Legal advice on handling threats from members of your own family

This has been due to disagreements surrounding his will.

Our father left a considerable amount of money to myself and my younger daughter, whilst giving very little to my brother and sisters.

When my siblings discovered this they were furious and I have had to deal with a barrage of abuse and harassment.

They have accused me of manipulating my father into leaving his money to me. Often the abuse will be in harassing text messages and phone calls.

At the end of November my brother came to my home to discuss the situation which escalated into a verbal argument and a mug being thrown by him.

I called the police as he refused to leave but have heard very little since the incident.

I have, however, noticed my siblings posting a lot of posts on Facebook, which I believe are indirectly aimed towards me. I was wondering whether there is anything I can legally do about this.

First of all, I’m sorry for your loss and the fact that matters have deteriorated between you and your siblings. In terms of what we can do to assist the situation, often when there has been a history of harassment, we need to know the nature of what has been said in the text messages and phone calls.

This allows us to determine the level of harassment and the necessary action required.

From what you have said, it seems that the majority of the text messages, phone calls and Facebook posts have not been pleasant.

In this instance I would advise that a warning letter be sent to the parties who have been involved in harassing you.

The letter would detail the harassment and ask your siblings to stop, in regards to their abuse and harassment.

Although a warning letter is not a legally binding document, often it does have the needed affect to deter unwanted harassment.

I understand that this is a difficult situation to be in with your brother, but I reassure you that you did the right thing by calling the police.

If there are any further incidents in which family do come to your home and threaten and intimidate you then it is imperative that you call the police.

Should matters worsen and threats be made, then we would be able to look into advising you about a protective injunction.

However due to you hearing very little since November the best option moving forward would be a warning letter.

Ben Hoare Bell LLP has specialist Family Solicitors who can advise you on situations such as this.

To speak to a solicitor please phone 0191 565 3112 or email [email protected]. Visit www.benhoarebell.co.uk for further information.