What happens if a person dies without leaving a will?

elainew

Is you user ID Celticfc mean that you are in Scotland?? If you are then the law regarding wills is different to that in England. Your siblings would be entitled to some of the moveable estate whether there was a will involved or not. You really would need to seek some sort of legal advice.
So sorry about your mum
Elaine x

pokey128

elainew wrote: »

Is you user ID Celticfc mean that you are in Scotland?? If you are then the law regarding wills is different to that in England. Your siblings would be entitled to some of the moveable estate whether there was a will involved or not. You really would need to seek some sort of legal advice.
So sorry about your mum
Elaine x

This is correct, you and your siblings have a right to 1/2 of the moveable estate (that is money, furniture etc basically anything that isn't houses) regardless of whether there is a will or not. Having a will drawn up now is obviously still a good idea but unfortunately you will not be able to prevent your brother from inheriting part of the estate.

I'm really sorry to hear about your mum - you sounded very close.
x

Barbiegirl_2

Just wanted to send you a big hug. My grandafather died a year ago and his Will has never been found. My step grandmother claims that he never had one but we know he did.... My mother has tried to find it for months..... hmmm what to do next.

Best wishes to you and I hope you are okay.

Savvy_Sue

If your grandad is likely to have used a particular firm of solicitors, then approaching them would be one step. However, if he made it before marrying your SGM, the marriage would invalidate a will made before that, unless it was made in contemplation of marriage. I believe ...

localhero

Hi Barbiegirl,

What makes you so sure your grandad made a Will?

If he did make a Will, then I agree with Savvy_Sue in that you should try and ascertain who produced it for him. It could have been a law firm, willwriter, bank or even online.

If you can find that out they may be storing it for him. If they aren't they should be able to tell you who his executor(s) are. In which case your grandad might have told them where his will was kept. You could also try his bank.

If he owned property jointly with your step-grandmother then check with the Land Registry whether it was as joint tenants or tenants in common. If it was as tenants in common then documents might have been lodged which could reveal who his solicitor was. It would also suggest his intention that his share of the property shouldn't pass automatically to his wife.

Ultimately though if a Will cannot be found he will be deemed as dying intestate (without a Will) and his estate distributed according to the law of intestacy.

This will mean that your step grandma will inherit the first £125,000 of his estate and the interest on half of the remainder until she dies.

Call me cynical, but if your grandad did make a Will and she wasn't the main beneficiary it would have been in her interests to destroy the Will if it was being kept at home.

I really hope this is not the case, but I have encountered several instances where this is likely to have happened and the advice I always offer anyone making a Will is you must ensure that only they and their executors should have access to the Will to ensure that the Will is not lost, stolen, destroyed or tampered with either before or after they have died.

I wish you the best of luck.

Barbiegirl_2

Thanks for the very helpful advice. Now I have a starting point to try and find and that's great. I have never liked or trusted the step gradmother. She spent all day yelling at him and telling him off about everything. I have since heard that £13,000 has gone astray from his bank account?

Her side of the family always came first....for example her brother and his family came to live in England and "she" supposedly paid for the air travel etc. What's ironic really as they went to Africa for a holiday in May last year and everyone took malaria medication as advised but I don't understand why he died from this. It's taken me a long time to come to terms with his passing but I feel so angry with her that I never want to see her again. She has a lot of family in the UK and none of them made the effort to come to his funeral. Also, my brother lives in the same town as her and apparently she has been speaking badly about me, my sister and brother! She told my mother that I'm a snob and stuck up cow because I won't take my children around to her house, And I don't because she smokes like a chimney and doesn't care about the children breathing it in. My kids have had chest infections before and she also refuses to smoke outdoors....she just has a horrible attitude. The stupid thing is my mother got into debt (through an expensive divorce) and now lives with her. They fall out periodically but I can't give back what she does to me in case my mother doesn't have anywhere to live.

Gosh, I have just realised that I have just been moaning about her when the poor OP is going through a rough time herself.

Thanks again for the advice on trying to locate his Will. Yes he definitely had one. I know this because he told me and my grandad had never lied about anything. I just wish then I had asked where it was......

But like the other posters I suspect she know's exactly where it is......

Mojisola

Barbiegirl wrote: »

What's ironic really as they went to Africa for a holiday in May last year and everyone took malaria medication as advised but I don't understand why he died from this.

The missing will is a worry - but this would worry me more!

Barbiegirl_2

Mojisola wrote: »

The missing will is a worry - but this would worry me more!

It does worry me. The step grandmother claims that she gave him the medication before and during the holiday? I remember how cross he was because he was being forced to go and he just wanted to stay home with the dog. Had she allowed him to I believe he will still be here today. Secretly I believe she had something to do with his passing. When they did the autopsy the cause of death was a combination of malaria and heart disease!

It is very sad because he was writing a book about his life and only had two chapters left to go .

Cheers.

seashore321

This thread seems to have changed from the OP. If your mum and dad are divorced then he has no claim in Scotland or any where.
If she dies (sorry but have been through it several times and am sick of the vultures) without a will or intestate then the proceeds of her estate after any debts and funeral expenses will be shared equally between her surviving children.
You can go to court and contest the fact that other members of the family were verbally or through the own recoginsance invalidated from her wishes but you will probably lose more money than it is worth.
If you have the time and you have not found oot whether your mum has a will then you need to get a power of atorney filed with a solicitor.
Just ask her though she may have a will you know nothing about.
Good luck and I hope that her passing is painless and gives you the strength to carry out her wishes.