Advice Please

Karen1972

My mum who has recently died is beneficiary in two wills.

She is sole beneficiary in her partners will - everything has been left tomy Mum. Who inherits this? Does it pass to me as I am my Mum's only family andI am sole beneficiary in her will?

My grandmother has left her estate to be split equally between my mum andher two siblings. What happens to my mum’s equal share of the estate? Is hershare split between her siblings or is this passed to me?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

lulu650

Hi Karen, I'm so sorry to hear about your mother this must be a difficult time for you.

You haven't made clear if your mum's partner and grandmother are still alive or not.

Karen1972

Oh sorry, both are still alive.

Thank you for any advice you can give.

pmlindyloo

Karen1972 wrote: »

My mum who has recently died is beneficiary in two wills.

She is sole beneficiary in her partners will - everything has been left tomy Mum. Who inherits this? Does it pass to me as I am my Mum's only family andI am sole beneficiary in her will?

My grandmother has left her estate to be split equally between my mum andher two siblings. What happens to my mum’s equal share of the estate? Is hershare split between her siblings or is this passed to me?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

This may have already been sorted out through your mum's partner's will or your grandmother's will.

There are usually clauses inserted if your mother predeceases the will maker.

If it hasn't been sorted out then since they are still alive they have time to make a new will and stipulate who will inherit.

lulu650

My own family experience has been that your mum's partner can change his will at any time and may decide to do so now your mum has died. If he doesn't change the will it will depend on the wording of the will as to whether you automatically inherit your mum's share or not.

Again with your grandmother, it depends on the wording. The only wills I have seen have clauses to say what happens in the event of the death of a beneficiary.

My own divorced parents' wills made it clear that if I died than my share would automatically go to my children and not to my brother.

My Dad's will was watertight in that his flat was left to his partner and only in the event of her death would it be sold and his share go to his children. There was no opportunity for my stepmother to change that and leave everything on her death to her own children.

My Mum's will was not as clearcut in that she made a mirror will with my stepfather allowing him to change it, if he so wished, after her death.

I hope that helps a little and others with more legal expertise could help further. Depending on the relationship you have with your grandmother and mum's partner you could always ask about their wills. But it can be an emotive subject

Savvy_Sue

It does, as stated, depend on the wording of the will but the default is usually that your mother's share passes to her children.

My parents' wills specifically exclude the grandchildren: it all goes to their children, and if one of us pre-deceases them then that 'share' is divvied up among the survivors.

TBagpuss

It depends on the wording of the will, and also the relationship with the testator.

It's common for wills to state expressly what will happen, so unless either your mum's partner, or your gran, have home-made wills then the will probably states whet will happen to your mum's potential share.

If the will does not say, then under your mum's partner's will, the gift to your mum fails because she died first, and the money will form part of the residue of her partner's estate, so unless you are a beneficiary in your own right, it is unlikely you will be entitled to anything.

In your Gran's case, because you are her direct descendant, the rules are different and your mum's share would go to you, or if you have siblings, to you and your siblings in equal shares.

Either your Gran or your mum's partner would be free to change their wills following your mum's death, of course.

Karen1972

Thank you for your responses. It's a difficult conversation to broach with emotions already running high. My main concern is with my Mum's partner - I know he wants me to become beneficiary but he thinks it would pass to me automatically. However as I am not a beneficiary in my own right I understand this is unlikely to happen.
I will have have to make sure he gets his will changed to reflect his wishes.