Can an estranged member of the family be entitled to any share of an estate

dx052

I have a situation where my mother may not have a will when she passes on at some stage, I understand that under probate anything like property, money etc is split between the sons and daughters if they are not married and it is dealt with by an administrator, would that also include any estranged son or daughter who may have been out of the picture for 40 years for instance and has had very little contact in that time?

Yorkshireman99

dx052 wrote: »

I have a situation where my mother may not have a will when she passes on at some stage, I understand that under probate anything like property, money etc is split between the sons and daughters if they are not married and it is dealt with by an administrator, would that also include any estranged son or daughter who may have been out of the picture for 40 years for instance and has had very little contact in that time?

Yes. The rules are here

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

If she does not want the estranged son to get anything then she must make a will and lodge a letter with her solicitor explaining why.

dx052

Thanks, I thought that may have been the case.

Keep_pedalling

If your mother still has the mental capacity to do so she should make a will without delay, not only to make sure her estate is distributed as she requires, but also to avoid the horrible mess the dying intestate is likely to lead to under these circumstances.

dx052

I agree totally and yes she is of sound mind but I don't think she appreciates how messy it gets and what the ramifications are by not doing one. For the sake of a few hundred pounds it simplifies the whole process.

Keep_pedalling

You need to sit her down and explain exactly what will happen to her estate if she does not make a will, and hopefully, assuming she is not happy with that, she will come round to the idea that she needs to get one in place.

Unfortunately for some people making a will means that they have to face up to their own mortality and so they put it off for ever.

I had to work really hard with my mother to get her to get hers in place because of that attitude. She only has a small estate and I did not want to benefit from it, preferring it to be split between my brother and her grand children who need the money more than me.

Robin9

Please do it through a solicitor.

He/she will go into the different scenarios - what happens if one of the children dies before her, or child is widowed then remarries and dies ...............

dx052

I did actually get the paperwork through from a solicitor as I did touch the issue with her a couple of months ago, now need to get it into action. Without sounding harsh me and my girlfriend are the only ones that take an interest and look after here day to day needs, plus medications etc, I have actually given up work temporary due to her declining health as she cant do any cooking, shopping etc.

Savvy_Sue

dx052 wrote: »

I did actually get the paperwork through from a solicitor as I did touch the issue with her a couple of months ago, now need to get it into action. Without sounding harsh me and my girlfriend are the only ones that take an interest and look after here day to day needs, plus medications etc, I have actually given up work temporary due to her declining health as she cant do any cooking, shopping etc.

Please be very very careful how you phrase things. You may feel you're the only ones who 'deserve' to inherit from her, and you may feel that her estranged children do NOT 'deserve' anything, but there's a danger of coming across as only helping her in order to get your hands on her money, and also you have to allow for the complications of maternal love.

Yes, if she does not want all her children to inherit she needs to make a will. But it's a very final step to actively disinherit a child who was probably much loved at one stage, and with whom she may still hope to reconcile.

Red-Squirrel_2

dx052 wrote: »

I did actually get the paperwork through from a solicitor as I did touch the issue with her a couple of months ago, now need to get it into action. Without sounding harsh me and my girlfriend are the only ones that take an interest and look after here day to day needs, plus medications etc, I have actually given up work temporary due to her declining health as she cant do any cooking, shopping etc.

If you put your mother under pressure to write her will as you want it, that's grounds for it to be contested, as well as the moral issue.

This shouldn't be about you trying to make sure you get what you feel you deserve, this should be about you helping your mother to ensure that her estate goes where she wants it to after she dies, even if that's to the donkey sanctuary!