Help needed

spanner73

My husband died in July this year and left the house to share between his 3 children and myself if its sold. If not I can live in the house as long as i need to and keep it in a good state of repair.
His daughter is doing the probate and has now asked me for all my pension documentation and House insurance documents.
I'm really not sure why she needs these for probate, can anyone please help me.

g6jns_2

spanner73 wrote: »

My husband died in July this year and left the house to share between his 3 children and myself if its sold. If not I can live in the house as long as i need to and keep it in a good state of repair.
His daughter is doing the probate and has now asked me for all my pension documentation and House insurance documents.
I'm really not sure why she needs these for probate, can anyone please help me.

I don't know about the pension documentation but the house needs to be insured. It seems the will has created a trust and the executor is responsible for ensuring trust property is insured.

spanner73

Thank you for your reply, she won't give me a copy of the will so I'm unsure about that.

mgdavid

as you are being told you have an interest in the house (i.e. allowed to live in it) then you are a beneficiary and therefore AFAIK are entitled to see a copy of the will.
Are there more executors than just the one daughter?
Can you contact the solicitor and ask them whether you can see a copy?

Tuesday_Tenor

spanner73 wrote: »

... she won't give me a copy of the will ...

Once she has obtained probate, the will becomes a public document and you will be able to obtain a copy from the Probate Office for a small fee (£4?).

I'm pretty shocked, though, that the executor won't give you a copy of your own husband's will, in which you are so clearly involved.
Sounds very odd; has she outright refused a request from you, and if so, with what reason?
Or has she just not got round to it, as low priority (in her eyes) if she has so much to do for filling in the probate forms?

If the house insurance was in your husband's name then it became invalid when he died, though changing the insurance following a death is a routine matter if you are continuing to live in the property.

Executor will need info on your husband's pensions, but I don't understand her needing YOUR pension details though.

g6jns_2

The fee for a copy of the will is now £10.00. You can fine them online here

https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/searching-for-probate-records

Mojisola

spanner73 wrote: »

My husband died in July this year and left the house to share between his 3 children and myself if its sold. If not I can live in the house as long as i need to and keep it in a good state of repair.
His daughter is doing the probate and has now asked me for all my pension documentation and House insurance documents.
I'm really not sure why she needs these for probate, can anyone please help me.

Buy a copy of the will.

Ask her, in writing, why she needs to see your pension information - I can't think of any reason why an executor would need that kind of information from a beneficiary.

spanner73

Thank you all for your replies. I have asked her for the copy of the will so I can make my will to share by part of the house with my children when i pass. She has told me I wouldn't need it. There is another executor whom I spoke to this evening telling him she won't give me a copy to which he just said oh.
As to talking to the solicitor I have no idea who that is or if there is one. I had no idea that this will had been drawn up, apparently in 2012. He did have another one previously but that has vanished from the house along with the deeds, but they are solely in my late husbands name.
I don't want to cause upset among the stepchildren but I don't understand why I am being kept in the dark.

Mojisola

Buy a copy of the will. It's a public document - anyone can buy one - if your stepchildren get upset because you buy one, I would be suspicious of what they're trying to do.

An executor who is acting honestly has no need to keep things secret.

pmlindyloo

Re: the pension details.

Is it possible that they were claiming Pension Credit as a joint claim and they need the details to include these in a single claim?

Errata

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Re: the pension details.

Is it possible that they were claiming Pension Credit as a joint claim and they need the details to include these in a single claim?

Executors don't need, nor are they entitled to, any information about beneficiaries income/finances.
In the OP's shoes, I'd buy a copy of the will so I knew exactly where I stood, and tell the executors to keep their noses out of my financial affairs.