disclosure documents

tara1964

I am involved in a will dispute which is now in litigation, before trying mediation I have made what I and my solicitor feel is a generous offer to the attester of the will. Considering the attester tried the route of saying undue influence and lack of capacity made the will void, which seemed to get her nowhere as she has no evidence they are now trying for a large sum of money. I actually thought we were getting somewhere and we could come to a mutual agreement, but this person is getting greedy and because I have refused what she wants her solicitor is demanding that we disclose the estate accounts and they also want proof of a car belonging to the deceased which at the time of disposal had failed its MOT and was worth around £300, proof of the transfer of ownership. This car was given by the deceased to a family member who after doing some work and putting it through an MOT and sold it on, the last we heard it had been scrapped. How on earth can I prove this now? The attester is saying the deceased told her she could have the car, this was years ago as they didn't speak for the last 10 years! It does not form part of the estate as it was disposed of whilst she was still alive. Do I legally have to disclose any documents at this time, can I wait until mediation has been appointed? I have nothing to hide but am just fed up of giving into her every whim. If she feels the will is void then surely she has to prove it. If mediation doesn't work and I need them to know, at mediation she will not be offered anything in the region of what I have just offered, then I believe if she accepts a lower offer at mediation she has to pay my legal bills from the date of my rejected offer? Also would the ball be in her court if mediation didn't work and it had to go to court? Would there be a timescale for her to take me to court? Thanks for any advice/help!

g6jns_2

tara1964 wrote: »

I am involved in a will dispute which is now in litigation, before trying mediation I have made what I and my solicitor feel is a generous offer to the attester of the will. Considering the attester tried the route of saying undue influence and lack of capacity made the will void, which seemed to get her nowhere as she has no evidence they are now trying for a large sum of money. I actually thought we were getting somewhere and we could come to a mutual agreement, but this person is getting greedy and because I have refused what she wants her solicitor is demanding that we disclose the estate accounts and they also want proof of a car belonging to the deceased which at the time of disposal had failed its MOT and was worth around £300, proof of the transfer of ownership. This car was given by the deceased to a family member who after doing some work and putting it through an MOT and sold it on, the last we heard it had been scrapped. How on earth can I prove this now? The attester is saying the deceased told her she could have the car, this was years ago as they didn't speak for the last 10 years! It does not form part of the estate as it was disposed of whilst she was still alive. Do I legally have to disclose any documents at this time, can I wait until mediation has been appointed? I have nothing to hide but am just fed up of giving into her every whim. If she feels the will is void then surely she has to prove it. If mediation doesn't work and I need them to know, at mediation she will not be offered anything in the region of what I have just offered, then I believe if she accepts a lower offer at mediation she has to pay my legal bills from the date of my rejected offer? Also would the ball be in her court if mediation didn't work and it had to go to court? Would there be a timescale for her to take me to court? Thanks for any advice/help!

What does your solicitor say? They are the ones that should be advising you.

tara1964

g6jns wrote: »

What does your solicitor say? They are the ones that should be advising you.

Solicitor is hopeless and seems to bend over backwards in favour of the other side! He has asked us to gather the requested info. I have asked him why but get no definitive answer! I asked him to inform the other side re the offer stands as it is (an offer they seemed to agree on bar one thing they didn't like, and I have agreed to remove that stipulation) but rather than tell the other side re the offer is just keeps writing to me saying gather the evidence. I don't want to give this evidence unless we are going to mediate, I feel like I am banging my head against a brick wall!

g6jns_2

tara1964 wrote: »

Solicitor is hopeless and seems to bend over backwards in favour of the other side! He has asked us to gather the requested info. I have asked him why but get no definitive answer! I asked him to inform the other side re the offer stands as it is (an offer they seemed to agree on bar one thing they didn't like, and I have agreed to remove that stipulation) but rather than tell the other side re the offer is just keeps writing to me saying gather the evidence. I don't want to give this evidence unless we are going to mediate, I feel like I am banging my head against a brick wall!

I don't see that an asset sold before the person died has any relevance and the solicitor should be told to make this clear. If your solicitor is a member of a firm then you might want to make a complaint to the senior partner.

tara1964

I've found letter from dvla addressed to deceased confirming he is no longer the vehicle owner! No doubt he will want me to trace the person who scrapped it!