Drafted Will before divorce: Invalid?

poppystar

Is there a reason why you are not doing as the email suggested and submitting an intestacy application? If you and your sister are the sole beneficiaries and there is no new wife or other siblings would the outcome not be the same and so this would provide you with a straightforward way out of this. The form is no more difficult than the one you have filled in already - a bit of extra work but maybe easier than fighting with the probate people to get the Will admitted. 

Nilesprice

poppystar said:

Is there a reason why you are not doing as the email suggested and submitting an intestacy application? If you and your sister are the sole beneficiaries and there is no new wife or other siblings would the outcome not be the same and so this would provide you with a straightforward way out of this. The form is no more difficult than the one you have filled in already - a bit of extra work but maybe easier than fighting with the probate people to get the Will admitted. 

No, not at all. I will most likely start drafting it this weekend but I'm just trying to avoid the onslaught of 'we told you so' and further tension in the family. Doesn't make sense I know but that's family! 

Malthusian

"Since the deceased got divorced?" Really? I think someone done put too much on the work experience lad's plate like seriously.

As Marcon says, complaint time.

To underline it, "Since the deceased got divorced after the Will was drafted, we need to check if they made any other Wills as the Will submitted is legally invalid." is simply not true. The Will is valid, and treated as if the ex-spouse died at the date of divorce.

poppystar said:

Is there a reason why you are not doing as the email suggested and submitting an intestacy application?

Because the estate is not intestate? You are probably right that if intestacy and the Will have the same outcome there would be no consequences for going down the intestacy route, but I still wouldn't like to try it.

There is one very real reason not to just go down the intestacy route - because someone at the Probate Office needs retraining, fast, and if the OP doesn't call out their error, this will happen to someone else. Potentially with more serious consequences (i.e. if the bemused executor goes ahead and distributes the estate in line with intestacy and it doesn't have the same result as correctly executing the valid Will).

poppystar

Nilesprice said:

poppystar said:

Is there a reason why you are not doing as the email suggested and submitting an intestacy application? If you and your sister are the sole beneficiaries and there is no new wife or other siblings would the outcome not be the same and so this would provide you with a straightforward way out of this. The form is no more difficult than the one you have filled in already - a bit of extra work but maybe easier than fighting with the probate people to get the Will admitted. 

No, not at all. I will most likely start drafting it this weekend but I'm just trying to avoid the onslaught of 'we told you so' and further tension in the family. Doesn't make sense I know but that's family! 

Totally understand. I just know the angst of trying to deal with the Probate Office and fighting them and family at the same time might be very stressful! 

Keep_pedalling

Nilesprice said:

poppystar said:

Is there a reason why you are not doing as the email suggested and submitting an intestacy application? If you and your sister are the sole beneficiaries and there is no new wife or other siblings would the outcome not be the same and so this would provide you with a straightforward way out of this. The form is no more difficult than the one you have filled in already - a bit of extra work but maybe easier than fighting with the probate people to get the Will admitted. 

No, not at all. I will most likely start drafting it this weekend but I'm just trying to avoid the onslaught of 'we told you so' and further tension in the family. Doesn't make sense I know but that's family! 

If you don't tell them they will never know. 

Nilesprice

Keep_pedalling said:

Nilesprice said:

poppystar said:

Is there a reason why you are not doing as the email suggested and submitting an intestacy application? If you and your sister are the sole beneficiaries and there is no new wife or other siblings would the outcome not be the same and so this would provide you with a straightforward way out of this. The form is no more difficult than the one you have filled in already - a bit of extra work but maybe easier than fighting with the probate people to get the Will admitted. 

No, not at all. I will most likely start drafting it this weekend but I'm just trying to avoid the onslaught of 'we told you so' and further tension in the family. Doesn't make sense I know but that's family! 

If you don't tell them they will never know. 

Yeah, I've emailed them asking for the specific reason and law behind their decision and have included a snippet to the current law that deals with divorce and Will (For reference if anyone needs it  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/section/18A) . We shall see but I'll keep this thread updated on the outcome. 

Mildly related (to help anyone in the future), I have twice been told by the probate hotline that ex wives are legally entitled to inherit and act as executors if the Will was written whilst they were married. This is obviously untrue but I would take the probate hotline guidance with a big pinch of salt. I'm hoping the actual case workers are slightly more qualified.

Savvy_Sue

This is probably just me being picky, but the OP and the probate office both talk of this will being 'drafted' - I don't know what word I'd expect to be used once the will has been signed and witnessed (properly), but I'm assuming this will WAS properly signed and witnessed, rather than an actual 'draft' will? 

Malthusian

Nilesprice said:

Mildly related (to help anyone in the future), I have twice been told by the probate hotline that ex wives are legally entitled to inherit and act as executors if the Will was written whilst they were married. This is obviously untrue but I would take the probate hotline guidance with a big pinch of salt. I'm hoping the actual case workers are slightly more qualified.

Not only untrue, but a) it contradicts what most laypeople would intuitively assume to be true (that exes don't usually inherit); b) it is a fact that somebody working on a Probate Office hotline should be expected to get right, which elevates it to the level of "abject nonsense on a stick".

Further illustration of why a formal complaint is urgently needed so retraining can take place.

An ex-spouse can inherit if their ex writes their Will after the divorce. Which is unsual but far from impossible - e.g. an amicable divorce where Ex 1 still trusts Ex 2, Ex 1 and Ex 2 have minor children, Ex 1 has no other children or dependents, Ex 1 wants their money to ultimately go to their children but doesn't want them to potentially inherit the lot at 18 or 16, Ex 1 doesn't want to faff about with trusts. (A trust is something you put in place when you don't trust people - in this case Ex 1 trusts Ex 2 to not spend all the money and pass it to the children when they will make good use of it.)

Savvy_Sue said:

This is probably just me being picky, but the OP and the probate office both talk of this will being 'drafted' - I don't know what word I'd expect to be used once the will has been signed and witnessed (properly), but I'm assuming this will WAS properly signed and witnessed, rather than an actual 'draft' will? 

IME "drafting" is synonymous with "writing" when it comes to legal documents. It does not necessarily indicate "draft" in the sense of work in progress / unsigned. It's a bit of tribal professional jargon like how a policeman would "proceed" where everyone else would "go".

davilown

The Will isn’t invalid as a divorce acts as the wife or husband who would have inherited is classed as being dead. Therefore intestate is the correct course of action if no one else is mentioned in the will
https://www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/wills-trusts-estates/wills/guide/divorce

Mojisola

davilown said:

The Will is invalid as a divorce acts as the wife or husband who would have inherited is classed as being dead. Therefore intestate is the correct course of action.

The death of a named executor doesn't make a will invalid if there are replacement executors named; they take on the role and execute the will.

There are replacements named in this will who should be able to get probate.

(Correction: the other executors don't want to/can't do the job so the will doesn't stand)