Grandmother died Intestate. Aunt says she's the ONLY inheritor. Do I need a lawyer?

Sea_Shell

Neruda said:

Chao123 said:

p00hsticks said:

So potentially there is a third possible beneficiary apart from you and your aunt ?

Is the (possibly) adopted son still alive, or if not do they have offspring of their own ?

If the adoption is legally recognised then the intestacy rules say they should be treated as if they were a biological child.

Potentially. He is alive and lives in Nigeria but I am 99% sure my grandmother didn't legally adopt him in Nigeria she simply called him her son and treated him as such during her yearly trips back home to Nigeria. I'm 100% sure he wasn't adopted in the UK.

Was the adoption formalised according to the law in Nigeria? If so he would have a watertight claim to his share of the estate.

Furthermore, if you have reason to believe that the adoption was real according to local custom then giving him his share of the estate is undoubtedly the right thing to do.

If that is the case, I'd recommend that the Aunt doesn't send money to Nigeria from an account she doesn't want to have frozen!!

What can of worms might that open?

Mojisola

As well as giving you your father's share, the executor also has a legal duty to resolve the 'adopted or not' issue of the other 'son'.

How that works out will depend on whether the estate is split into halves or thirds.

Flugelhorn

Just imagining you doing a DNA test, the query would be who would be used as a match - you need  a descendant of Gran's and that would .. auntie? Would be complicated.

Chao123

Hi All,

I contacted him last night and he said it wasn't an official adoption so I don't need to worry on that score. 

I haven't heard any more from the lawyer and as I said my aunt is keeping quiet. Is it worth pushing them for updates fairly regularly? My wife and best friend reckon I should be making myself heard every 24 hrs but I still sort of hope this doesn't become an all out war (if it isn't already) and think this would come across antagonistic.

As regards to the DNA test, it is an awkward one. Prior to all this I would have said I have a really good relationship with my cousins (her children) but I don't know if that's true anymore and would I pull them into this by requesting DNA from one of them? I think I'd ask my aunt and if necessary use the courts to induce her to cooperate.

RedMonty

Chao123 said:

Hi All,

I contacted him last night and he said it wasn't an official adoption so I don't need to worry on that score. 

I haven't heard any more from the lawyer and as I said my aunt is keeping quiet. Is it worth pushing them for updates fairly regularly? My wife and best friend reckon I should be making myself heard every 24 hrs but I still sort of hope this doesn't become an all out war (if it isn't already) and think this would come across antagonistic.

As regards to the DNA test, it is an awkward one. Prior to all this I would have said I have a really good relationship with my cousins (her children) but I don't know if that's true anymore and would I pull them into this by requesting DNA from one of them? I think I'd ask my aunt and if necessary use the courts to induce her to cooperate.

It looks like the lawyer is doing the right thing by you by asking for family trees etc.  Probate is a slow business, and every time you contact the lawyer, he will add the cost of his time to his invoice, which will be taken first from the estate before anyone else gets their share.  I would wait a week, and contact on a weekly basis if no reply. 

I wouldn't worry too much about the DNA test right now. Wait and see how that goes. You're on the right track. 

I have a moral concern about the Nigerian guy though. It looks like he was someone your Gran valued. What might be a rather small amount to you could be a life-changing amount for him and his community. How does the lawyer know it wasn't an official adaption in Nigeria?  Is he relying on what your aunt told him?  I don't need to know, but these are questions for you to consider. 

It does looks like the Nigerian guy is out of the picture for now, but I suggest thinking about donating a small part of your money to him / his community and inviting your aunt to match it. No need to make a firm commitment right now or tell him anything - wait for things to settle down first and become clearer.  If you have a copy of the invalid will then you will have some idea of what your aunt's wishes were for him. It could be money for his kids to go to school or some other community benefit.  

Grumpy_chap

Chao123 said:

My grandmother died two years ago now and following difficulty her will (which excluded my aunt) was judged to be invalid.

My aunt then submit a probate application and was granted letters of administration to handle the estate.
she said the estate is using intestate rules and as she is next of kin (only surviving child) she inherits the whole lot but has decided to give me some as that's what my nan wanted.

My issue is from what I've read as the only surviving child of my deceased father I should be entitled to my father's share splitting my nan's inheritance in half with my aunt. 

There seem to be a number of things going on here, though they all boil down to the Aunt attempting to claim everything.

The Will has been deemed invalid (possibly because it was not signed)

The assumption has therefore been made that the estate is intestate.  The Aunt is administering the estate and seems to have mis-understood the rules if intestacy.

Is the leap from the invalid Will to intestacy correct?  Is there an earlier Will that would remain in force if not revoked by the later Will that has now been assessed as invalid?

TBagpuss

Chao123 said:

Hi All,

I contacted him last night and he said it wasn't an official adoption so I don't need to worry on that score. 

I haven't heard any more from the lawyer and as I said my aunt is keeping quiet. Is it worth pushing them for updates fairly regularly? My wife and best friend reckon I should be making myself heard every 24 hrs but I still sort of hope this doesn't become an all out war (if it isn't already) and think this would come across antagonistic.

As regards to the DNA test, it is an awkward one. Prior to all this I would have said I have a really good relationship with my cousins (her children) but I don't know if that's true anymore and would I pull them into this by requesting DNA from one of them? I think I'd ask my aunt and if necessary use the courts to induce her to cooperate.

I wouldn't be chasing every 24 hours. 

I am not sure when you sent the paperwork / family tree but I would give them at least 3 weeks before you chase. 

Regarding DNA - no one can compel you aunt or cousins to give a DNA sample for this purpose but if she refused, then in any court proceedings relating to your claim a court could chose to draw inferences from her refusal.

(It's like DNA tests to determine parentage. A possible father can't be forced to give a sample, but if he is claiming he is not the father but refuses to give a sample to allow that to be proved, then a court is entitled to draw the conclusion that, on the balance of probabilities, it is more likely than not that he is the father and his reason for refusing it that he knows the test will show that.)

I suspect that if aunt previously claimed to be the only survivor, the solicitor will now want to be extremely cautious to ensure that all potential beneficiaries are identified so the estate is correctly distributed.