Will under dispute

D00gie72

Hi There. Hopefully someone on here can help with some common sense input. I will try to be brief.
My husbands step-father died last Sept. He was ill with cancer and in the months leading up to his death he went to some effort to get his finances and Will into order. He was a business man with also had several properties to his name. He wrote a will with some specific details. Namely he left a property each to my husband and his 2 siblings and nephew. However they were to be left in a trust until such time as his mother passes away so that she can gain an income for herself from the rental of these properties. A little complicated perhaps but we've been told this was perfectly do-able.
However there is another sibling who was specifically written out of the will. There was a rift between he and the step-father for many years. The stepfather had written a letter explaining why he had been written out of any inheritance that accompanied the will. As I understand it the will had been properly signed and witnessed but the letter wasn't signed before the stepfather passed away.
Now the sibling is contesting the will. He is contesting on the basis that many years ago whilst working for his father (as a young man and child) he sustained a long standing injury that now restricts what work he can do. Therefore he is claiming his stepfather is responsible for providing him with an income in his own old age. Part of his claim is that all the other siblings are well off and therefore don't need the inheritance?
The sols dealing with the case have asked all of us to provide financial details of our own income and savings etc.
My question is - as there was a will specifically detailing the deceased wishes - what difference does it make how much any of us earn? Surely weather we are all rich or poor doesn't have any impact on weather we should inherit. I think the advice from the sols is to settle the matter without going to court (i.e. give the sibling some money) However my mother in law (who is executor) is adamant that we should fulfil her husbands wishes and not give the sibling any inheritance.
Any sensible advise appreciated. I'm dreading this situation escalating - all the people involved here had varied and traumatic experiences growing up and this case is just going to drag all the past back out into the open again.

jackyann

I think that posters with more technical knowledge will be along.

My first piece of advice is to stay as far away from the dispute as you can. See your role as simply to support your husband, and to give your opinion / advice only if asked, and then only to answer the specific question. You can, of course, express sadness that this has happened.

As for details about your income & savings - I too would feel uncomfortable in this situation. I wonder if your husband could write saying that he would prefer to wait whilst his mother's concerns are dealt with; and then he will disclose only if he thinks it will be helpful to the family. That buys you a bit of time, whilst hopefully, not exacerbating the situation.

getmore4less

One question that needs asking.

Why had he not claimed support prior to the death?

BJV

So sad. Why oh why does the hopes of a chunk of money do this to families.

OP I honestly hope that this gets sorted out. As our posts have said, try to support your partner but distance yourself from the mechanics of it. ( hope you know what I mean )

TBagpuss

As a child of the decesaed, he has the right to make an application undet he Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act is he claims that his father failed to make 'reasonable provision' for him.

I think his assertion that his father ought to provide him with income might carry weight if the could provide evidence that father had been doing so before his death, or if he could show that he could have made a cliam against father for the injury he suffered, but did not do so on the basis of an assurance that he would be taken care of in the will.

Fighting something like this can be very expensive so the solicitrosa may suggest to you / the executors that they consider making an offer to settle to avoid the cost of proceedings, or they may be asking about incomes etc in order to refute the claims made by the son that eveyone else is better off

Do check that the solicitos are used to dealing with Contentious Probate. Most solicitors who deal with wills and probate don't deal ith contested cases, and it is a specilaist subject.

In the short term, the best thing to do may be for the executors or the solicitro to write to the son making clear that Dad specifcally considered his calims as part of the paklnning process, and that he made a careful, reasonwed decision not to leave him anything. The fact that the letter wasn't signed doesn't mean it cant be taken into accout - his solcitor should have clear notes of the discussions held and will be able to provide a statemwent confirming thatDad fully understood what he was doing.

Unfortunately since the Ilott case things are less clear cut than they used to be; in that case, part of the court's reasoning apeared to be that the estranged daughter';s needs were greater than those of the the charities which would lose out if her claim was allowed - so the solicitos may be asking about your finances in order to build evidence that that is not the case here, and that the people whio Step-dad wanted to benefit need the legacy as mush as the disappointed son.

