I, for one, love a Daily Mail sensationalist headline, but as a lawyer often find the reporting of legal matters can seem misleading.  The recent article entitled “Brother and sister have their uncle JAILED for failing to hand over the £237,500 left to them in their grandmother's will” is a prime example.  Anyone unfamiliar with legal processes might think that the brother and sister in question simply called the police when their uncle failed to pay them out.

However, the reality is far more complex, and breach of executor’s obligations is not usually a criminal matter (and indeed was not a criminal matter in the case described by the Daily Mail). 

The uncle, Mr Totton, was the executor of his mother’s will.  His mother had left her estate in equal shares to her grandchildren.  The role of the executor is explained in more detail here but in essence, an executor’s job is to collect in the estate assets, pay the debts of the estate, and distribute the balance in accordance with the terms of the will.  Executors are also subject to fiduciary obligations including a duty to act in good faith and may be subject to personal liability for breach of their obligations.

When Mr Tatton failed to hand the inheritance over to his niece and nephew, they issued civil proceedings (presumably for an account), requiring him to produce estate accounts confirming what had happened to the estate assets, and to make distributions to them for their share.

Mr Tatton failed to comply with the courts order, and the police were later involved.  Presumably this is because the judge endorsed the order with a penal notice confirming that non-compliance would be contempt of court.  The sanction for contempt of court is a prison sentence or fine.  The niece and nephew’s ‘attempt to have their uncle jailed’ is therefore more accurately described as the court seeking to enforce the order against him.

This is probably quite an extreme case of executor’s non-compliance with executor’s duties.  Most cases will result in civil action, where imprisonment for contempt of court is a rare outcome.  This blog explains the steps which can be taken against personal representatives who are failing in their role, including removal and claims for constitution of the trust fund (or in plain English, the executor having to pay back any money lost). However Mr Tatton’s case does go to show that the court take breaches of executors duty, and failure to properly distribute estates, very seriously.

If you have any queries regarding breaches of executors duties, pplease do not hesitate to contact Toby Walker by email or on 01494 893512 or Kezia Brown by email or on 01494 893504.