Underhand manipulation of a will and estate

konark

There's certainly a whiff of 'undue influence' about this situation, but proving it may be difficult.

You can't change a will with a letter to a solicitor, solicitors would require to see the testatrix in person, particularly as she was using a stamp to sign her name.


The first problem is that as things stand the house is not part of the estate. It could be argued that your sister abused her power of attorney getting the house put in her name and authorising the house improvements for which she was the principle beneficiary. There is certainly a prima-facie case to be put to the Court of protection who oversee such things; there was no logical financial reason for this, the gift would have failed under the IHT rules so no gain there, and as already mentioned, would have been deemed a deprivation of assets by the council's financial assessors, so no free home-care either. If she already owned a house wouldn't your sister have also had to pay the extra stamp duty on the transfer? (not sure about that).

Another problem is that as the estate has been milked dry there's so little left there's no need for probate, (and you may not even get your 5 grand if the bank accounts have been emptied) so you may not find out what was in the will, and a caveat will be useless..Do you have a copy of the original will?



I'm assuming your mother's condition did not affect her mental capacity, or that could be another avenue to explore.

CAB will be useless, you need a specialist solicitor who can evaluate your best line of attack and chances of success. Good Luck.

christopherelshaw

Hi Guys,

I am looking for very much some similar advice. Myself my dad and sister are all acting as executors over my late uncles estate however since my uncle has passed my dad seems to be demanding money out of my uncles estate and changing each figure each time each week. I am literally tearing my hair out.....

The problem we have is there was no will meaning the estate is currently in probate my uncle also had a sister my mum who is currently in full time nhs care and i have asked the question would the nhs take any money for her care and they have said no as she is currently need of full time care as she suffers with severe multiple sclerosis. However dad as I said keeps changing the gold posts and originally he said he wanted 30,000 pounds out of the estate even though technically this is my mums money and has power of attourney over financial and medical. From what I understand money cannot be given as a gift in this scenario of no more than £3000 a year on special occasions by government law such as birthdays etc. However is it possible for me and my sister to make a claim to this money as mum doesn't really have any mental capacity meaning dad as power of atorney would need to renounce the inheritance.

The thing that makes this more frustrating is this isnt the first time my dad has done this as when my my mums mum died he squandered all the money himself on decorating the house.

Please help I am soon to disown my father!! its not the money its the principle I feel as if he is being dishonest with me,

is this a possibility?

Regards

Chris

Malthusian

@Christopherelshaw: You should start a new thread as it is a separate problem and you will get more people viewing it.

Could you tell me if I have the facts right: your uncle died intestate; your uncle had no living spouse, children/grand-children/other direct descendants, or parents; your mother was his only sibling so she inherits his entire estate?

If so then it must be distributed to your mother. Your father has no claim on it, nor do you and your sister. Attorneys cannot enter into a Deed of Variation on behalf of the donor.

Your father has no claim on the estate. And as you say he cannot use the power of attorney to gift money to himself. If he is abusing the power of attorney, you need to contact the Office of the Public Guardian now.

From what I understand money cannot be given as a gift in this scenario of no more than £3000 a year on special occasions by government law such as birthdays etc.

You are mixing up Inheritance Tax with the rules on attorneys making gifts. The £3,000 limit is an Inheritance Tax exemption and has nothing to do with gifts made by attorneys. Attorneys cannot make gifts except in very specific circumstances. If it does not come under those circumstances then your father cannot arrange for your mother to gift one penny to himself, let alone £3,000.

christopherelshaw

Hi and thanks for the reply,

In my scenario what would most likely happen to the money as stated the NHS has said they wont touch the money due to the type of care she is under. however there is still an inheritance to be claimed how can this be claimed if the money cannot be given ie passed down to myself and sister who are the niece and nephew to my uncle. Due to the medical condition of my mother who is not mentally capable and doesnt know of her own brothers death and my dad has power of attorney over her and i can see the money going into my mums and dads joint bank account, these are all what ifs

any feedback would be greatly appreciated

Regards

Chris

Yorkshireman99

As suggested please start a new thread rather than using this one. TIA.

Malthusian

When you start a new thread, could you confirm whether your father is her only attorney or whether the power of attorney names anyone else as attorney (e.g. you).