Deed of Variation refusal

Yankee1971

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Yorkshireman99

Noted. It is the executors that havve to fight it not you. You should incur no costs at all. There is a strict time limit for challenging the will and it is seldom successful. An unscrupulous solicitor may cite the recent Ilott case bu that was wholly exceptional and is irrelevant in most cases. Since you will, quite rightly, not agree to to a DOV then the only way the will can be changed is by an action to prove that the applicant was financially dependent or there was some technical problem with the will such as the testator did not have capacity. Good luck anyway. Hopefully the executors will not be bullied.

getmore4less

If the numbers are such that the beneficiary that is trying to stop this bequest is still well catered for then even if they were able to launch a claim on the grounds of being a dependent they would need to justify why they need even more.

Yankee1971

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Keep_pedalling

Yankee1971 wrote: »

Noted - applicant financial dependency and testator lacking capacity - both not an issue.

I am under the impression, probably from myself, not necessarily from anyone else, that I, as a beneficiary will incur my own costs to defend this because the Will has 2 other beneficiaries which are not being contested by the applicant, just me. I know that the applicant has made this more difficult for themselves to contest the Will as they have not included the other beneficiaries, re financial dependency.

Question - when I decline the DoV, will the applicant be permitted to proceed to IA? I know they are allowed 6 months to contest under IA from Grant of Probate.
Question - noting your comment, as the executors are in support of the deceased's Will, is it fair comment that I can hand this all over to them if I am contacted either directly by the applicant or via their solicitor?

Many many thanks.

Your impression, thankfully, is incorrect. Any costs will be met by the estate which will mainly effect the residual beneficiaries or more likely by those doing the challenging when their case fails.

This sort of thing usually happens to residuary beneficiaries, and I honestly can't see how they could be successful against a specific legacy to someone else.

Yorkshireman99

Yankee1971 wrote: »

Noted - applicant financial dependency and testator lacking capacity - both not an issue.

I am under the impression, probably from myself, not necessarily from anyone else, that I, as a beneficiary will incur my own costs to defend this because the Will has 2 other beneficiaries which are not being contested by the applicant, just me. I know that the applicant has made this more difficult for themselves to contest the Will as they have not included the other beneficiaries, re financial dependency.

Question - when I decline the DoV, will the applicant be permitted to proceed to IA? I know they are allowed 6 months to contest under IA from Grant of Probate.
Question - noting your comment, as the executors are in support of the deceased's Will, is it fair comment that I can hand this all over to them if I am contacted either directly by the applicant or via their solicitor?

Many many thanks.

In which case then what grounds are they claiming? As the two main grounds do not apply then it is hard to see what they believe they have a case. As I said before just objecting your being a beneficiary can have no legal basis unless they claim you unduly influenced the testator. You don't have to even reply to the applicant or their solicitor. They will have to contact the executors. If they persist I would refer them to the case of Arkell v Pressdram.

TBagpuss

If you are contacted by the executors to say that the other person is requesting that you enter into a deed of variation then you simply respond to say "No, I have not agreed to a Deed of Variation and will not be agreeing to one".

If you are contacted by the other beneficiary then you respond to them, to say "No, I do not agree to a deed of variation. Please don't contact me again" and then send a copy of their query and your response to the executors with a note to say that you don't agree to any variation and will not be entering into any discussions with [name of person seeking to challenge the will], as of course the executors, not you, are responsible for administering the will in accordance with the estate.

If the person wishes to challenge the will then as others have said, the parties to that claim and them on the one part, and the estate (managed by the executors) on the other. Coasts for the estate to defend the claim would come out of the estate so it is the residuary beneficiaries who would ultimately lose out

Yankee1971

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Mojisola

Yankee1971 wrote: »

The applicant is claiming additional financial dependency from what is residual

Clearly I would like this resolved quickly and without incurring any costs to myself.

If you and the other two are being left a set amount then the only person whose inheritance will be reduced by a legal battle is the complainant.

If you three are being left a percentage of the total estate, you will all lose out.

There's no reason for you to pay out for anything - just follow the advice given in previous posts.

Yorkshireman99

Yankee1971 wrote: »

The applicant is claiming additional financial dependency from what is residual, however, it is of my understanding that the deceased had carefully calculated the dependent's financial costs before making the legacies. The applicant does not think they have been left financially secure enough, does not want me to receive a penny and to give this legacy back to the estate, however, the executors (and the deceased's solicitor) do not agree with that they are not financially secure. As I have already mentioned, the applicant is actually contradicting themselves as they do not have issue with the legacies made to the other 2 beneficiaries, just me.
Clearly I would like this resolved quickly and without incurring any costs to myself.

If the cliament has no issue with the other bequests then they are on an even bigger hiding to nothing. You really need to play hard ball with them. You, and the executors, are IMHO close to being harassed. It would not come amiss for a warning letter to this effect to be sent. The executorsbshould tell the solicitor they don't want any further contact and instruct him not to incur any more costs dealing with the idiot.