Yorkshireman99

D00gie72 wrote: »

Hi There. Hopefully someone on here can help with some common sense input. I will try to be brief.
My husbands step-father died last Sept. He was ill with cancer and in the months leading up to his death he went to some effort to get his finances and Will into order. He was a business man with also had several properties to his name. He wrote a will with some specific details. Namely he left a property each to my husband and his 2 siblings and nephew. However they were to be left in a trust until such time as his mother passes away so that she can gain an income for herself from the rental of these properties. A little complicated perhaps but we've been told this was perfectly do-able.
However there is another sibling who was specifically written out of the will. There was a rift between he and the step-father for many years. The stepfather had written a letter explaining why he had been written out of any inheritance that accompanied the will. As I understand it the will had been properly signed and witnessed but the letter wasn't signed before the stepfather passed away.
Now the sibling is contesting the will. He is contesting on the basis that many years ago whilst working for his father (as a young man and child) he sustained a long standing injury that now restricts what work he can do. Therefore he is claiming his stepfather is responsible for providing him with an income in his own old age. Part of his claim is that all the other siblings are well off and therefore don't need the inheritance?
The sols dealing with the case have asked all of us to provide financial details of our own income and savings etc.
My question is - as there was a will specifically detailing the deceased wishes - what difference does it make how much any of us earn? Surely weather we are all rich or poor doesn't have any impact on weather we should inherit. I think the advice from the sols is to settle the matter without going to court (i.e. give the sibling some money) However my mother in law (who is executor) is adamant that we should fulfil her husbands wishes and not give the sibling any inheritance.
Any sensible advise appreciated. I'm dreading this situation escalating - all the people involved here had varied and traumatic experiences growing up and this case is just going to drag all the past back out into the open again.

The problem is that such an action can be incredibly expensive. Yesterday there was a case in the Supreme Court on such a situation. The testator left around £500,000 to charities and nothing to her estranged daughter. The case will not be decided until next year. In your case I would be very reluctant to give the financial information at this stage. The son is likely to have to find at least £20K to start the case. Does he have that?

Yorkshireman99

TBagpuss wrote: »

As a child of the decesaed, he has the right to make an application undet he Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act is he claims that his father failed to make 'reasonable provision' for him.

I think his assertion that his father ought to provide him with income might carry weight if the could provide evidence that father had been doing so before his death, or if he could show that he could have made a cliam against father for the injury he suffered, but did not do so on the basis of an assurance that he would be taken care of in the will.

Fighting something like this can be very expensive so the solicitrosa may suggest to you / the executors that they consider making an offer to settle to avoid the cost of proceedings, or they may be asking about incomes etc in order to refute the claims made by the son that eveyone else is better off

Do check that the solicitos are used to dealing with Contentious Probate. Most solicitors who deal with wills and probate don't deal ith contested cases, and it is a specilaist subject.

In the short term, the best thing to do may be for the executors or the solicitro to write to the son making clear that Dad specifcally considered his calims as part of the paklnning process, and that he made a careful, reasonwed decision not to leave him anything. The fact that the letter wasn't signed doesn't mean it cant be taken into accout - his solcitor should have clear notes of the discussions held and will be able to provide a statemwent confirming thatDad fully understood what he was doing.

Unfortunately since the Ilott case things are less clear cut than they used to be; in that case, part of the court's reasoning apeared to be that the estranged daughter';s needs were greater than those of the the charities which would lose out if her claim was allowed - so the solicitos may be asking about your finances in order to build evidence that that is not the case here, and that the people whio Step-dad wanted to benefit need the legacy as mush as the disappointed son.

The Ilott case is in the Supreme Court so what was decided below is on hold until the SC rule.

D00gie72

Thanks all for your replies - and thanks for mentioning that high profile case which I hadn't previously heard about, there was a story about it on the radio today which I listened too with interest.
It certainly sounds like these cases are not at all clear.
As far as myself and my husband are concerned we're trying to distance ourselves from the nitty gritty - except for supporting his mother as far as we can.
Where this will end I have no idea but I the Llott case is anything to go by we could all potentially be retired by the time its resolved!

DigForVictory

Sadly all too possible.

Support your husband & keep him well away from Bleak House (Dickens at his most acerbic on the delays of the legal process) unless you are both costume drama fans.

I recommend the Muppets Christmas Carol if you must watch Dickens, but acknowledge that Charles Dance & Gillian Anderson have their devotees too.

Yorkshireman99

D00gie72 wrote: »

Thanks all for your replies - and thanks for mentioning that high profile case which I hadn't previously heard about, there was a story about it on the radio today which I listened too with interest.
It certainly sounds like these cases are not at all clear.
As far as myself and my husband are concerned we're trying to distance ourselves from the nitty gritty - except for supporting his mother as far as we can.
Where this will end I have no idea but I the Llott case is anything to go by we could all potentially be retired by the time its resolved!

Very wise. The Ilott case judgement should be known in a couple of months.

troubleinparadise

As has already been said, take legal advice.

The claimant's solicitors will have taken his story at face value, and will now be gathering information to support the potential claim.

So equally your husband and his siblings should take advice on whether or how to respond to the requests for information. The responses may show the claimant's solicitors that his case is not as clear cut as he has made out, and that might potentially stop any further action.