How to discover the size of your inheritance and force payment of it

In a previous article, we discussed how to discover if a Will was made and whether you benefit by it. (How to discover your rights under a Will) 

In this article, we discuss how to find out the value of the estate, how valuable your share is and how to force payment of it.
 

The Issue 

Sometimes, dishonest executors keep the value of the estate secret – they try to ‘fly under the radar’, keep assets for themselves, or for the beneficiaries they like, and give the rightful beneficiaries only what they think they deserve or nothing at all.  

However, the law does not allow that.

The Law

The personal representative of a deceased person shall be under a duty to

(a) collect and get in the real and personal estate of the deceased and administer it according to law;

(b) when required to do so by the court, exhibit on oath in the court a full inventory of the estate and when so required render an account of the administration of the estate to the court;

(c) when required to do so by the High Court, deliver up the grant of probate or administration to that court.

Furthermore, executors are fiduciaries (persons bound by a legal duty to act in good faith), and fiduciaries are bound to account to those to whom they owe the duty of good faith (here, the beneficiaries of the Will) upon demand:

It is the first duty of an accounting party, whether an agent, a trustee, a receiver, or an executor, for in this respect, as was remarked by the Lord Chancellor in Lord Hardwicke v Vernon (14 Ves. 500. And see White v Lincoln, 8 Ves. 363), they all stand in the same situation, to be constantly ready with his accounts.  (Pearse v Green (1819) 1 Jac&W 135)

Consequently, by virtue of s.25 and their position as fiduciaries, executors have to:

1. administer the estate properly; 

2. do what the Will says (whether they like it or not); 

3. provide estate accounts to the beneficiaries to prove what assets were in the estate, what legitimate deductions have been made to meet the costs of the administration and to show what is left to be distributed; and 

4. if they fail to provide accounts upon demand by one or more beneficiaries (allowing a reasonable time for drawing up the accounts), then the beneficiaries can bring a claim seeking an Order that the executors come to Court to explain to a Judge what assets there are and what they have done to administer the estate, i.e. to give an inventory of the estate’s assets and an account of the administration in Court.

Claiming for an Account and Inventory

If a claim is brought to force the executors to account in Court, the usual litigation process is carried out (a Defence is filed, the documentary evidence is exchanged by the parties, Witness Statements are served) and, unless the parties sort things out along the way, a trial is held to determine whether the executors ever accounted to the beneficiaries adequately or at all.

If the Judge finds that no, or no adequate, account of the administration has been given to the beneficiaries previously, the Court will usually direct that a second hearing be held.

At the second hearing, the assets and liabilities of the estate are examined in forensic detail – for instance, the Court will go through the Deceased’s bank statements line by line - the executors are cross-examined about any withdrawals, and the Judge will come to a decision about what the true value of the estate is having regard to what assets are left and (in the event the executors are unable to explain what has happened to assets) what assets there would have been had they not been stolen or given away wrongly by the executors. 

In the event the Court finds that assets have been stolen or given away and that the executors have defrauded the claimant-beneficiary, the Court will order them to pay the claimant-beneficiary from their own assets.

Consequently, if, for example, the claimant-beneficiary is entitled to 25% of the residue of the estate, the executors will have to pay the claimant-beneficiary 25% of whatever the Judge found the true value of the estate to be.

Conclusion

Beneficiaries of Wills are entitled to have the executors account to them, so that they have all the necessary information:

The purpose of [estate] accounts is to tell beneficiaries what the [estate] assets were, what has been done with them, what they currently comprise and what distributions have taken place: see Ball v Ball [2021] EWHC 1020 (Ch) at [24].  (Hubbard v Hubbard [2025] EWHC 855 (Ch) at [39.4])

How can we help

If you are a beneficiary who has not been told what their inheritance is or who has not had their inheritance paid over, please get in touch with either Ralph Wheeler or our Contentious Trusts and Probate team.