A warning to executors to comply with court orders

The High Court has issued a warrant for an executor to be arrested. The executor failed to obey previous court orders requiring him to account for his dealings of his mother’s estate.  This case should be a stark warning to executors to comply with court orders.  

The background 

The executor, Stephen Frejek, applied for a grant of probate following his mother’s death in 2009. Stephen was supposed to be administering the estate, but Stephen’s brother and sister, who were also beneficiaries of their mother’s will, heard little from Stephen about distributing the estate. This was despite their mother’s house being sold. 

Removal of executor 

In June 2017, Stephen’s brother Andrew applied to the court for an order removing Stephen as executor. Andrew asked the court to appoint him as executor in place of Stephen. 

Stephen did not acknowledge receipt of the claim or engage with the court proceedings. The court, therefore, made the order removing him as executor. The order also required Stephen to transfer all papers and estate assets to Andrew. 

Account and inventory 

18 months later, Stephen had failed to hand over details about his mother’s estate to Andrew. 

Andrew applied to the court for an order requiring Stephen to:

- produce a statement of account showing all the transactions he made as executor;

- hand over the original grant of probate appointing him as executor;

- produce a completion statement following the sale of their mother’s house; and 

- provide an inventory of all the deceased’s household contents and personal items.

Again, Stephen failed to comply.  This was possibly because the court papers were sent to an address in West London where he was no longer living. 

Attempts had been made to hand him the court papers at his new address in Southampton, but this was unsuccessful.  Stephen was even allowed longer than usual to respond to the court, but he still failed to do so. 

Committal proceedings 

When you fail to comply with a court order, you are usually in contempt of court. Contempt of court is punishable by fine, the seizure of assets or imprisonment. 

As Stephen was in contempt of court, Andrew then made a committal application- effectively asking the court to send Stephen to prison. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hearing was arranged via Skype. Stephen was sent emails inviting him to join the hearing, but he did not respond nor did he attend the hearing. 

At the hearing, the Judge had to decide whether to proceed as Stephen was not present. The Judge decided that Stephen had been sent the relevant documents and had sufficient notice of the hearing. Stephen gave no reason for his failure to attend, and he knew the consequences of failing to attend. 

An adjournment was unlikely to be helpful as Stephen had failed to engage throughout the whole process, and he had sufficient opportunity to engage. The judge decided to proceed despite Stephen not being present. 

The Judge agreed that Stephen had failed to comply with the previous court orders and was in contempt of court. 

The Judge could have made an order requiring Stephen to go straight to prison. However, as Stephen did not attend the hearing, the Judge decided to issue a warrant for his arrest. Once arrested, Stephen was to be taken to court for sentencing. 

This case comes as a stark warning to executors to comply with court orders. This case is also quite extreme as most people do comply with court orders, but shows the consequences that can occur if you fail to do so.
 

If you are a beneficiary who is concerned that an executor or personal representative is not dealing with an estate correctly, our specialist contested probate team at Birkett Long have the experience to help you. Most are resolved without the need for court proceedings, but we can go down that route if it becomes necessary. 

Equally, if you are an executor and the beneficiaries are alleging you have not fulfilled your duties correctly then we can also provide you with advice. 

Please do not hesitate to contact our specialist contested probate team, which is the largest in Essex, on 01206 217623  if you need advice about an executor dispute. 

If you have a question, I would much rather you ask and we spend some time having a free chat, than not. We have a team of experts who can advise on attorney and deputy roles. I am based in our Colchester office and can be contacted on 01206 217307 or lisa.cox@birkettlong.co.uk.