Sister wont let me see mams will!!

meg72

I cannot understand why your sister would be difficult over this. As executor
she cannot be a beneficiary herself so would have no reason to hide anything from you.

zzzLazyDaisy

That is not correct, a person can be both executor and beneficiary.

A person cannot however be both a beneficiary and a witness - maybe that is what you are thinking of?

mjmal51

meg72 wrote: »

I cannot understand why your sister would be difficult over this. As executor
she cannot be a beneficiary herself so would have no reason to hide anything from you.

As said above this is wrong. I have been executor and beneficiary twice and think it is very common, eg. parents make their children executors.

C_Mababejive

The difficulty is that if the estate is not substantial then probate will not be required.

Probate will be required if there is property or substantial amounts in bank accounts.

If thats the case,then you can obtain a copy once probate has been granted as it then becomes a public document.

Who appointed her as executor ? is it written somewhere or did she just assume the position?

dzug1

She can't just assume the position - she will have been appointed in the will or if not that by the Probate Court. If the Probate Court they would have contacted you to confirm you did/did not wish to apply jointly, unless she lied about your existence.

So the only danger is a small estate - if she's prepared to sign false declarations just about anything is possible.

meg72

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

That is not correct, a person can be both executor and beneficiary.

A person cannot however be both a beneficiary and a witness - maybe that is what you are thinking of?

thanks for this but my elderly parents recently made a will with their solicitors and were definitely told this. They really wanted my brother to be executor but as they wanted him to benefit under their will they were
told he couldnt and had to make someone else executor instead

Very sorry for the inaccurate statement have now looked into it and YES she can You just presume if a solictor tells you something it is correct. This being the case then yes I can see that maybe the sister has something to hide. Again
apologies for the inaccurate statement

bryanb

meg72 wrote: »

thanks for this but my elderly parents recently made a will with their solicitors and were definitely told this. They really wanted my brother to be executor but as they wanted him to benefit under their will they were
told he couldnt and had to make someone else executor instead

Advise them to change solicitor to one who knows the law.

Dustykitten

Solicitors make a lot of money themselves by assuming the role of executor

missile

Dustykitten wrote: »

Solicitors make a lot of money themselves by assuming the role of executor

Very tue, but some may feel it is the only way to avoid squabling. It seems the sniff of an inheritence brings out the worst in some families.:eek:

Errata

Dustykitten wrote: »

Solicitors make a lot of money themselves by assuming the role of executor

A solicitor can't assume executorship, they are either appointed by the willmaker in the will or by the named executor(s).