Will made, my name in it, step mother failed to tell me! ...

LA2015

Thank you for your reply, but in this case I will be going to the legal side for advise as i would never trust a word from her again. Solisitor first, then police, her chance to tell me herself was 14 years ago

BobQ

You should indeed seek legal advice and ask a solicitor to write to the executor. You could do this yourself but a solicitor will make sure the right questions are asked.

The reference to a trust may be significant. It might just refer to the executor holding the assets in trust before distributing them. But it may also mean your step-mother has a right to use assets or to income from them while she is alive.

Perhaps another question to consider is whether she has any money now with which to pay you (assuming you are entitled). If she owns a house then you are probably on safe ground, but it may be difficult if the assets have been spend, or given away, and she lives in rented accommodation. In which case you would be wasting your money.

LA2015

she owns a house which she bought after selling dads house soon after he died

konark

she owns a house which she bought after selling dads house soon after he died

She's worth sueing then and it's worth your while seeing a solicitor.

LA2015

I shall update after speaking to them in the morning!

jackyann

As you are mentioned in the will, the executor should have written to you, even if just to say: dad left you the stocks and shares but there actually aren't any.

LA2015

well, it seems the time between writing the will and him dying = all shares have 'gone' solicitor is not aware of what shares dad had, or when they were sold, odd as he was the one who wrote the will and dealt with all things money related for dad, but then again he is now paid by my step mother! ... who it seems has done very well out of this!

nom_de_plume

LA2015 wrote: »

......... my step mother! ... who it seems has done very well out of this!

She was his wife so it's not unreasonable that she should inherit most, if not all of his estate. Where these second marriages tend to get 'messy' is after the passing of the second partner and the discovery that their will leaves everything to their side of the family only.

securityguy

LA2015 wrote: »

well, it seems the time between writing the will and him dying = all shares have 'gone'

Which is entirely legal and proper. I could write a will tomorrow morning leaving my car to my child. That doesn't in any way prevent me from selling my car, or my attorney from selling my car if I became incapable. Indeed, an attorney who attempted to protect the interests of prospective beneficiaries at the expense of the donor would be acting improperly. And it also doesn't stop the asset from falling within the scope of funding care. Just because an asset is left to you in no way prevents its sale, so long as the sale itself is legal. Now obviously, if someone writes a will which says "all my shares to X and all my money to Y", and then sells their shares, Y may benefit. That's just the way it goes.

Savvy_Sue

Is this will you've seen dated AFTER or BEFORE he married step-mum? Because marriage invalidates a will, unless it's written 'in contemplation of marriage', so if it pre-dates his second marriage and he didn't write a later one, then effectively he died intestate and everything is likely to go to the OP's stepmother.