Will question

tazwhoever

It seems the surviving partner has given the estate to her children apart from one. The one who is distanced from the surviving parent and his siblings. 

The one believes the estate should be given equally between the children but it hasn't. 

Can the one who has no paperwork, sees the will online or through solicitor, without the family know? 

If yes, what is procedure? 

Put simply, it's like the parents giving to charities and not to the child. 

Thanks

p00hsticks

If probate was required and has been obtained, then the will is public knowledge and anyone can buy a copy to see what's in it.

https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

but if there was no need for probate then as far as I'm aware there is no obligation for the contents of any will to be made public

Which country are we talking about here ?

In Scotland I believe that there is some automatic right for children to inherit from parents, but I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of it.

naedanger

Was there a will?
Which country did the deceased live in?
Was the surviving partner married to the deceased when they died? (This is relevant if there was no will.)

The legal position is broadly that the estate should be distributed in accordance with the Will if there was one otherwise it should be distributed according to the intestate rules, which depend on the country the deceased lived in.

And in Scotland (but not England and Wales) the children and surviving spouse can, if they wish, claim certain rights instead of what, if anything, was left to them in the Will.

tazwhoever

The couple were married and had children, the deceased died in England. Yes, there was a will. All the children were included in the will when the will was made but before deceased died it SEEMS the will excluded one of the children. This child also has own family. Therefore, asking if the child can find out if child is included without the external family finding out. 

Robin9

tazwhoever said:

The couple were married and had children, the deceased died in England. Yes, there was a will. All the children were included in the will when the will was made but before deceased died it SEEMS the will excluded one of the children. This child also has own family. Therefore, asking if the child can find out if child is included without the external family finding out. 

See p00sticks above.
It could be that the child was specifically excluded or a badly written will  eg the child hadn't been born at the time of the will.

naedanger

tazwhoever said:

The couple were married and had children, the deceased died in England. Yes, there was a will. All the children were included in the will when the will was made but before deceased died it SEEMS the will excluded one of the children. This child also has own family. Therefore, asking if the child can find out if child is included without the external family finding out. 

As the deceased lived in England and there was a Will, then it is in general perfectly possible for a child and their offspring to be completely excluded from inheriting anything.

If the estate went to probate then anyone can obtain a copy of the Will - see link p00hsticks has given. Whether probate would have been obtained is likely to depend on the amount and type of assets the deceased held. 

If probate has not been obtained I don't think there is a way the excluded child can find out the contents of the Will without the family finding out. If they knew the name of the solicitors who handled the estate then they could speak to them but I  don't think they would provide any help or new information without first speaking to the executor who is likely to speak to the family or be a family member.

CookieMonster

tazwhoever said:

It seems the surviving partner has given the estate to her children apart from one. The one who is distanced from the surviving parent and his siblings. 
Sounds like a reason to exclude from the will.
The one believes the estate should be given equally between the children but it hasn't. 
Irrelevant
Can the one who has no paperwork, sees the will online or through solicitor, without the family know? 
Unlikely/No
If yes, what is procedure? 
They can challenge the will, openly. They'll probably be shown a copy then.
Put simply, it's like the parents giving to charities and not to the child. 
The Parents can do as they wish with their estate
Thanks
If you believe that the terms of the dead person's will are being corrupted, raise a legal challenge.

Hope this helps.

TBagpuss

"Put simply, it's like the parents giving to charities and not to the child"

Well, not really, if what they have actually done is to leave their estate to those of their family they were on good terms with and exclude one they were estranged from, it's different than if they excluded all family and left it to charities. It would be harder for the excluded family member to challenge the will, as if a will is challenged the court has to consider the impact on the other beneficiaries.

You refer to 'surviving partner' I assume that you mean that one parent died, leaving their estate to their spouse, and that the second parent then changed their will to exclude one child and has now also died. If that is correct, then as  others have said, you / excluded child can apply for a copy of the will if probate has been granted .

However, if probate was not required they cannot get hold of a copy of the will anonymously but could request a copy from the executors, and assuming that their concerns is to check that what they have been told is right, and they they have been excluded, it's likely that the remaining beneficiaries would see it as being in their own interests to provide a copy so they the excluded child can see that they have told the truth.