Unjustified withholding by executor from inheritance.

Questioner

My father passed away on 26-8-2022 and an uncle by marriage (his brother-in-law) was appointed by him as executor. This uncle, his son, my father's brother and 2 sisters took him on a trip in May. According to the executor, my father had said that if the house was sold before his death, he would pay for the trip. However, the house was conditional and therefore not officially sold when he died and I, my brother or some other close relatives have not heard anything about that agreement. In my opinion, there is also no evidence of this and my father was in any case insane because of the tumor in his head, he often said and did absent-minded things in those last few months. Moreover, the executor has appropriated 1% of the sale value of the house for himself, while the will, which I have in my possession, states that no compensation will be promised except for possible reimbursement of expenses and he will receive nothing else. The executor is not amenable to reason and has therefore deducted a total of € 11,698 from the inheritance of me and my brother. My question is whether I can still reclaim this amount via a lawyer or, in the worst case, via a judge and whether this of course has a good chance of success? In that case, I would also like to ask whether the costs of the procedure can also be recovered from the executor, i.e. a conviction for legal costs, if I understand the term correctly. Could you help me with this?

Lawyer

I think that it happened that the executor paid the stated travel expenses for himself and his entourage from the inheritance of his father to himself. Is that correct? If the executor is of the opinion that his father promised to pay for that trip, the burden of proof will lie with him. And if he cannot prove that, the amount that the executor withdrew from the inheritance must be repaid. Furthermore, if the executor awards himself a reward (that 1%) without there being a basis for it in the will, that amount has also been paid by the estate without due cause and that amount must also be repaid. If the executor uses his position to benefit himself unlawfully, that is a reason to have him dismissed by the judge. And, if the situation is as you describe and I have presumably supplemented above, I think you have a good chance in a procedure. A legal costs order (if you are right) usually does not cover the actual total costs. So there is still a part to be paid yourself. How much those costs will be cannot be predicted in advance, it depends quite a bit on how the other party responds and whether that other party lets it come to a procedure. In order to have a better view of the matter, I would need to have the will and any correspondence, settlements, etc. that may have been exchanged in the meantime. If you feel like it, you can send me an email: vanderkolk@arsjuris.nl. Please also send the documents. Please note that you will incur costs. You can also call me about this: 0571-290841