Believe Relative's Will Changed Illegally

macman

Who witnessed the amendment to the will?

darenmatthews

It seems to have been witnessed by a solicitor and solicitors clerk.

darenmatthews

marliepanda wrote: »

Agreed, therefore why are people ‘happy’ for contact to stop, stop attempting to physically visit but become ‘unhappy’ when they don’t get their inheritance.

Our family certainly was not happy when my uncle refused to talk to anyone in the family. We still do not know why. The "inheritance" that my mother looked for was her departed sister's belongings and memorabilia.

SevenOfNine

Sounds like distance kept the family from managing regular visits, & who can say, perhaps the neighbour who eventually inherited fostered the estrangement, rejection & ill feeling uncle displayed towards family.

At least the solicitor would have been confident about Uncle's mental competency to change his will, so not DiY or a will writing company. Fair or otherwise, it's done & can't be undone.

Perhaps you could write to the beneficiary & ask if, by chance, they have anything of sentimental value they could let your mum have which was once her sisters.

Good luck.

Yorkshireman99

darenmatthews wrote: »

It seems to have been witnessed by a solicitor and solicitors clerk.

In which case the whole story sounds as if the testator did what he wished and whatever the details the family have no legal claim.

seven-day-weekend

Yes I agree with the above. It seems that the deceased, for whatever reason, wanted nothing to do with his family and made his will quite legally, leaving everything to someone else.

konark

It may well be that he hated his family so much he left all his estate to a neighbour who had showed him some act of kindness.


But there's also a more sinister explanation.


How could someone with advanced dementia, who didn't even recognise his own family, be capable of amending a will. Surely a solicitor would have assessed his mental state. And by 'amending' I mean completely changing it, executors, beneficiaries and all, surely the solicitor would have suggested simply ripping it up and making a new one.


Why was the house put up for sale in March but the amendment not done until May?


How did your sister manage to get a copy of a will for a distant relative when she is neither executor nor beneficiary when probate hasn't been registered.?


If you believe your uncle was not mentally fit to change his will you could gather evidence to contest it from social workers , doctors, neighbours etc.It is not an easy process but leaving your entire estate to a virtual stranger is the sign of someone who doesn't have all his chairs at home.



Have you asked his immediate neighbours about his relationship with the beneficiary?


Are you sure it actually was a solicitor that witnessed the will? Is their stamp on it? Have you confirmed with the solicitors?

marliepanda

The only strangers at this point in his life was the members of his family, who were family by marriage only at this point.

Again, it hasn!!!8217;t been answered how long before his death contact stopped. How can someone come along after not visiting someone for so long to argue that this must have been done by coersion.

darenmatthews

konark wrote: »

It may well be that he hated his family so much he left all his estate to a neighbour who had showed him some act of kindness.


But there's also a more sinister explanation.


How could someone with advanced dementia, who didn't even recognise his own family, be capable of amending a will. Surely a solicitor would have assessed his mental state. And by 'amending' I mean completely changing it, executors, beneficiaries and all, surely the solicitor would have suggested simply ripping it up and making a new one.


Why was the house put up for sale in March but the amendment not done until May?


How did your sister manage to get a copy of a will for a distant relative when she is neither executor nor beneficiary when probate hasn't been registered.?


If you believe your uncle was not mentally fit to change his will you could gather evidence to contest it from social workers , doctors, neighbours etc.It is not an easy process but leaving your entire estate to a virtual stranger is the sign of someone who doesn't have all his chairs at home.



Have you asked his immediate neighbours about his relationship with the beneficiary?


Are you sure it actually was a solicitor that witnessed the will? Is their stamp on it? Have you confirmed with the solicitors?

Thank you. I agree though that this would be a very difficult process and our family did discuss this. We (mainly my sister and I) concentrated on assuaging my mothers sadness about losing her sisters belongings.

darenmatthews

marliepanda wrote: »

The only strangers at this point in his life was the members of his family, who were family by marriage only at this point.

Again, it hasn!!!8217;t been answered how long before his death contact stopped. How can someone come along after not visiting someone for so long to argue that this must have been done by coersion.

I think you miss the point and my reply to you here is going to be frank. We did used to regularly visit him. My sister, my mother and myself. His mind deteriorated to the extent that he made sexual advances towards my sister, then killed his own cat with a golf club, punched a neighbour and then told my sisters daughter to "f*** off out of his house" during a visit, we tried our best to help him. Do you think this is someone with a sound mind? I'd be grateful if you could post something helpful.