frustrated and unsure of option

Yorkshireman99

SandraX wrote: »

Very helpful, useful post.

I'd also add that the OP takes notes if required and should there be a problem, contemperaneous notes go a long way.

Others have touched on this, did your dad not say anyhting to you re will?

Goodluck.

The OP should also note that the POA lapsed at death so there are no continuing powers.

Flugelhorn

tacpot12 wrote: »

One of the things that someone with Power of Attorney cannot do is amend the donor's will, so your farther would have had to have changed his will while he was fit to do so.

.

Very important point - POA is not always just for deteriorating mental function, it can be just because someone wants someone else to handle their affairs etc. However very often it is because someone's mental capacity is deteriorating.

Ask for the copy of the will (one the basis that "you won't be able to be there") and see what it says, if rewritten during the time of POA, have a look where and when it was done etc

pphillips

SandraX wrote: »

I'd also add that the OP takes notes if required and should there be a problem, contemperaneous notes go a long way..

If the will was drafted by a solicitor, these notes should include the testators ability to understand and appreciate the moral claims which he ought to have considered when making his will.

wkdboi

I attended the will reading and it was worse than I thought
The entire estate/pension/everything got left to my brother somewhere around £300,00 worth and I got a measly 2k he says in the will it was down to having a better relationship with my older brother.


But then me who doesnt own a home, doesnt have a car, doesnt have a wife and 2 kids.. gets nothing my brother owns his home, has a good job and is in a good place finacelly even better now

pphillips

wkdboi wrote: »

I attended the will reading and it was worse than I thought
The entire estate/pension/everything got left to my brother somewhere around £300,00 worth and I got a measly 2k he says in the will it was down to having a better relationship with my older brother.


But then me who doesnt own a home, doesnt have a car, doesnt have a wife and 2 kids.. gets nothing my brother owns his home, has a good job and is in a good place finacelly even better now

My advice is to speak to a solicitor about making a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 as you may be entitled to reasonable financial provision.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Your brother seems to have a particularly cruel streak wanting to deliver this news to you in public at this so called reading.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If he cared at all about your feelings, then surely he would have written to you with a copy of the will.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Others may have a comment about whether the will could be challenged.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Who was appointed executor of the will, your brother I would think?
[/FONT]

pphillips

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Your brother seems to have a particularly cruel streak wanting to deliver this news to you in public at this so called reading.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If he cared at all about your feelings, then surely he would have written to you with a copy of the will.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Others may have a comment about whether the will could be challenged.[/FONT]

Absolutely, a public reading of the will is completely unnecessary except for the brother's twisted enjoyment of the OP's misery.

It seems the will might be open to challenge on the basis that the prospective applicant is the child of the deceased and he was not left reasonable financial provision for his maintenance.

The court will take into account the following factors:
1. The financial resources and financial needs which the applicant has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future.
2. The financial resources and financial needs which any other applicant has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future.
3. The financial resources and financial needs which any beneficiary of the estate of the deceased has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future.
4. Any obligations and responsibilities which the deceased had towards any applicant, or towards any beneficiary of the estate of the deceased.
5. The size and nature of the net estate of the deceased.
6. Any physical or mental disability of any applicant or beneficiary of the estate of the deceased.
7. Any other matter, including the conduct of the applicant or any other person which in the circumstances of the case the court may consider relevant.

There is a time limit of 6 months from the date of grant of probate to make a claim

Yorkshireman99

wkdboi wrote: »

I attended the will reading and it was worse than I thought
The entire estate/pension/everything got left to my brother somewhere around £300,00 worth and I got a measly 2k he says in the will it was down to having a better relationship with my older brother.


But then me who doesnt own a home, doesnt have a car, doesnt have a wife and 2 kids.. gets nothing my brother owns his home, has a good job and is in a good place finacelly even better now

I am sorry to hear that. Unless you can prove, in court, beyond reasonable doubt that there was some skulduggery, or that your father did not have mental capacity then you are going to get nowhere. The other thing would be if you could prove financial dependence. There is no absolute right to inherit unlike some other jurisdiction.

Yorkshireman99

pphillips wrote: »

My advice is to speak to a solicitor about making a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 as you may be entitled to reasonable financial provision.

Unless the OP was financily dependent then a complete non starter and waste of money.

pphillips

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Unless the OP was financily dependent then a complete non starter and waste of money.

Financial dependency is not actually a requirement to make a successful claim, see the Supreme Court judgement in Ilott v the Blue Cross and others [2017] UKSC 17 which involved a lifelong estrangement.

According to this case the question is whether or not the will makes reasonable financial provision for the OP's maintenance in all the circumstances. A capital claim would not be appropriate, therefore any claim for the house would not be successful unless it was a life interest claim for the OP's maintenance. The OP cannot claim anything if they have their own independent finances and don't need maintenance. The expectation of the OP is irrelevant and the brother doesn't have to justify his entitlement.