Excluded from Will

Suzy_M

rustyg wrote: »

I believe that my grandmother showed me her will a few years ago and it contained a portion for each grandchild.

I wonder if what you actually read was not the "what if" factor. If the solicitor was worth their salt they will have included in the will what was to happen to your grandmother's estate if your mother and uncle die before inheriting.

E.G.
Mother dies - Mother's estate is divided equally between my sister and myself and therefore becomes part of our individual estates.

Sister or myself dies before inheriting. - Mother's estate goes to the surviving sibling and again becomes part of individual estate.

Sister and Myself die before inheriting - Mother's estate will then pass to some named relatives. However, the named relatives are not direct beneficiaries of mother's will and are not entitled to any portion of mother's estate as long as either or both my sister or myself survive.

Sister and myself survive to inherit - Our share of mother's estate becomes part of our individual estates. The named relatives on mother's will have no entitlement to any part of our individual estates unless they are named in our wills.

In practice you will most likely inherit from your mother anyway.


10 years is a long time for a will to still "mean" anything. How old was your grandmother? It is unlikely she will have the same assets - could be more but if she was elderly she may have been living on savings etc. to pay her bills - e.g. fuel.

asandwhen

Suzy_M wrote: »

I wonder if what you actually read was not the "what if" factor. If the solicitor was worth their salt they will have included in the will what was to happen to your grandmother's estate if your mother and uncle die before inheriting.

E.G.
Mother dies - Mother's estate is divided equally between my sister and myself and therefore becomes part of our individual estates.

Sister or myself dies before inheriting. - Mother's estate goes to the surviving sibling and again becomes part of individual estate.

Sister and Myself die before inheriting - Mother's estate will then pass to some named relatives. However, the named relatives are not direct beneficiaries of mother's will and are not entitled to any portion of mother's estate as long as either or both my sister or myself survive.

Sister and myself survive to inherit - Our share of mother's estate becomes part of our individual estates. The named relatives on mother's will have no entitlement to any part of our individual estates unless they are named in our wills.

In practice you will most likely inherit from your mother anyway.


10 years is a long time for a will to still "mean" anything. How old was your grandmother? It is unlikely she will have the same assets - could be more but if she was elderly she may have been living on savings etc. to pay her bills - e.g. fuel.

If this is the case there would still be a will that is currently "missing". I think it is still worth looking into.

looby-loo_2

I urge everyone to make a will, tell everyone that it exists and where it kept.

Mojisola

Is it legal to have more than one signed copy of your will? If you made two copies of the will - signed and witnessed at the same time - and kept them in separate places would that be okay?

Nicki

Mojisola wrote: »

Is it legal to have more than one signed copy of your will? If you made two copies of the will - signed and witnessed at the same time - and kept them in separate places would that be okay?

No. The act of signing the second copy (even though in exactly the same terms as the first) would automatically revoke the first one you signed!

You can though lodge your original somewhere safe (eg with your mortgage deeds) and have as many photocopies of it, with the location of the original written across the top, dotted around as you like.

hth

localhero

Mojisola wrote: »

Is it legal to have more than one signed copy of your will? If you made two copies of the will - signed and witnessed at the same time - and kept them in separate places would that be okay?

If two Wills materialised, then the Probate Registry would want to satisfy themselves which was the last one. If the Wills are dated on the same day this would obviously be problematic.

Certainly keep the original in a safe place so that only you and the executor(s) have access to it.

Mips

rustyg wrote: »

Thank you all very much for your helpful comments. To clarify a few points:

1) I do believe there was a will about 10 years ago because I think my Grandmother and I found it when we were doing a "spring-clean". I think we read through it together and then replaced it in a cupboard from which it has since vanished.

2) I can't remember much about the contents but I think it went into some detail about how to divide up the estate, belongings and cash in bank accounts between the four descendents.

3) I suspect, but cannot currently prove, that my mother removed the will and either still has it in her possession, or has since destroyed it. She would have the most to gain from this because she would not want her 50% to be divided between herself, my sister and me.

