Can you view an old will that has since been changed?

kr15snw

Long story but stick with me...

DH was always told by his nan / grandad when growing up that their estate was to be split between the 3 children (his dad, aunt and uncle). And in the event of one of the 3 of them dying their share would be split between their children.

DH's dad died a few years ago and so he continued to believe that share would be split between him and his sister.

His nan died before christmas and only recently he enquired whether the will had been sorted yet. His auntie informed him that the will had been changed so that the estate now only went to his auntie and uncle and would be split 50/50. Obviously DH and SIL are upset that their dad has completely been ignored (his aunties words where 'but your dad is dead, he's gone now') but the main thing that concerns us is his late nan has been seriously ill with dementia since before the will was changed.

When we asked originally if they remember DH and SIL being in the previous will they ignored the question. They are now stating that his late nan told them they were never in any will and obviously DH, SIL and MIL are all making this us.

The tension this is causing is unbelievable as no one in the family is now talking, and really we need to see that original will to see what it said (it will also give us a good idea to whether we can contest, as there was no way she was in a fit state of mind to be writing a will).

None of us have the old will and Auntie and Uncle are saying they don't have it either.

So our main question is, are old wills kept anywhere? We really need to see the old will to check whether DH and SIL where in fact named or not!

meritaten

you can apply for copies of old wills here
Copies of wills and grants of probate are now found at the Probate Department of the Principal registry of Family Division, First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1 6NP; phone: 020 7947 6939.
Or your Regional Probate Office would have copies.
there is usually a small charge for the copies and if any search has to take place - so if you can supply the full name, date of birth, date of death address etc then that would help the staff locate it quicker.

both of these only apply if the will has been 'proven', which I am assuming is the case here. Do you think that your dad may have left instructions that the house go to the 3 children after your nan dies? in which case the older will would probably take precedence.
good luck hun!

Nicki

No, there is no central record of wills which have been changed before the testator died. What meritaten is referring to is a record of the wills which were current at the time of death.

One of the most common ways of revoking a will is in fact by destroying it!

If you believe your grandmother was not of sound mind at the time the will was made, then you can certainly challenge the new will, and the assets will be distributed as if she died intestate assuming you can establish your case. This would mean that you and your sibling inherit your dad's share.

Hth

meritaten

no Nicki - that is NOT what I was telling the OP! the OP wanted to know where they could obtain a copy of her grandfathers will. her nan has died and left a will which contradicts everything they have been told about the will made by her grandfather, according to the aunt.
as I understood the post, the will made by her grandfather left the estate to his wife and then down to the grandchildren (in effect giving nan a 'life interest' in the property and any monies).
I am well aware there is no central depository for 'changed' wills! as I already said the Probate department and regional centres hold copies of 'proved' wills. if the will was never proved then unfortunately the OP will have to try to prove that nan wasnt of sound mind!

patchwork_cat

meritaten wrote: »

no Nicki - that is NOT what I was telling the OP! the OP wanted to know where they could obtain a copy of her grandfathers will. her nan has died and left a will which contradicts everything they have been told about the will made by her grandfather, according to the aunt.
as I understood the post, the will made by her grandfather left the estate to his wife and then down to the grandchildren (in effect giving nan a 'life interest' in the property and any monies).
I am well aware there is no central depository for 'changed' wills! as I already said the Probate department and regional centres hold copies of 'proved' wills. if the will was never proved then unfortunately the OP will have to try to prove that nan wasnt of sound mind!

I didn't read it that the OP's grandfather left a life interest in the property in his will to his wife. Perhaps the OP can enlighten us. I read it that Nan had written a new will after OP's father had died and changed it. If that is the case then I would contact Nan's solicitor to ask if a) he had her previously will and b) what date was the current will written. If you can proof that she was not of sound mind at that time then you may be able to get the current will overturned.

Nicki

If that is what OP meant, then seeing grandfather's will is important. I read it as saying grandpa left his estate to granny, who was going to leave it to the three children originally, but then changed her will while not of sound mind.

OP if granny had a life interest in grandpa's estate (ie could use the interest but not the capital) then it is irrelevant whether she changed her will or not, as grandpa's money would not be part of her estate. So you would need to get grandpa's will from the probate registry to prove that. But even if that's the case, she might also have had assets which didn't form part of grandpa's will for example if they owned a house together as joint tenants, when grandpa died it belonged only to granny and grandpa's will didn't apply to it. If that's the case, then my original post stands for the house or money from its sale.

If granny inherited everything from grandpa but was expected to pass it on to all 3 siblings in her will, then see my first post for the correct position.

Savvy_Sue

have you seen the most recent will? If you suspect granny was not of sound mind when it was signed, it would be worth contacting the probate office for advice.

BUT your DH is likely to fall out big time with his aunt and uncle if he pushes this too far. So is it worth it?

twi1ight

Is it possible the will left her estate to be split equally between her children? It could have been interpreted as surviving children. Have you seen the TV program about writing wills? So much of what happens depends on the exact wording. I guess the first step would be to check what the will said so try to locate a copy.

meritaten

lol - nicki we both read OPs post and arrived at different conclusions!!!!! if you read it correctly then you are right! I just read it as the nan having a life interest in the family home. if the estate was left solely to nan, then of course you are right, as she can leave her own property and money to whomever she wants!

OP we need clarification please?

kr15snw

Hi, just to clarify there was no mention of Grandfather.

To go over it again....

Grandma always told my husband that her estate was to be left to her 3 children (lets say A, B and C) and if one of the 3 children were to die before her then that childs share would be split between their own children. (A is my husbands father).
A died a few years ago and so we always believed 1/3 of grandma's estate would be split between husband and his sister.
When grandma did die it came out that the will was changed a few years ago to take out the bit about A and his children. Meaning that the estate was to be split between B and C only.

B and C are now saying that there was never any mention of the shares going to their children if they died in the first will and we have made this up. But they also claim they have not seen the original will (so how do they know this?).
We know the grandma has been ill for many years and don't think she would have been up to making this change herself.

Our point now is if the original will does NOT mention my husband anywhere then we will apologise and leave it at that. BUT we think it did mention him and his sister and it's been changed while grandma was ill.

Without seeing the original will we won't know and it's turning into a his side / her side of the story thing.

So I guess the best thing to do is to contact grandmas solicitor? As he may have a copy of the old will?

Also you mention grandpa, he died many years ago but i guess they may have had a joint will which could shed some light?

Mojisola

kr15snw wrote: »

So I guess the best thing to do is to contact grandmas solicitor? As he may have a copy of the old will?

You can try but as any new will revokes all former wills, I doubt a copy will have been kept.

You should see a copy of the current will and see when it was made and who by. You may have to wait until probate has gone through unless your relatives let you see it.

If you think it was made after your Grandma become incapable, you will need legal advice.