Beneficiary queries

Bronte2

My great aunt bequeathed her house to my mum in her will some 8/10 years back in her will along with £300,000 in savings to 3different charities after all tags etc were paid on her death.
This will was drafted up in the local solicitors office and present were my mum, dad, great aunt and solicitor.
Great aunty ended up with alzeimers and ended up in a nursing home for the last 5 years or so. Sadly my mum died 2 years ago and my brother and I were lead to believe that the property would come to us.
We then find out that the solicitor made an application to the court to sell the property as it was to much hassle renting it out etc to which this was granted and the money £210,000 sat in the solicitors high interest account until my great aunt dies.

Great aunt dies 3 weeks ago and socicitor called to advise of her death. My dad enquires about the will property £, after probate, to me and my brother and his secretary said we are not beneficiaries.
Secretary now says that a couple of days after the will was drafted, the solicitor went to my great aunts house to get the now drawn up will signed and she stipulated that in the event of the beneficiary dying she wants all her estate to go to charity.
This wasn't discussed at the office. This was not mentioned by the solicitor when I notified him of my mums death as a courtesy and it doesn't seem right.
Obviously we are talking a large sum and I'd really appreciate some good advice here.

Thank you.

Tigsteroonie

Bronte2 wrote: »

Secretary now says that a couple of days after the will was drafted, the solicitor went to my great aunts house to get the now drawn up will signed and she stipulated that in the event of the beneficiary dying she wants all her estate to go to charity.
This wasn't discussed at the office. This was not mentioned by the solicitor when I notified him of my mums death as a courtesy and it doesn't seem right.

Entirely possible. The solicitor may have realised that they hadn't discussed the issue of the main beneficiary pre-deceasing your great-aunt, and brought it up when he took the draft will for signing. A discussion then ensued, your great-aunt advised on what she wanted, and this was written into the will at the time of signing.

It is not customary for beneficiaries to be present when a will is drafted, so you are in the unusual position of having been there for what you thought was the entire conversation but actually turned out to only be half of the conversation.

When you notified the solicitor of your Mum's death, he wouldn't have had any specific reason to look up your great-aunt's will and raise a question or inform you of the effect; you would have had to ask for this. Solicitors see different people every day, he may not even have remembered the relationship, let alone the will's contents.

That said, there has been a very recent court case where a daughter successfully challenged her mother's will which disinherited her and left the estate to charity. Although your connection is more indirect as this is your great-aunt, it could be relevant, particularly if your great-aunt had no contact with those particular charities during her life.

Bronte2

Thanks. I'm aware of the recent court case which bares more than a resemblance to me. I am on state benefits as a carer to a a disabled daughter with Ms (wheelchair bound) as well as 2 other children. The inheritance makes a big difference to quality of life in my household. I wonder if I actually have grounds to contest? As fur the charities I'm unsure of her involvement with them in her early life but certainly the latter part she's had no connection what so ever.
They still get £300,000 any way but if I don't inherit they stand to get £550,000. That's a lot of money

BobQ

Bronte2 wrote: »

My great aunt bequeathed her house to my mum in her will some 8/10 years back in her will along with £300,000 in savings to 3different charities after all tags etc were paid on her death.
This will was drafted up in the local solicitors office and present were my mum, dad, great aunt and solicitor.
Great aunty ended up with alzeimers and ended up in a nursing home for the last 5 years or so. Sadly my mum died 2 years ago and my brother and I were lead to believe that the property would come to us.

As Tigsteroonie states, it is unusual for beneficiaries to be present at a meeting to take instructions from someone wishing to make a will. This is to avoid the possibility they influence the content.

Strictly your parents were not present at the drafting, this took place after that meeting. It is also quite normal for further clarification to take place before it is signed.

We then find out that the solicitor made an application to the court to sell the property as it was to much hassle renting it out etc to which this was granted and the money £210,000 sat in the solicitors high interest account until my great aunt dies.

The only reason for this would be if the solicitor had Power of Attorney over her affairs. Presumable she agreed to this when she was of sound mind. People often have a LPOA (or EPOA) generated at the same time as a Will.

Once she went into a nursing home and it was evident that she could not return to her home, selling the house makes a lot of sense for the reasons stated.

You seem to doubt the solicitor's integrity yet you do not know exactly what he has done. Maybe the money was retained in an account that paid interest, but do you know that the interest was not paid to your aunts account?

Great aunt dies 3 weeks ago and socicitor called to advise of her death. My dad enquires about the will property £, after probate, to me and my brother and his secretary said we are not beneficiaries.

Not sure what this means?

Secretary now says that a couple of days after the will was drafted, the solicitor went to my great aunts house to get the now drawn up will signed and she stipulated that in the event of the beneficiary dying she wants all her estate to go to charity.

I could understand your suspicion if the Will signed had left the estate to her solicitor, but what has a solicitor got to gain by making such a change. Either she wanted to heave the money to her daughter or to her daughter and her descendants. It was your aunt's choice.

This was not mentioned by the solicitor when I notified him of my mums death as a courtesy and it doesn't seem right.
Obviously we are talking a large sum and I'd really appreciate some good advice here.

The solicitor may not have known what was in the Will, but even if he did, a Will is a confidential document and a solicitor is legally obliged to keep it that way during your Great Aunt's lifetime. Telling you what the Will said would breach this confidence.

The amount is irrelevant. You can buy a copy of the Will after probate from the Probate Registry.

Why would you expect to receive money from your Great Aunt's estate? Did she tell you about her Will?

BobQ

Bronte2 wrote: »

Thanks. I'm aware of the recent court case which bares more than a resemblance to me. I am on state benefits as a carer to a a disabled daughter with Ms (wheelchair bound) as well as 2 other children. The inheritance makes a big difference to quality of life in my household. I wonder if I actually have grounds to contest? As fur the charities I'm unsure of her involvement with them in her early life but certainly the latter part she's had no connection what so ever.
They still get £300,000 any way but if I don't inherit they stand to get £550,000. That's a lot of money

Do you have copies of her bank accounts? Maybe she made regular donations to them?

BobQ

Are you genuinely surprised your Great Aunt has not left you a bequest?

If you adored your aunt, regularly visited her, did things to help her etc and there is no reason to have excluded you then it may be a misunderstanding and you may have a case. Equally, if you rarely visited her, did not get on with her then maybe she thought more of the charities than you.

Please do not be offended by this, we clearly do not know you.

Bronte2

I'm not offended BobQ. I'm just just trying to establish if i am legally entitled to inherit. Quite simply my mum was the sole beneficiary of the property but in dying is succeeded by 2 chidren.
The fact of weather someone does or doesn't visit their loved one has absolutely nothing to do with their right to inheret, as I'm sure you know. Be nice if it did though!

I'm already aware of how to obtain a copy of the will and have the address in Holborn in order to do this once probate is agreed. It would just be nice to get a broader perspective. Thank you for your comments.

Tigsteroonie

Maybe your great-aunt didn't like you, so deliberately didn't nominate you to receive anything if your mother died.

And until that recent court case, there was no "right to inherit" when a will exists, only a right to your stated bequest.

My advice is that you go and speak with an independent solicitor, who will give you professional advice. You would need their help to stand any chance of contesting the will, so you may as well engage them now.

Jvic28

Would someone had to have witnessed her signing the redrafted will?

Bronte2

From what I understand this wouldn't need to be 2 witnesses Jvic28 but I could be wrong. One witness will be the solicitor, don't know about the other witness though.

Bronte2

Yes I do have her bank statements an no, she has never made any regular or irregular payment to any of the charities, ever