Mums will went wrong

Ronin1978111

My mum died on the 12th and as I already knew, named me as executor to her will. I was on at her to do it properly for a long time but naturally, she was reluctant as It would mean accepting her impending death (terminal cancer), understandable, but still necessary to get affairs in order.

Upon contacting the solicitor I was told the most recent draft was not signed and the only copy that was, did not specify that the rest of her estate around 18k will go to me her executor. I will now have to share my inheritance with a bunch of undesirable siblings.
These same siblings may have lifted more recent and valid copies of the will when in her house. My sister actually stole jewellery from her house while she lay upstairs dying. I did not notice this because I was nursing her for her last days.

This jewellery was hers in the will anyway but the irony is that she will be able to claim against mums estate for stollen jewellery, even though she has it (she was the last to be seen holding the jewellery bag, then it was gone)

I am in massive shock that my mum would make such a critical error because she intended to give a minimum to 4 siblings who were guilty of either not giving her the time of day or stealing etc.

I was getting the lions share for being the only person to stick by her for her whole life until the end. My wife also looked after her during her years maternity leave as well as looking after two children.
She promised my wife that she would look after us and due to the law saying it has to be shared among siblings, our house buying aspirations have been destroyed for the next 2 years.

Do I have any recourse at all?

Do I have a complaint with the solicitor for not chasing my mum up effectively? She was very frail and did not like going to his office due to stairs so he made home visits. (He could've contacted next of kin to make aware mum was not responding)

I would've done the running around for her if only I knew she hadn't done this but it only came to light after she had passed away.

As she failed to bequeath the remainder to me, I have to share with the rest and to add insult to injury, they still get 1k each extra ( which is all that was due to them)

I wasn't mentioned at a all, apart from being executor.

Devestating

pollypenny

If the will has not been signed they won't get any extras, or named jewellery, you should all get an equal share.

Okydoky25

I think you need to put your feelings aside and remember that no matter what you feel of your siblings they were your mums children. You have children yourself so should understand.

Crabapple

So the previous signed Will splits the Estate equally between all children? Your post seems to suggest that the Will merely appoints you as Executor and leaves some legacies.

If there were any other Wills, and she had made them through Solicitors they would be able to check if one had been made and the original released to her.

I doubt that you can take any action against the Solicitor. There are some cases, but you would have to show a lot of negligence on their part. Chasing someone to sign a Will shows they were trying. He could not have contacted next of kin without her express permission as that would be breaching client confidentiality.

Regarding the missing jewellery - if the subject of a gift in a Will does not exist at the date of death then the gift fails. So if it went awol before your mother died then it's not an estate issue. A claim against the house insurance would normally be the way forward but you would need a crime number etc. Perhaps explain that to your sister and she can try and report it stolen...

Ronin1978111

Thanks for your replies. This is a difficult situation for me as my siblings are scum, plain and simple. How can I now be expected to deal with my sister when she has stolen from my mum while she was dying upstairs! I didn't notice what she was up to because I was busy nursing my mum.
My sister was more or less written out of her final (unsigned) will and was getting what she deserved! Mum had later decided to no longer give her the jewellery because she believed she would melt it down to buy alcohol. And instead decided to gift it to people who would treasure it.

The fact that they are her children is immaterial because they never cared about her and she knew it, she made her wishes known to me for the last year or so. I have always stuck by my mum when the other six couldn't care less (one hasn't spoken to her for 25 years but will no doubt take her money), yes they maybe her children but she left most of them what she felt they deserved and no more. I have two decent brothers who I would be happy to share with but the other 4 deserve no respect.

As the loyal one who who has always given her the respect a mother deserves, she decided to bequeath the rest to my wife and I to go towards a house deposit. 18 k is a lot of money which will take years to save up.

This mistake has cost us very dearly and the solicitor is so blas! about the whole thing!

My mum could not get about well in her last months and said the solicitor would come to her house to do the will, although his last appointment six weeks ago was a no show! He knew she was frail but continued to send chaser letters.

I don't understand why the solicitor allowed the first will to be signed without the final statement included. It was a half arsed will that he drafted and it has brought about the worst possible outcome.

As she was getting her will done free through age concern, I feel less of an effort was made. She was frail and the cancer had spread to her brain later on and needed better attention payed to her.

