Issue With Potentially Unsigned Will

Chao123

Hi All, bit of a long one

My Nan recently passed away leaving two london properties and some shares. Initially we had trouble finding her will and but eventually discovered a receipt for a document wallet held at Barclays. My Aunt her only surviving child initially tried to get access to the document wallet and the bank requested it but having seen the will inside refused to give her access without one of the named Executors present.

She returned with the executor and myself a few weeks later and we were allowed to inspect the contents in view of two bank staff before they withdrew the wallet and sent it on to their bereavement team. the wallet had two copies of my nan's will and i took a photo of one copy so we all knew what went to who.

The issue is my aunt who was not mentioned as a beneficiary has taken the photo to her lawyer and wants to contest the validity of the will as it does not appear to be signed. She claims that when this will was made in 2014 she and nan had a disagreement and have since made up with nan stating she updated her will.

My questions are this:
1) is the will unsigned? i have included a picture(edit: i cant seem to post a picture) with last names and addresses omitted. It says signed by ... but there isnt a handwritten signature.

2) If it is unsigned is it entirely invalid? The will was in a document wallet held by the bank which nan deposited, along with deeds (land registry) to both properties and other related documents. Surely this points to it being intended as a legal will?

3) Am i correct in thinking as my aunt is nan's sole surviving child (my dad died when i was young) she and i will split the entire estate if the will is rejected and it becomes intestate? I do not want this outcome as nan clearly intended it differently but i would like to know where i stand.

4) Oke is stated as nan's son on the will but he was adopted in nigeria (unclear if legal or figurative) will he also be considered if the will goes to intestate.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you,


P.S. My nan repeatedly said to me she did not intend to leave anything to my aunty Joyce as she is old fashioned and believed my aunt should be provided for by her husbands family. The will also seems to match up with what she said to both myself and the executor prior to her death.

Chao123

Ahh i cant seem to post the pic as i'm too knew of a user. Can any moderators help with this?

Tom99

A will which is not signed and/or does not have two witness signatures will not be valid.
Could the signed original be stored elsewhere?
The estate will be shared between your grandmother's children equally, including legally adopted children.
Not sure about being adopted abroad though.

Chao123

It has the two witness signatures for sure but dont think it has my nan's .

Tom99

Chao123 wrote: »

It has the two witness signatures for sure but don't think it has my nan's .

That would be strange because they are meant to be witnessing your nan's signature.

paddy's_mum

I too wonder if these are draft copies of an original. Does the copy will say who the witnesses are? Often, the witnesses to a will work for the solicitor who drew it up and perhaps has the valid original safely stored in their vault.

If you know who your Nan most often used to carry out her legal work, it might be worth a phone call to check what information they may have.

xylophone

Does the will show the name of the solicitor/ the firm who drafted it?

If so, enquire whether the original signed will is held with them.

If a signed will cannot be found and you need to go down the intestacy route, see

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

Mojisola

Chao123 wrote: »

4) Oke is stated as nan's son on the will but he was adopted in nigeria (unclear if legal or figurative) will he also be considered if the will goes to intestate.

If the adoption was done legally, he would be regarded the same as a genetic child and entitled to an equal share.

If it was an informal agreement, he wouldn't be entitled to anything under the intestacy rules. As he is named as a son in the will, he could try challenging the division as Nan obviously thought of him as a son.

The beneficiaries could share their inheritance with him if they wanted to.

Flugelhorn

my grandmother failed to sign her will, jhowever the witnesses signed the paper, though goodness knows what they thought they were doing! There were 5 children, she left everything to one (he had lived with her and looked after her and basically paid all the bills for years, the estate was tiny - so the will was very fair) . Solicitor relly drew up deed signed by all the children to the effect that they agreed that this unisgned document was her true wishes.

MovingForwards

Is there any mark around where the signature clause is?

As a will doesn't have to be signed if they are unable to write, an X or other mark is sufficient.