Gifted money

madbadrob

One day soon solicitors will stop advising that a letter explaining why a child is to get nothing is enough to stop any claim against the estate. Court cases over the last 2 or 3 years have shown this not to be the case.

I would in this case stand my ground and give her nothing. The fact she and your mum never made any attempt to reconcile the separation shows that neither wanted to. All the cases where children have obtained monies when first disinherited have been shown to have some attempt at reconciliation. In this case the sister could argue that being a drug and alcohol abuser meant she wasnt in a position to reconcile and by the time she was it was too late.

I agree with earlier posts that the courts will require some form of mediation in the first place and I would advise you try this but make it clear from the outset that you are not going to roll over and give her everything.

I would until this is sorted not spend a penny of your inheritance and be prepared for it to still be ongoing this time next year

Rob

troubleinparadise

Errata wrote: »

Both the solictor and the doctor assessed your mum as having capacity to make the LPA, will and give you £30k at the time these things happened.
Your sister has no evidence that your mum didn't have capacity and was unduly influenced as she hadn't clapped eyes on mum for ten years.
Find yourself a Rotweiller solicitor.

Interesting point re determined solicitor, Errata - I wonder why it seems that the law seems to be in favour of the determined complainant, whereby the defender seems to be advised to give in because it's cheaper, even if there is adequate evidence to support the defence against false allegations or claims.

The issue that mediation needs to have been seen to be done before it goes further - is another description of mediation "play nicely and cave in and give them money just to make them go away" to save court time?

nom_de_plume

Can the OP give some detail of her mother's condition leading to the preparation of her will and the LPA. I ask as everything seems to have happened in a very short time frame. Whilst you will not get a rock solid answer here, some more detail may help provide some more accurate responses.

karenh1962

mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer and wanted to get her affairs in order. they couldn't determine how long she had left but they said months as opposed to years. mum tried through family members to contact my sister but basically got a 2 finger salute. so she asked me to get a solicitor to the house so she could make a will. it just cheeses me off someone can make a will but their last wishes can be challenged and successfully. I could tell the solicitor wanted me to go to mediation and come to an agreement. I am going to wait and see what the witness statements say bit I feel like I now want to let her take me to court, but to be honest I can't face 3 years of mither. I thought the solicitor would of asked me for some money but she hasn't, so hopefully it will come out of the estate, just wondering whether my sister has to pay as she goes along or whether her solicitor would be confident enough to expect payment out of the estate too.

nom_de_plume

Just reading the first post armed with the additional information you have provided, my non legally trained mind would like to think your Mum's wishes should be adhered to, particularly as she penned a letter to your sister explaining her reasoning behind the content of the will.

A work associate of mine was diagnosed with terminal cancer some years back and carried on working for some time after that. He knew his time was limited but was determined to put his affairs straight whilst he was still capable. Hopefully that was the case with your Mum and she was truly of sound mind when she prepared her will and LPA and her solicitor can confirm that.

madbadrob

Again I will say that a letter explaining why they have been cut out is no longer enough to satisfy a court however if the OP can prove that the mother reached out to the daughter and was told she didnt want to know then that would be good evidence for a court.

No Mediation is not about rolling over and giving in at all. It is all about trying to save court time and therefore the costs to the public purse. It is also designed to allow families to work through their problems rather than cause an even bigger rift in a family if court action takes place.

Rob

Savvy_Sue

karenh1962 wrote: »

but to be honest I can't face 3 years of mither.

Can I just check: this use of the word 'mither' - was Mum living in Scotland or England when she made the will?

karenh1962

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Can I just check: this use of the word 'mither' - was Mum living in Scotland or England when she made the will?

She was in England. Mither is a word we use meaning bother/trouble. Thanks for all your replies everyone, I will keep you posted. I still cannot get my head round what this solicitor meant by returning the gift of £30,000 if it had not been 'cleared' within 10 days of being issued.
With hindsight and I would say this to all will makers, have it witnessed by your doctor!! But knowing the laws in this land would they still be able to contest?
We will now wait for the response to the letter our solicitor has sent to hers.

Errata

karenh1962 wrote: »

She was in England. Mither is a word we use meaning bother/trouble. Thanks for all your replies everyone, I will keep you posted. I still cannot get my head round what this solicitor meant by returning the gift of £30,000 if it had not been 'cleared' within 10 days of being issued.
With hindsight and I would say this to all will makers, have it witnessed by your doctor!! But knowing the laws in this land would they still be able to contest?
We will now wait for the response to the letter our solicitor has sent to hers.

I hope you manage to get it sorted out. Just a pointer - Doctor's won't witness wills, neither will nurses.

karenh1962

Would a doctor or nurse witness a witness to a will, to ensure the person is of sound mind?