How to find copy of a Will to prove we are entitled to house?

tazical

And yes, we have a copy of the Deed of Gift!

lincroft1710

Even in a falling house price market, the value of your possible share in the house is worthwhile going to see a solicitor since he can advise on conditions of Deed of Gift as well as how to proceed whether or not your grandparents and mother left wills.

Although I have acted as executor and discovered problems with the relevant will, that was child's play compared to this.

BettiePage

Is he even buried yet?

tazical

BettiePage- due to the unexpectedness of his death it's likely to be a few weeks before the funeral while investigations are carried out. As I said, we have absolutely no desire to be dealing with convoluted money issues at this sad time but having dealt with the stress of sorting out inheritances in the past we would all much rather tackle the subject now and make sure we know where we all stand than have the thing drag on for months and months while we get our facts straight.

dander

localhero wrote: »

An estate does not have to be administered by a solicitor. The OP has already stated that her uncle was the executor and so he could have dealt with the probate matter himself.

My apologies, I assumed with probate, inheritance tax etc, this would have been the case.

DebAmbury

Hi Local Hero I wondered if you could give me alink to your site please as I am helping my family sort out a will problem at present along with the Law Society but you might be able to help me more.
Thanks Debs

Debt_Free_Chick

BettiePage wrote: »

Is he even buried yet?

One can't and should not wait for the funeral/cremation to begin to sort out the deceased's affairs. In particular, one should contact Social Services and/or DWP as soon as the death is recorded, if a claim is to be made for a Funeral Grant. Also, contact all the relevant benefit agencies immediately to re-assess any benefits being claimed - after all, any overpayments need to be refunded so the sooner they're stopped the better.

Remember things like "Blue Parking Badges" - if these were issued to the deceased, they need to be returned otherwise a fraud could be committed if they are used by others.

If house/contents/motor insurance was in the name of the deceased, but with others named on the policy, sort that out too otherwise a claim might be more tricky or at worst invalid!!! :eek:

There's too much to sort out to "leave things". It's not cold-hearted to make a start immediately. It's actually prudent and can be quite cathartic to those closest to the deceased, as part of the grieving process.

Regards



* step-father died 7/7/2008 and I encouraged my mum to "get on the case" immediately. Even so, DWP are only visiting TODAY re the Funeral Grant and the funeral was on 16/7/2008. Don't delay - get things moving; nothing to be gained by "putting it off".

localhero

Hi DebAmbury,

My website can be found by clicking on my username and then the third option is to visit my homepage.

I would post a link, but it will invariably be removed as 'unauthorised'.

If I am able to help in any way, please let me know.

DebAmbury

Hi LocalHero I found your site Thank You, I did check it out but couldn't find what was needed.

I'll tell you our problem as others may be of interest.

We lost my Aunt back in Nov 2004. Six weeks before her death she went to the solicitors and drew up her Will, and came away and told my Mum, my Aunt and her Cousin (they were like sisters) various details of the will and we were all under the impression that her cousins son would be executor. Now my Uncle (My Mums brother) was married before and had a daughter but she didn't have hardly anything to do with them for the past 30+ years and when she did she caused trouble, but low and behold she's been back on the scene the last 18months even though my uncle has had cancer for the past 6 years.
We have recently lost my Uncle and it turns out he changed his will leaving everything to his daughter. The house was left to my Aunt by Her parents and again we understood that my Uncle was to stay there during his lifetime but it seems now we cannot get my Aunts will to probate. My Mums partner and myself went to the house on the day of the death to retrieve the wills etc and surprise surprise all had disappeared along with all the monies, bank books etc.
We have contacted the solicitors and they are refusing to allow anyone to see the will. The Executor is being told he was only ever a Substitute in the event my uncle died before her, which we know to be wrong. The Law Society have said that is incorrect too as most people would name 2-3 anyway. I have applied for a Caveat against my Uncles will which is in place and sent letters etc even helping the Executor but all have been dismissed by the firm, I have now written letters from My Mum and My Aunts Cousin for them to send, requesting a viewing of the Will as benefeciaries, as the solicitors have stated that they are not executors.
So any advice you can give me as to how we can get the Will? Seems strange to me a firm can just sit on a will and totally ignore my Aunts wishes?? Whats the point of writing and paying for one in these circmstances??
I will add the Law Society have been excellent about this and may possibly step in and take a look themselves but I don't want to wait too long so want to do all we can. By the way I'm not even a beneficary and probaly set to gain more by leaving my Uncles in place, but we as a family think it is a matter of principle and that my Aunts family should benefit.

localhero

Hi DebAmbury,

I am sorry to hear of your predicament. The way I understand this is that not only will the solicitors not reveal the contents of the Will, but you're not sure who the executors are either?

The most important thing for your aunt to have communicated before she died was who her executor(s) were and how they can obtain her Will. If she said it was her cousin's son, then what has he been doing since 2004?

The law firm however are not making life any easier and I suspect they've discovered a problem with the Will. At the very least they should tell you who the executors are. If they've said that her cousin’s son was only to act if your uncle had already died, then the logical explanation is that your uncle was the executor, hence your aunt's estate being in limbo all this time.

Now that your uncle has died, his executor (ie the horrid niece presumably) has to take over the executorship that he should have completed for your aunt. This is another possible reason that the solicitors are reluctant to divulge anything.

If your aunt was the sole owner of the house and she had given your uncle a right to live in the property, it wouldn't make sense for him to be her executor. This leads me to fear that she left the house to him with the agreement that on his death it would pass down to her family.

There is no compulsion to appoint more than 1 executor in a Will, and so it is quite feasible that she appointed your uncle, but if he died before her then her cousin's son instead.

If she has done that then she may have been badly advised, for your uncle was free to make a new will leaving the house to whoever he wants – hence the new Will leaving it all to the niece.

This is all sounding quite sinister. Unfortunately to get to the bottom of this you might find you have to incur some legal costs. The Law Society whilst obviously sympathising with you, won't be able to advise you on what to do to resolve this (apart from the usual - obtain legal advice).

A useful starting point would be to contact the Principal Probate Registry. One option available is for an application to be made under the Supreme Court Act 1981 s.123 for the issue of a subpoena by the district judge/registrar. The effect of this is to require the person in possession of the Will to file it in the registry.

They might be able to advise you of better alternatives, but unfortunately actions of this kind will require the payment of fees. You might also require the services of a contentious probate lawyer to assist you.

I’m sorry that I can’t provide an easier alternative. I could be barking up the wrong tree completely, but I suspect there’s been some negligence on the part of the solicitor - hence their reticence.

I wish you well with everything.