4) None of us really "need" the money so desperately as we are all reasonably comfortable financially.

5) I would describe our family relationship as "okay" or "average". We are not particularly close-knit but don't have blazing rows either. I obviously don't want to upset the apple-cart by making unfounded accusations.

So, I'm torn between pursuing this matter and letting things rest as they are. Perhaps the will never existed or got cancelled after I saw it. But, if I don't investigate, I'll always have this nagging doubt in my mind about what I saw (or didn't see) all those years ago.

I would find out what is in it - for your own piece of mind. Better than harbouring resentment for someone you suspect of stealing it... right?

Two witnesses will have signed it also... and Wills are funny things! I was reading a few the other day... some people specificially state their reasons for not leaving money to certain people

* I don't want my Daughter to have any of my money because she did not feel happy for me when I re-married


blah blah blah.... very random stuff!! BUT the parents leaving money out from their kids is common ...

... another popular one is

* They didn't bother with me for the last few years so they're not getting a penny!


Be nice to your parents folks

JoolzS

Nicki wrote: »

You just need to approach one solicitor. They will then contact the others in the area on your behalf, and if that doesn't reap any rewards, will advertise for you nationally in the Solicitors trade journal. All solicitors do maintain good records so they will definitely be able to tell you if they are holding the original will, and will probably also be able to say if they drafted a will for her, even if they aren't still holding it. The other obvious place to check is her bank, who may be holding the original for her. You may need a copy of the death certificate though to prove she is dead.

Wow, I find it really amazing when someone says something online that is completely untrue! I can't even being to imagine where Nicki learned this disinformation. There isn't a single solicitor in the country who will check with other solicitors about wills (or anything else).

However - if you do think that your relative had a will written, then the best thing you can do is contact every solicitors' firm in your local area and ask if they are holding that will. It's a simple request and one that they get many times a week. If a will exists they will find it (provided you give full name plus address(es) and dob).

Julie

*Chattie*

Dippychick wrote: »

I would find out what is in it - for your own piece of mind. Better than harbouring resentment for someone you suspect of stealing it... right?

Two witnesses will have signed it also... and Wills are funny things! I was reading a few the other day... some people specificially state their reasons for not leaving money to certain people

* I don't want my Daughter to have any of my money because she did not feel happy for me when I re-married


blah blah blah.... very random stuff!! BUT the parents leaving money out from their kids is common ...

... another popular one is

* They didn't bother with me for the last few years so they're not getting a penny!


Be nice to your parents folks

The witnesses are witnessing a signature not the will and will only have seen the last page where the person signs.

Nicki

JoolzS wrote: »

Wow, I find it really amazing when someone says something online that is completely untrue! I can't even being to imagine where Nicki learned this disinformation. There isn't a single solicitor in the country who will check with other solicitors about wills (or anything else).

Julie

Hmm. Maybe the practice I worked in when I was a trainee solicitor doing my six months in the probate department was unique then! We would, if instructed, have contacted other solicitors to check whether they held a will. Why wouldn't we, when we would be paid to do so, and the family member was sure a will had been drafted? And if that hadn't worked, we would have placed an advertisement in the Law Society Gazette. Even today if you pick up the LSG there is a page of these ads, and I well remember that it used to be one of my jobs as a trainee to check the firms index of arvhived files when we got a request to check if we were holding a will in. Why do you think solicitors wouldn't do this? We are a mercenary breed, and we will do most things (provided they are legal) if they are in the best interests of our client and the client pays us to do so!

Checking back on your posts I see you were once a legal secretary about 10 years ago. Maybe this approach would have been less common then if word processors weren't being used in the firms you worked in to the same degree as they are now? Though I do find that hard to believe to be honest, as I'm pretty sure all the law firms I worked in from about 1995 onwards all used word processors rather than type writers and would have found putting a proforma letter of enquiry into the DX to be a straightforward task. (And I was a trainee before word processors were in vogue and it definitely still happened from time to time even then!)