Advice needed re probate

Tabby026

Hi, my husbands mum is on her own is 85 and has made a will. His brother has said everything in her will property & savings, has been left to him, as he is her favourite. Is there any way, in the event of her death that the will can be contested? My husband has regular contact with his mother, but is not as close to her as his brother. How much would contesting a will cost? My husband and I are both decent hardworking people, who have never asked for a penny from anyone. We have our own property which is paid for and savings in the bank, would our financial situation put us at a disadvantage? None of us have children. If anyone could provide us with advice I would really appreciate it.

madbadrob

Tabby,

To contest the will you have to have a good reason. The only one I can see from your post and assuming that your MIL is of sound mind is to prove that she was pressured into making the will as it is. This would be costly and probably not worth it. You also have to take in the fact that contesting the will would cause bad blood in the family as well. The best thing you can do is ask the MIL why she has done this and take it from there. Stop being greedy and accept until you know different that this is your MIL's wishes

Sorry for being harsh but this sounds just like pure greed

Rob

Tabby026

You know nothing about our situation and what we have been through. I really don't care about the money, its just the principal of the situation that my husband finds upsetting. Do not judge someone on a few words, as you know nothing about us, we are nice people, it is in fact his brother, who is a solicitor who is the materialistic one.

nom_de_plume

madbadrob wrote: »

The best thing you can do is ask the MIL why she has done this and take it from there.

This sounds the obvious starting point to me too.

getmore4less

you say this is what the brother has said is it true ^^^^^

madbadrob

Has I said in my original post your hubby needs to talk to his mother and find out why she has chosen this route and then whether he likes it or not he will have the reasons. At the end of the day we can do with our savings as we wish so long as it is legal

nom_de_plume

getmore4less wrote: »

you say this is what the brother has said is it true ^^^^^

That occurred to me too. Why would he effectively brag about the situation? Definitely needs a carefully planned chat with Mum.

troubleinparadise

nom_de_plume wrote: »

That occurred to me too. Why would he effectively brag about the situation? Definitely needs a carefully planned chat with Mum.

And the brother is a solicitor?

Might he have been the one to draw up MIL's will?

In which case it is probably correct legally, but whether it has been done without influence is another matter; I would suggest a conflict of interest on the BIL's part if it turns out that a will drawn up by him for a client ((MIL) favours himself as the major/only beneficiary and there is no explanation added to the will as to why she might exclude her other son.

Whilst you say money isn't the issue, and that the fairness or not is what concerns you, it is obviously adding to family friction.

Mojisola

troubleinparadise wrote: »

And the brother is a solicitor?

Might he have been the one to draw up MIL's will?

In which case it is probably correct legally, but whether it has been done without influence is another matter; I would suggest a conflict of interest on the BIL's part if it turns out that a will drawn up by him for a client ((MIL) favours himself as the major/only beneficiary and there is no explanation added to the will as to why she might exclude her other son.

If this is the case, the brother is a fool. Is this what happened?

CaptainAmerica

Tabby026 wrote: »

Hi, my husbands mum is on her own is 85 and has made a will. His brother has said everything in her will property & savings, has been left to him, as he is her favourite. Is there any way, in the event of her death that the will can be contested? My husband has regular contact with his mother, but is not as close to her as his brother. How much would contesting a will cost? My husband and I are both decent hardworking people, who have never asked for a penny from anyone. We have our own property which is paid for and savings in the bank, would our financial situation put us at a disadvantage? None of us have children. If anyone could provide us with advice I would really appreciate it.

He could make an IPFDA claim. The aim of the IPFDA 1975 is to allow people within certain categories who feel that insufficient provision has been made for them under a Will or intestacy, to make a claim for provision from the estate. This can include people who would not otherwise inherit automatically, such as unmarried partners, same sex couples etc. As such it is a useful tool to unravel what may have been done in a will if it is felt that the result of the inheritance is not fair or just.

Mojisola

CaptainAmerica wrote: »

He could make an IPFDA claim. The aim of the IPFDA 1975 is to allow people within certain categories who feel that insufficient provision has been made for them under a Will or intestacy, to make a claim for provision from the estate. This can include people who would not otherwise inherit automatically, such as unmarried partners, same sex couples etc. As such it is a useful tool to unravel what may have been done in a will if it is felt that the result of the inheritance is not fair or just.

Wouldn't this only be used if the claimant had been financially dependent on the deceased?

Edited - I see there are some court rulings that have given money to people who weren't financially dependent.