Dealing with 2 deceased estates

Hi, first time posting. My father passed away Jan last year. Left 1/3 equal shares large estate 3mil - to me (NSW) & sibling A (VIC) & sibling B (WA). Sibling A (VIC) is executor & still living in fathers house but moving out soon. Sibling B (WA) unfortunately passed away early Jan & has no will /never married/no children - no property but shares& cash- I was the closest to him. After changing his mind Sibling A (on advice from executor solictor to protect his interests) now wants to be co-administrator with me. So I agreed eventhough Sibling B wouldnt want this. Apparently Sibling B share will be held in trust until his own estate can be wound up. In WA 50% of his estate goes to our mother in nursing home who doesnt have long to live & bal 25/25 with siblings left. I have EPOA for mother. How does that work ? This is really difficult to even talk about. So sad.

 

You need to get some legal advice!

 

All very common questions and issues. Best to likely have a family solicitor involved so all three cases (incl Mum) can all be "on the same page" as sequential issues will arise.
A EPOA lapses on death. Does Mum have a will ? If not, she may need one to simplify matters but if she isnt of sound mind maybe too late. You really dont want the public trustee involved. Same as Sibling B - No will may mean public trustee is going to be involved

 

Thankyou for reply. Mum has no will. It seems to.be ammicable with Sibling A - both of us not wanting to pursue any legal disputes. Would solicitor of executotors of fathers estate be a conflict of interest to act on the cases although they have been working against me & sibling B. I made an enquiry in WA for a solicitor for sibling B estate to do paperwork for court etc & we organise docs for the process. Any suggestions much appreciated

 

There are SO many lessons in this story.

 

make that QUALITY legal advice

but i don't live in NSW or even WA so can't point you at anyone

i suppose you can't achieve my strategy ... out-live all other possible claimants

BTW condolences for you loss (es )

 

in my case despite clear evidence that wills were made the only one found was made in 1946 .. years before i was born , and all i had to do was be a blood relative ( and hire a quality lawyer )

it was crazy on my adventure and i didn't even resort to learning law

 

Thankyou for condolences. Taking one day at time.

 

am still going through the papers and stuff ( 10 years later )

i hope you don't acquire a hobby like that ( but it has been profitable AND educational )

cheers

 

Oh gosh unusuall hobby but it sounds like your all ok about outcome etc. Good thing is me and sibling A want to move on with life.

 

I was thinking about your reply - using a family lawyer to handle Sibling A estate and also in the near future mothers estate. I feel.this is the best idea. If anyone has any recommendations for estate lawyer in VIC?

(Father/mothers estate is in VIC) I have started anything in WA as yet.

 

I'm not qualified to polish a solicitor's shoes but seek good legal advice. If your mother still has capacity, then get a will prepared (you may not be able to do this if she has dimentia/alzheimers etc), this will save heaps of time and resolving issues or dealing with Public Trustees.

 

some goes back to pre-World War 1

i even found my great-grandfather's medal from the 1870's

my family ( on both sides ) had a history of intense litigation , so these where comparatively easy , even without recent wills ( that DO exist somewhere )

so being the last ( on the maternal side ) saved a lot of legal work

i was the black sheep of the family so never expected anything , so it was mostly pleasant surprises for my ( give or take the occasional family secret ( one estate was actually the accumulation of 4 estates and the other only 2 ), but will never need to buy another book of riddles again for entertainment

but death was basically part of the family there was a wave of deaths when i was born ( 2 years each side ) i think it was 14 of them , 12 when i was 14 , , the closest relatives now on the maternal side go back to 1840 in England ( and that branch still lives in England )

and the paternal side still hate me as they have done since the day i was named ( 3 days old ) but they live in NZ so never communicate with them since 1971 when i was over there to settle a different sets of estates on the paternal side ( father , grand father , great-uncle and some other details )

oh and a few disappeared in World War 2 ( and all trace seems to be lost probably in PNG of Asia or Japan )

but some interesting keepsakes to be sure

 

yes i can only talk about QLD , but definitely avoid the Public Trustees if possible

PS STORE A COPY OF THE WILL SOMEWHERE THAT IT CAN BE FOUND ( leaving it in the custody of lawyers does NOT always work )

 

Thanks for the advice. I really have no idea of who is a quality lawyer in VIC. Unfortunately She doesn't have capacity to make a will. I thought you could do Letters of Admin and avoid Public Trustees?

 

IN THEORY

if you have the EPOA and reliable witnesses ( in the eyes of the court ) present , a will could be made

even when you take it to a tribunal if someone disputes your EPOA .. it all depends on family relationships .

however theory and what happens if a dispute arises can differ dramatically ( even proper wills can be challenged if you have a good argument )

except for the last two estates ( one died in her sleep and the other in a care mislabeled 'non-compos mentis ' ) it has been where there is an estate there has been a legal stoush ( wills be damned )

my will will be simple i will leave a DNA sample , with the note ' prove you are related and fight for it ' ( they have for over 90 years ) why waste time with legalese and complicated provisions , that no-one will take on face value

i cannot help in Victoria either on lawyers , sorry i have barely even been over the Victorian border

 

An attorney cannot make a will

 

When people are queuing up to hand you their legacies, it is a blessing and a curse. Can OP ask his/her Mom to set up a will while still capable?

Edit: ok, so she is no longer capable...

 

I've used this mob previously - linky

(I can only vouch for their conveyancing side)

 

Thanks everyone. I just found out I need to use a WA firm for brothers estate. I contacted a firm in VIC and they advised need to use WA firm but said I could use him to make sure deeds etc for fathers estate are looking after my interests & give advice on WA matter etc.