probate-executor

[cozican]

if your named as an executor of a will, and you dont sign over power of attorney, and you also dont have a meeting with the probate office, because the other executors didnt tell you when the meeting was, can they still execute the will without your input? { also trying to track down helpmetoo. you replied to my question, and i wanted to chat to you about probate. many thanks }

[Buenchico]

I also replied to your previous questions.

I remain confused as to how you can be sure that you were named as an executor when, if I remember correctly, you've not actually seen the will.

Assuming that you were named as an executor, I'm further confused as to how the other executors obtained a grant a probate without your signature stating that you 'renounced' or 'reserved your powers' (or, of course, that you were jointly seeking probate with the other executors). The form that they completed looks like this:
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder /forms/pa1_e0107.pdf

Take a look at question A6. See also the notes, relating to that question, here:
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder /forms/pa1a_e0107.pdf

If the other executors forged your signature (to show that you'd renounced or reserved your powers), then clearly a criminal offence has been committed and the grant of probate awarded to them is invalidated.

If you signed the form to jointly apply for probate with the other executors, then I can't see how a grant of probate could have been made without your attendance at the probate registry to swear (or affirm) an oath.

So, before we can offer further advice, we need the answers to 2 questions:
1. Are you absolutely sure that you were named as an executor (and, if so, why)?
2. Did you sign anything (and, if so, what)?

Chris

[cozican]

hello buenchico. thank you for your answers, and your patience. will try to explain, its complicated.
Aunt Joan died in approx oct 2003, she was senile.
julia, grahams sister, had been looking after her for a few months before putting her in a home, where she died shortly after.
Joans will was written on a scrap of paper, giving everything to julia, and her boyfriend, mark moore. althou, before she died, she said that it was all to go to her sister, grahams mum.
Uncle ray and aunt Wendy, Joans brother and sister, suspected that julia had forged the will.
Graham rang uncle ray out of the blue the other day, only to be told that he was an executor of joans will, with julia, and cousin paula.there was a court case in london in july 2007, graham didnt know about it. he has never seen the will, and never signed power over to julia.
ray and wendy thought that because graham is julia's brother, that he was in on the fraud. they had the writing tested, and the result was that it was forged. we believe this was proved after julia won the case in london, july 2007. ray and wendy are adamant that graham was named executor. and are sending us the paperwork.
apparantly, julia offered paula a brand new car if she took julia's side in court. julia inherited approx �500,000.
julia is under investigation by the police for stealing documents from grahams house, belonging to graham. he was trying to sell his house, and she wanted to stop him, as she wanted to claim beneficial rights, so she stole the sale contracts, and gave them to her solicitor, who sent them to our solicitor, which is when we found out, as graham lives with me,in ayleabury, he didnt know that the contract was stolen from his house in high wycombe,
this makes us more suspicious.

[cozican]

because ray and wendy lost he case, they cant do anything more to put this right, but graham can, if it is proved that julia forged grahams signature on the probate forms.
julia lied in court, and has stolen infformation, tried to bribe paula, and has stolen alot of collectable gold coins from her father, and mark moore sold them online. so they are very capable of forging the will. i know its all speculation, and hear say at the moment, but we are sure that she has done this, and are just waiting to see the will, and court paperwork, to make sure we are right,
we looked at the links that you sent us, and graham has never seen the forms. or signed anything from the probate court. i really hope that this makes sense, and thank you again for your patience, and advice, faithfully, cozican007

[cozican]

as to the question, why was graham an executor? we have no idea. he hadnt seen his aunty for years, thats why it seems suspicious. plus apparantly another executor was a friend of julia's also, everything is connected to julia. the will, the executors, the witnesses. everything.
at the time of joan's death, julia was still talking to graham, and hadnt cut him off. so she would have presumed that he would have been on her side, and probably would have offered him some money from the will. like she offered paula a new car. should it be proved that their is fraud, we will get a statement from paula confirming the fact.

[Buenchico]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not too sure how to respond to all of that information, other than stating that you've obviously got a lot of problems to sort out.

As I believe I've shown, it shouldn't be possible to obtain probate without the signatures of all of the executors. As previously stated, the first place to register your concerns should be the probate office but there's nothing to stop you speaking to the police if you believe that fraud has been committed.

I hope that I've managed to clarify a few things for you and I wish you good luck with trying to sort out all of the problems.

Chris