Case Study 2

Mr Drayton left 3 empty properties when he sadly passed away. His next of kin and sole heir was his brother. We were asked by the local authority to confirm the family tree, contact the brother and offer our services. After several months of sending letters and trying to make contact, we were advised by Mr Drayton’s brother that he was in the process of instructing his own solicitors to deal with the properties and the administration of the estate.

Several more months passed and we were contacted by the local authority again; they hadn’t heard anything from the brother’s solicitors and the 3 properties remained empty and were deteriorating fast. After many failed attempts to recontact the brother, the local authority decided to instruct one of our panel solicitors. They were advised in the first instance to issue a citation, to either accept or refuse a Grant of Letter of Administration. When that failed and no Grant was taken out, the local authority took further legal action and applied for a section 116 as a creditor to the estate. The application was granted and all 3 properties were sold and the monies held until a full Grant has been issued.