law of intestacy

jo.anne

My step father`s widowed mother passed away without leaving a will. I have done all the necessary work for him and got grant of probate. Still living is a sister of my Step dad and three children of another deceased sister. Unfortunately one of these children took advantage of his grandmother whilst she was deteriorating and as a result no family members talk to him, I have read the laws of intestacy and it seems he is owed some share of the estate Even though there is no contact does my step dad have to give him a share of the estate which at present is roughly £50000 after an house sale, also how is this enforced as my step dad is not listening to reason and refusing to give him anything, and I do not know the ramifications if he doesn't comply. Any help would be greatly appreciated

dzug1

If the laws of intestacy say that, then contact or no contact, the legacy must be paid.


It isn't enforced unless the beneficiary forces the issue, by going to court if necessary.

PasturesNew

It isn't you, or your step father, or anybody "giving" the errant black sheep anything - it's the law that does it.

You can't pick and choose, no matter what's gone on. You have to follow the intestacy rules exactly.

G6JNS

jo.anne wrote: »

My step father`s widowed mother passed away without leaving a will. I have done all the necessary work for him and got grant of probate. Still living is a sister of my Step dad and three children of another deceased sister. Unfortunately one of these children took advantage of his grandmother whilst she was deteriorating and as a result no family members talk to him, I have read the laws of intestacy and it seems he is owed some share of the estate Even though there is no contact does my step dad have to give him a share of the estate which at present is roughly £50000 after an house sale, also how is this enforced as my step dad is not listening to reason and refusing to give him anything, and I do not know the ramifications if he doesn't comply. Any help would be greatly appreciated

I assume you mean that you have obtained letters of administration. How the estate is distributed is strictly according to the law. It makes no difference whatsoever that somebody thinks it is not fair. The . The person owed the money can sue the executor and will win. The person failing to follow the law needs to be told that he will be liable not only for the money but all the costs.

BobQ

G6JNS is correct. Your step dad will have sworn an oath in getting the Grant (of Administration) which means that if he does not do what he swore he would do he will be in deep trouble if the beneficiary he fails to pay takes legal action.

SevenOfNine

What is Step-Dad planning to do with this errant grandson's share?

Planning to set the 50K aside or put it in the pot for sharing out amongst himself, his sister & only 2 of the other deceased sister's children?

Assume he 'counted in' everyone correctly on the Probate Application, given that he then swore an oath regarding it's accuracy. So there is a written record that he knows there are 2 surviving children (himself & sister), 1 deceased 'child' (his other sister) and her THREE children.

How does Step-Dad's surviving sister feel about his intentions? Does he REALLY feel the errant grandson won't find out & will take this lying down - because if so he's kidding himself.

It is not his choice to do deprive the errant grandson of what is rightfully his share of this inheritance, so Step-Dad had better be crystal clear about what will happen when (because it is WHEN, not IF) it comes to light that he deliberately ignored intestacy rules.

G6JNS has spelt it out.

Mojisola

SevenOfNine wrote: »

Planning to set the 50K aside or put it in the pot for sharing out amongst himself, his sister & only 2 of the other deceased sister's children?

If he keeps it to one side, it's going to look as if he's kept it for himself.

If he shares it out and gives it to the other beneficiaries, only he will be legally responsible for repaying it. How will he feel when he has to pay the grandson his £50k out of his own money - on top of any legal costs involved.

g6jns_2

Mojisola wrote: »

If he keeps it to one side, it's going to look as if he's kept it for himself.

If he shares it out and gives it to the other beneficiaries, only he will be legally responsible for repaying it. How will he feel when he has to pay the grandson his £50k out of his own money - on top of any legal costs involved.

And potentially a criminal record for fraud and theft.

Rodders53

I think it's his share of the £50k total estate: 1/3 of 1/3 to the nephew concerned just over £5.5k

But the family do need to track him down and pay it to him when distributing the estate. No matter how much it sticks in the throat of his Uncle (and others).

Family disputes and rivalries : the best reason for making a will ever!

g6jns_2

Rodders53 wrote: »

I think it's his share of the £50k total estate: 1/3 of 1/3 to the nephew concerned just over £5.5k

But the family do need to track him down and pay it to him when distributing the estate. No matter how much it sticks in the throat of his Uncle (and others).

Family disputes and rivalries : the best reason for making a will ever!

Sadly making a will does not stop the greedy and dishonest trying to get what is not theirs.

Tuesday_Tenor

The only way the errant grandson could be given less that his 1/3 of 1/3 share of the estate is if he ADMITS to having received some of his inheritance in advance of his grandmother's death, and his share is adjusted accordingly.

From the little we know, this doesn't seem likely to happen. Unless grandmother put this in writing with explicit reference to it being part of his inheritance, he will just claim that any funds he received from her were gifts she chose to make in her lifetime.