Can I find out which solicitor is dealing with a family will?

Giraffeseeker

Hi all, wonder if you can help...

I'm sat here with a friend who is currently aged 20. Her Nan died mid-2007 and would have left her estate to her 2 daughters. However, she did not speak to daughter No 2, so instead left that 50% to the 2 grandaughters (ie leapfrogging a generation). My friend is one of the grandaughters, so the estate should be 25% hers, 25% to her sister and 50% to her aunty (daughter No 1).

Nan left a house, and daughter No 1 (aunty) bought out the 2 grandaughters 50%share last year. She claims she has sorted out the rest of the money and it will be ready for my friend in July when she turns 21 (the stipulated age in Nan's will) but has been evasive about the amounts involved.

My friend has not seen a copy of the will. She does know roughly the figure her aunty bought her out of the house for (based on 3 estate agents valuations) and she does know that her Nan had quite alot of other savings, etc, but does not know exactly what these were. She therefore can only guess what is due to her in July. Her aunty has been very cagey about the whole thing recently, and has stopped communication with her despite no argument, etc having taken place. She is now concerned that her aunty (one of the executors of the will, as well as a beneficiary) is not being truthful about the figures concerned. The other executor is a distant relative living 200 miles away that noone else in the family has a number or address for.

Is my friend entitled to see the will as she is a major beneficiary? And how can she find out who the solicitor is without contacting her aunty?

rheme

See these links below:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/family/wills.htm#forcopiesofawill

2/3rd of the way down the document there is an address you can write to for a copy of a will.


http://www.mishcon.com/userfiles/file/news/articles/docs/157/page10.html

look under Section 28 (at the end of that section) it states that a set of accounts should be prepared and a copy given to each recipient beneficiary which should be signed for by way of receipt, discharge and indemnity

Section 30 may be of interest if the will was not executed correctly.


http://www.estatesortrusts.co.uk/responsibilities-of-a-trustee.html

This gives a brief outline of Trustees responsibilities. As your friend does not benefit from the estate until she is 21 the money has been held in Trust

When her aunt purchased the additional 50% of the house this sale would have gone through Land Registry. Are you not able to find the total house value on their (or similar) site?

Good luck.

Giraffeseeker

Thanks so much, will check out these links. The sale of the house has not been registered at all - is this significant?

rheme wrote: »

See these links below:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/family/wills.htm#forcopiesofawill

2/3rd of the way down the document there is an address you can write to for a copy of a will.


http://www.mishcon.com/userfiles/file/news/articles/docs/157/page10.html

look under Section 28 (at the end of that section) it states that a set of accounts should be prepared and a copy given to each recipient beneficiary which should be signed for by way of receipt, discharge and indemnity

Section 30 may be of interest if the will was not executed correctly.


http://www.estatesortrusts.co.uk/responsibilities-of-a-trustee.html

This gives a brief outline of Trustees responsibilities. As your friend does not benefit from the estate until she is 21 the money has been held in Trust

When her aunt purchased the additional 50% of the house this sale would have gone through Land Registry. Are you not able to find the total house value on their (or similar) site?

Good luck.

RAS

tintingirl wrote: »

Thanks so much, will check out these links. The sale of the house has not been registered at all - is this significant?

Yes

it means that the house has not actually been sold yet.

Can your friend check if probate has been granted yet. It sound like it has not.

What really concerns me is that the aunt has delayed sorting this out for over two years during which the value of many of the assets including the house will have declined substantially.

We had major problems because both executors were unknown to us and the will was held by a solicitor who played hard ball and the whole thing was done in 15 months, the the first, major pay-out being made 3 months after the executors renounced their rights.

i was able to estimate the value of the estate and advise the other beneficiaries and our solcitors for the purposes of paying IHT within £2K, within 6 weeks of the death.