mum died, dad destroyed her will, please help!

desperatemumof6

not sure if this is the right place to post this but my mother died in october this year and she had suffered greatly at the hands of alzhimers dying young at 65. i am estranged from my father who is a lying, cheating man and I know he has destroyed the copy of my mums will she kept. I have tried to track down a solicitor that may hold a copy but can't find anyone to be honest I don't even know if she lodged it were she lived when she died or where she was when she married my father. The will stated that all her property assets etc should be split between me and my brother, now he will not part with even a photograph (we litterally have none), he has told me that when he dies everything will pass to my children, in doing this he has cut me out and my brother and his children. This is not about the money but breaks my heart that my mothers wishes are not been kept, she worked hard all her life to leave this for us and i feel certain that she would be 100% against what he is doing, especially for my brother and nephews. He has already lost her house to bad debts around 5 years ago. There is no way to find if she had a will and i can't afford huge solicitors bills, I do not even know if my father took power of attorney. Any suggestions greatly recieved. I love her very much and know that she would be distraught to see this happen. thank you.:(:(:(

hcb42

was your dad still living with your mum?

parents can get confused, and write "wills" which assume they are the last to die, or didnt understand the process. I.e . she might have written it assuming she would outlive him.

If they werent together, then I apologise, just a thought, as I know it can happen that way...

Power of attorney ceases to be on death.

desperatemumof6

hi
thanks for the reply

There were married for 30 years and still together when she died, however he was not the best of husbands ie selling her car, caravan etc when she was working. She always told me from been young what would happen upon her death, everything would come to us, but we were to let my father live in the house as long as he desired. I think she knew that something wasn't right all those years ago. He got her to sign the house over to him when she was ill and lost it within 2years. I dont know what to try as there is no data base to search for her original will.

Browntoa

how do I get a copy of a will:-

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-1694172/How-can-I-get-a-copy-of-a-will.html

hcb42

this is really rather complicated and sad.

I found a typed piece of paper after my mum died, splitting her assets etc...not legal, not signed not witnessed etc, but clearly she had thought about it. However I simply replaced it...my Dad still needed a home.

You need to know if your parents house was as joint tenants or tenants in common, if the former, then it will pass to him, and that is most likely the case.(although I am confused as you mention property assets first but then mention repossession)

I would probably spend some energy getting reacquainted with your Dad, if you can, to at least move forward here..at least if you are a little more acquainted he might be more receptive to requests for personal possessions etc.

zzzLazyDaisy

You have posted the same thread on four different boards. This won't help, as people will be cross posting. I suggest that you decide which is the best board and delete the other threads, or ask a mod to merge them.

With regard to your question - there is no data base for wills, so unless you know where the original is, or have a copy of the original, there isn't much you can do.

Even if you did have a copy, the only thing you could do then would be to seek legal advice and if your Dad refused to cooperate, you'd have to go to court. To be honest, from what you say, there isn't enough money in the estate to make that worth while.

Sorry this is not what you want to hear.

desperatemumof6

thankyou, I'll look into the link

desperatemumof6

its not about the money in the will, its about my mothers wishes and having something to show her grandchildren. She had the only photographs and letters my brother has of his late father and things that have been passed down for generations.

zzzLazyDaisy

From what you say, I don't think that link will help you.

It is about the probate office where wills are registered after someone dies. But if your father has destroyed your mother's will, or if it has been lost, then she would officially have died intestate (that is to say without leaving a will) unless you can prove otherwise.

AdmiralX

desperatemumof6 wrote: »

hi
thanks for the reply

She always told me from been young what would happen upon her death, everything would come to us, but we were to let my father live in the house as long as he desired.

Awfully sorry to hear you lost a dear mom.
Her death is fresh and is painful for you to try and find things out, I understand. There are pro bono solicitors to help you free. Did you actually promise your mother, when she was well, to let your dad stay in the house as long as he lives?

zzzLazyDaisy

OP says that the house was lost to bad debt 5years ago.