Unsigned Will

squibbs25

Hi all,
A family friends mum sadly passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly 3 weeks ago, he was named along with his sibling as co executor (he received a letter from the will writing company last year Confirming he was executor).
When he rang the will writing company to inform of his mothers passing he was told to send ID and death certificate to them for them to send him the will.
A few days later he received a call from the company to say that his step dad was in fact the executor and he now has no right to see the will. Step dad is doing everything as a widower when they had divorced over 20 years but still lived together although having separate bedrooms.
The death certificate wrongly shows the mum as married and not divorced.
As of yesterday my friends stepdad has announced the will was unsigned so therefore null and void.
This is where it gets messy.
The will originally left a 50% share of a house to him and the other 50% to his sibling. According to the land registry the house is registered in names of parents as joint tenants (unless tenants in common does not show up on the downloadable deeds anymore)
There has been an almost non-exhistant relationship between my friend and his step dad until 3-4 years ago, his sibling is the biological child of both parents.
As the stepdad is now saying the will is invalid, where does that leave my friend?
As far as his mum was concerned she had provided for her children in the event of her death.
I think they didn’t plan for her to go first Thinking the step dad would pass first!

My friend is not a gold digger, he just wants to honour his mums wishes. The step dad seems against him at every move. The sibling will not hear a word against the dad.

Can the will even though unsinged be distributed as to her wishes or is the estate now intestate (as i believe it is if the will is unsigned).
The will was written approx 14 months ago.
Please can someone offer some advice?

Also does he have a legal obligation to inform the registry office that the death has been incorrectly registered?

The step dad has started parting with the deceased belongings with no record or what has been given to whom.

Is it correct my friend is NOK as she was divorced.

Sorry for the long post, your guys are always so helpful i wondered if you could shed some light on this sad situation.
Thanks for reading.

BrassicWoman

If they were joint tenants, dad gets the house, no debate


See here for intestacy laws - I think if divorced any other assets go to the kids



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


If the estate is small however it is not worth the effort of a court case. I would ask stepdad if they can have some keepsakes and move on.

squibbs25

Thank you Brassic Woman, you agree with me that the estate is intestate without a signed will.
My father has got involved (without any understanding of how wills and probate or intestacy works) other than what he has (wrongly) read on the internet.
He has told our friend that he can distribute the estate as executors as if the will is signed. I’m pulling my hair out with my father giving this wrong information.

Owain_Moneysaver

If the Will of 14 months ago was not signed, there may be a previous Will (possibly years old) which has not been revoked and is therefore still valid. Any executor appointed in that Will would also remain as the executor.

Also, is friend absolutely sure that mum was divorced from stepdad?

If there are any assets of value in the estate then your friend should probably see a solicitor to safeguard his position.

squibbs25

Yes definitely divorced, my suggestion to him was that maybe they remarried in secret but any internet searches so far are coming back blank.

There is something that doesn’t sound right about any of this.
I did wonder if the stepdad has said it was unsigned so that he can quietly do what needs to be done without the stress of everyone asking him questions.
It just seem strange that he is so unapproachable to having my friend involved. It has made my friend more suspicious of his behaviour.
Especially by giving away her personal possessions to neighbours and friends, my friend has received nothing and his wife was very close to the mum in law. Even a pretty scarf would mean something to them.
The step dad will not entertain a conversation about any of her belongings with him.

unforeseen

Since, from the information supplied, the mother was divorced (from step dad? A little bit unclear there) and died intestate then the son should get letters of administration himself and deal with the estate.

The only thing the step dad gets is the house if it was owned as joint tenants. He has no call on anything else

squibbs25

Hi unforeseen , you are correct, the mum and stepdad divorced 20+ years ago. They bought the house after the divorce from what i can understand, both lived in it.
The also share a joint account - it is unknown if she held any accounts solely.
I understand that the stepdad will get the house and told my friend i believe this to be the case.
How does he get letters of administration when the stepdad is carrying out all the duties.
My friend has no access to any of her information, is totally lost and doesn’t know what to do for the best.
Is it usual for a will company write to an executor to inform them they have been named if the will is not signed, surely that would only happen if the will was valid?

SeniorSam

I very much doubt that an unsigned Will would be stored by the Will Writing company. They make their money by getting Wills signed and stored. Check with them as a scanned copy can confirm if a signature was on the Will.

Robin9

squibbs25 wrote: »

The death certificate wrongly shows the mum as married and not divorced.

If the death certificate is wrong it needs to be corrected - who registered the death ?

Brynsam

squibbs25 wrote: »

Thank you Brassic Woman, you agree with me that the estate is intestate without a signed will.
My father has got involved (without any understanding of how wills and probate or intestacy works) other than what he has (wrongly) read on the internet.
He has told our friend that he can distribute the estate as executors as if the will is signed. I’m pulling my hair out with my father giving this wrong information.

Pulling your hair out when this is actually not your problem at all....perhaps take a step back and think again about how best to help your friend. Seeking advice from strangers who have few facts (as indeed do you) isn't likely to resolve anything. Suggest he books a fixed-fee appointment with a solicitor (preferably a STEP member) and gets some proper advice, based on as many facts as he can muster.

TonyMMM

As far as the death certificate goes the crucial issue is who was the informant (i.e. the person who registered the death) ? An ex-husband is not qualified to register her death unless he was actually present when she died.

The other question is was there ever actually a divorce , or did they just give that impression.

Lying to a registrar when registering a birth/death or marriage is a specific offence of perjury.