Benificiary never told about will +

JDuck

Mojisola said:

JDuck said:

He couldn't read or write. Due to the stroke.

How did he sign the new will?

Exactly. I don't know. Maybe just scribble. My next step Is to wait till the solicitor asks for a copy of the will.

Sea_Shell

JDuck said:

Mojisola said:

JDuck said:

He couldn't read or write. Due to the stroke.

How did he sign the new will?

Exactly. I don't know. Maybe just scribble. My next step Is to wait till the solicitor asks for a copy of the will.

Hopefully you can also find out who the two witnesses were, if you don't already know.

As I understand it, they only have to witness the testator making "a mark", not sure it needs to be a recognised signature, as we'd know it.

NinjaTune

Sea_Shell said:

JDuck said:

Mojisola said:

JDuck said:

He couldn't read or write. Due to the stroke.

How did he sign the new will?

Exactly. I don't know. Maybe just scribble. My next step Is to wait till the solicitor asks for a copy of the will.

Hopefully you can also find out who the two witnesses were, if you don't already know.

As I understand it, they only have to witness the testator making "a mark", not sure it needs to be a recognised signature, as we'd know it.

That is correct, and if the person making the will cannot even make a mark then they can direct someone to sign it on their behalf.  There does need to be specific wording included in the will if they direct someone else to sign it though.  My ex did this as he was able to talk but had become paraplegic due to his condition.

Having a stroke does not, in itself, mean that a person lacks capacity to make their own decisions.  How they were able to communicate those decisions, however, could be up for debate under these circumstances.  If everything, or the lion's share, has been left to your sister then there is a possibility of coercion especially as the will was altered within 2 months of his passing.

Edited to add:  If your Dad couldn't read then he would not have been able to check the wording of his will himself.  He would have been reliant on someone to read it out to him - hopefully he had the cognitive ability at that point to understand the legalese being read to him.