I realise the mistake is hers but other factors also caused this situation. Her true wishes will not be honoured and I will get even less than the rest because they will get what is specifically given to them plus a share of what was supposed to be rightfully mine.

My grieving process has been delayed due to this and I now face the prospect of having to deal with the 'scum' who also know what they were supposed to be left because another (possibly signed) will was missing from her house, probably lifted by one of them. She had invited the bad ones back to make peace with them before she passed away but left her self vulnerable by inviting them back into her life. During this time another family member caught my sister ransacking my mums room and if they found a will they would've took it out of badness.

Unlike some of my scummy siblings, I actually work for a living to pay tax for their benefits and am now off sick with stress as well as bereavement. My life will suffer the effects for a long time and yet they have probably already forgotten their mother (until the check comes)

Ronin1978111

Crabapple, the signed will that the solicitor has

Gives 5 brothers and a sister £1000 each
Plus jewellery for my sister.

The part not included before it was signed way the final bequeathment to me.

I have found her last unsigned will which leaves

Them all £500 each and gives her jewellery to more appreciative people.

10 grandchildren were to get £200 each

And I was to get the rest.

Those were her final wishes!


And no okeydokey, with all due respect, I cannot put my feelings aside. You do not know my family.

My mothers feelings on them were also well known but she wanted to make peace with them, allowing them back into her life. They on the other hand just wanted to fleece her. She realised this at the end and even shunned my sister the day before she died realising that she should've never invited her back to steal.

rpc

Ronin1978111 wrote: »

Crabapple, the signed will that the solicitor has

Gives 5 brothers and a sister £1000 each
Plus jewellery for my sister.

The part not included before it was signed way the final bequeathment to me.

Do you mean that the last signed will does not leave you anything?

I have found her last unsigned will which leaves

Them all £500 each and gives her jewellery to more appreciative people.

10 grandchildren were to get £200 each

And I was to get the rest.

Those were her final wishes!

Unfortunately, that is just a piece of paper until it is signed and witnessed.

Ronin1978111

The signed will does not leave me a cash sum like the rest as I was due to inherit everything else. I will still get an equal share of what was mine anyway but they will get an equal share plus their money.

The most important thing to her was to look after me and it's hard to believe that she left that bit out but it's harder to believe that the solicitor signed and witnessed an incomplete will. He admitted to me that he insisted that she add a final bequeathment statement, but still he still got it signed and witnessed without adding that critical part.

It would be a better outcome to for the first will not to be signed because the whole estate would be equally shared and my sister would not get the jewellery either.

NAR

Unfortunately, bottom line, as executor you have to carry out the bequests as stated in the properly signed will. This might go against the grain but you could leave yourself open to legal action if you do anything different.
I think your chances of taking action against the solicitor are slim to none.

Ronin1978111

The solicitor offered to act as executor on my behalf! Maybe I'll do that as I refuse to deal with those scum. They will laugh at me and dance on my mums grave because they will know what has happened.

Sorry for my high emotions but I have just lost my mum and have inherited a mess, thanks for your condolences

makeitstop

Ronin1978111 wrote: »

Crabapple, the signed will that the solicitor has

Gives 5 brothers and a sister £1000 each
Plus jewellery for my sister.

The part not included before it was signed way the final bequeathment to me.

I have found her last unsigned will which leaves

Them all £500 each and gives her jewellery to more appreciative people.

10 grandchildren were to get £200 each

And I was to get the rest.

Those were her final wishes!


And no okeydokey, with all due respect, I cannot put my feelings aside. You do not know my family.

My mothers feelings on them were also well known but she wanted to make peace with them, allowing them back into her life. They on the other hand just wanted to fleece her. She realised this at the end and even shunned my sister the day before she died realising that she should've never invited her back to steal.

I am just not getting this at all.

If there is a signed and witnessed will, clearly stating that your five brothers and one sister will inherit £1000 each, then what was to happen to the remainder of her estate.???

You say you were told that you would inherit the remainder of her estate, which totals £18,000. If this is NOT clearly stated as being left to you, then who is it left to.???

If the signed copy of the will states £1000 each for your brothers and one sister, then that is all they will get.

What is said in the signed will with regard to the remainder of her estate.?