Question for my dad regarding his will.

Legacy_user

My sister in laws mum died recently and when she and her sister visited the solicitor he asked if either of them were bankrupt or facing bankruptcy. Neither of them are but when my dad heard this he became concerned about his will.
Apparently he has made a will leaving everything divided between me and my 2 siblings. Fairly straightforward he said. None of us are bankrupt or facing bankruptcy however 1 of my brothers was convicted of claiming benefits he wasn't entitled to and served time. Presumably the DWP will want their money back if they can get it and rightly so. My dad however is worried that this might affect myself and my other brother and our inheritance and he wants to know if he needs to get his will amended to ensure this won't happen.
My dad is a very fair minded man and does not want to disinherit my brother he just wants to protect me and my other brother.

Can anyone give me advice to allay his fears?

G6JNS

Pam17 wrote: »

My sister in laws mum died recently and when she and her sister visited the solicitor he asked if either of them were bankrupt or facing bankruptcy. Neither of them are but when my dad heard this he became concerned about his will.
Apparently he has made a will leaving everything divided between me and my 2 siblings. Fairly straightforward he said. None of us are bankrupt or facing bankruptcy however 1 of my brothers was convicted of claiming benefits he wasn't entitled to and served time. Presumably the DWP will want their money back if they can get it and rightly so. My dad however is worried that this might affect myself and my other brother and our inheritance and he wants to know if he needs to get his will amended to ensure this won't happen.
My dad is a very fair minded man and does not want to disinherit my brother he just wants to protect me and my other brother.

Can anyone give me advice to allay his fears?

Your father need not worry or do anything. Any debt is your brother's and his alone. The DWP have no claim against anyone else for that debt.

DandelionPatrol

Pam17 wrote: »

My sister in laws mum died recently and when she and her sister visited the solicitor he asked if either of them were bankrupt or facing bankruptcy.

The reason for this, I believe, is that the inheritance of a bankrupt will pass to the Official Receiver to the extent necessary to clear the bankruptcy debt. The solicitor will not want to be responsible for passing a bequest to a bankrupt beneficiary. Even so, the Official Receiver cannot reach outside the bequest to the bankrupt

G6JNS

DandelionPatrol wrote: »

The reason for this, I believe, is that the inheritance of a bankrupt will pass to the Official Receiver to the extent necessary to clear the bankruptcy debt. The solicitor will not want to be responsible for passing a bequest to a bankrupt beneficiary. Even so, the Official Receiver cannot reach outside the bequest to the bankrupt

The solicitor, or any other executor, has no choice in the matter. The are obliged to distribute the estate according to the will.

System

G6JNS wrote: »

The solicitor, or any other executor, has no choice in the matter. The are obliged to distribute the estate according to the will.

However they must do checks on bankruptcy and contact the OR if necessary. It may well be the case that the inheritance will/must be paid to the OR as the bankrupt prson does not control their money

http://www.hughjames.com/news/comment/2014/06/bankruptcy-affect-inheritance/

DandelionPatrol

G6JNS wrote: »

The solicitor, or any other executor, has no choice in the matter. The are obliged to distribute the estate according to the will.

Er, yes. And in financial matters, the Official Receiver has control of the financial affairs of the undischarged bankrupt. So the Official Receiver can receive an bequest and provide a good receipt for it, which is the executor's proof of having distributed according to the will.

System

Thank you for the replies. We know that dad's estate will not incur inheritance tax because it isn't big enough. We have also known that whatever my brother inherits will more than likely be claimed by DWP. Dad was just worried about whether it would affect the rest of his bequest to me and my other brother. I've reassured him that he doesn't need to worry. Thank you