in the Birmingham paper. However his name was incorrectly mentioned., second name as his first. So I contacted the funeral home which they then confirmed that it was our father.
They then advised us to contact the solicitors who were handling dads affairs
which we did . Once proving evidence of who we were, they then informed us that our father had a will writen up in 2011 with them, our father naming my brother and I as the only beneficiaries to his estate, and everything to be devided equally between my brother and myself .
Our fathers estate is not large he had £13.000 in his bank account and all of his personal possessions within the home he rented. Which all went for £700 at auction after costs left a balance of £300 he also had a funeral insurance plan.
All of his possession were removed from his home 3 days after his passing which was arranged by the solicitor and auctioneer who was also the valuer.
The auction took place 3 weeks later.
We have grave concerns that our fathers estate has not been given the true value it should have, after since making contact with our fathers brothers and closest friend, we also contacted the cleaner that cleaned dads house every week.
They can all account for very specific items that our father had within his home . These items were of considerable value and was from our grandmother's estate.
After many requests to the solicitor to assist us with confirmation that these items were accounted for in dads estate,they could not give us that , but eventually sent a very basic break down which I found very unsaticfactory .They instructed me to contact the auctioneer if i wanted more information., which I did and he was extremely un helpful and dismissed the contents as of little value.
I then contacted the paralegal who is dealing with dads affairs , she then instructed the auctioneer to forward all accounts to them regarding the sale of our fathers estate .
Surly it is not nornal practice for them to already not have this information , as the Auction took place in march .Are we just expected to take ther word for it without acountability ?.
We eventually received the details we requested 3wks later as the solicitors could not get hold of the auctioneer.
With what has been sent to us we have found numerous discrepancies, not only items not mentioned but also items mentioned and not equated into final payment sumary.
Lastly, our last correspondence with solicitors was 2 mths ago they informed me that the only thing they are waiting for is a receipt from the DWP to say they have received a cheque for dads overpayment. Our father passed away in February and it is now October, is this reasonable or are we getting the run around from the solicitors?
We would really appreciate any advice
It is really difficult to being so far away and distressing to think maybe our fathers estate hasn't been given the care and repect it is due
Sorry that this is alittle long winded !

Thank you

[stevemLS]

Re: Father estate concerns Solicitors mismanagement please hep

Hi and welcome to LB from all that way.

Sorry to hear about your loss and your estrangement before your father's death.

Whilst obviously it is difficult to comment on the specifics from my knowledge the results of what amount to house clearances rarely generate the value that relatives think they are worth. I think your circumstances are even more difficult given that you seem not have had contact for nearly two decades and you can, therefore, have no real idea what his possessions amounted to, certainly not, in my view, sufficient to mount any real challenge to what the executors have done which would in any event be lengthy and expensive proceedings.

On the second question, the DWP are notoriously slow in winding up the benefits affairs of deceased claimants and so, no, from February to October is not at all unusual.

[Panders969]

Re: Father estate concerns Solicitors mismanagement please hep

Thank you very much for taking time to reply
Are you able to tell me, when our fathers estate gets finalized should we expect to receive all documentation relating to the sale of his estate .eg poof of sale and clear discription of the items within his home etc.
I guess we find it difficult to accept that the solicitors who are handling our fathers estate would not already have the documents from the auctioneer.but can give us the figure generated at auction
The Information we have received is very basic. We are thinking Surely in this day and age there would have to be accountability and full disclosure relating to the estate they have been entrusted with.

Again thank you