Contesting a Will as Next-of-Kin

RomfordNavy

Pollycat said:

Do you have proof that you can produce if required that this pressure actually happened?
If not, I would edit/delete any post that may land you in trouble if you can be identified from what you have posted here.

Please don't waste my time with such tedious irrelevance, I have enough problems to sortt out here without that sort of infantile attitude.
If I had named individuals of an individual organisation then perhaps you could consider that as defamation but I deliberately have not.

RomfordNavy

Manxman_in_exile said:

But you specifically said that the family friend who arranged the solicitor had been asked to be an executor?

You posted this at 6:43pm on 05 August (sorry - can't quote from different pages so that is why I have given date and time - to allow you to find the quote):

"...A close friend arranged the Solicitors to visit to do the will as the deceased was apparently being pressurised by the Nurses to get a Will done.  This close friend by the way was not gifted anything in the Will but was listed as a reserve Executor.  Seems strange to ask someone to be an Executor but give them nothing for their trouble...".

Semantics, guess I should have said "Seems strange to list someone as an Executor".  Is that better.

RomfordNavy

Manxman_in_exile said:

RomfordNavy said:

No the family do not consider the friend responsible, if you understood and appreciated the whole position and surrounding situations then you might understand why.

...

But I agree with you that I can understand somebody renouncing an executorship that they did not know about.  But you said they'd been asked to be executor...

That was my typing error, that person was not asked.

BooJewels

I don't think @Pollycat was being infantile, I think she was pointing out that your posting here could potentially cause you trouble (I know of someone who lost their job for defaming their boss on a totally un-related forum to their career) - both on the forum and the wider world. 

Nor do I think she was suggesting that you post names here - but would you be able to produce them if required in court - which you would need to, in order have any sort of chance with the very legal challenge you're asking about.  The very first reply here said exactly that.

RomfordNavy

cymruchris said:

Due to a historical family issue, a family member was not included, and to ensure clarity if contested, he added a letter of supporting information to outline why he'd made the decision which was stored with the will. The letter in itself doesn't have any legal binding as the will does, but should it be contested (I don't know yet whether it will) then there'll be sufficient supporting evidence to be absolutely clear why the decision was taken.

Yes, it is called a Letter of Wills.  I don't believe there is one otherwise the Solicitor would have provided a copy.  If you had not wanted to give someone much a meticulous person, like the deceased, would have perhaps left each £1 for clarity.

cymruchris

RomfordNavy said:

cymruchris said:

Due to a historical family issue, a family member was not included, and to ensure clarity if contested, he added a letter of supporting information to outline why he'd made the decision which was stored with the will. The letter in itself doesn't have any legal binding as the will does, but should it be contested (I don't know yet whether it will) then there'll be sufficient supporting evidence to be absolutely clear why the decision was taken.

Yes, it is called a Letter of Wills.  I don't believe there is one otherwise the Solicitor would have provided a copy.  If you had not wanted to give someone much a meticulous person, like the deceased, would have perhaps left each £1 for clarity.

My dad left an instruction that the presence of the letter should only be revealed and produced in the event of the will being contested. If the will is administered as per his wishes, I imagine the letter will be destroyed. Therefore there is a possibility that a letter exists. There's no harm to double-check if you haven't done so already. I know it exists, as I was here when he gave it to the solicitor, but the person excluded from the will doesn't yet know of its existence. 

Pollycat

RomfordNavy said:

Pollycat said:

Do you have proof that you can produce if required that this pressure actually happened?
If not, I would edit/delete any post that may land you in trouble if you can be identified from what you have posted here.

Please don't waste my time with such tedious irrelevance, I have enough problems to sortt out here without that sort of infantile attitude.
If I had named individuals of an individual organisation then perhaps you could consider that as defamation but I deliberately have not.

BooJewels said:

I don't think @Pollycat was being infantile, I think she was pointing out that your posting here could potentially cause you trouble (I know of someone who lost their job for defaming their boss on a totally un-related forum to their career) - both on the forum and the wider world. 

Nor do I think she was suggesting that you post names here - but would you be able to produce them if required in court - which you would need to, in order have any sort of chance with the very legal challenge you're asking about.  The very first reply here said exactly that.

Thank you, Boojewels, for understanding where I was coming from.
The OP clearly hasn't read or understood MSE rules so I will leave him/her to it.

Manxman_in_exile

RomfordNavy said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

But you specifically said that the family friend who arranged the solicitor had been asked to be an executor?

You posted this at 6:43pm on 05 August (sorry - can't quote from different pages so that is why I have given date and time - to allow you to find the quote):

"...A close friend arranged the Solicitors to visit to do the will as the deceased was apparently being pressurised by the Nurses to get a Will done.  This close friend by the way was not gifted anything in the Will but was listed as a reserve Executor.  Seems strange to ask someone to be an Executor but give them nothing for their trouble...".

Semantics, guess I should have said "Seems strange to list someone as an Executor".  Is that better.

I'm sorry, but it isn't just semantics. 

You've complained - rightly or wrongly - about the tone of some of the replies here, but the only thing other posters have to go on is what you post yourself.  If you say something like "it seems strange to ask someone... " when what you actually mean is "it seems strange to appoint someone without asking them... " then it is hardly surprising that other people get confused and keep asking for clarification - sometimes with an air of exasperation.

As I think has already been suggested, if you know who the beneficiaries are and the two executors have renounced and no-one else wants to take on the job of executing the will, I don't think there is anything to prevent you from simply contacting the benficiaries and explaining to them everything that has happened.  You can also say that you (or the rest of the family) want to arrange the funeral and can the benficiaries confirm that they will agree to pay funeral costs out of the estate.  I can't see that they could reasonably refuse.  (I'm not 100% sure, but if they take the estate over I think they may have a duty to pay for the funeral anyway?)  You could also try pointing out that the "friend" should also be refunded the costs of arranging the will that ended up benefitting the charities in question.

If you or anybody else wants to challenge the will you'll probably have to find a solicitor that specialises in contentious probate.  See if any local solicitor's firms will give you half an hours free advice before going further.  (You could also try asking them what to do about the funeral and how to approach the beneficiaries).  It will almost certainly be expensive to contest and will carry no guarantee of success.  If your only ground for challenging the will is that you were "Next of Kin" but were left nothing in the will, then I'd have thought any challenge is almost certainly doomed to fail.  Despite what you may think, NoK means absolutely nothing except that it's the person to contact if something goes wrong in hospital.  Being NoK does not carry any entitlement to anything.  As others have said, if you want to argue undue influence you will have to provide evidence to support it.  

If nobody else (including you) is going to do anything, I honestly think the best thing you can do is contact the beneficiaries and inform them of the situation.  I'd also liaise with the hospice and/or funeral directors as your cousin's remains can't be left indefinitely.  Or at least I presume they can't.

It's a horrible situation to be in, but good luck.

74jax

RomfordNavy said:

Pollycat said:

Do you have proof that you can produce if required that this pressure actually happened?
If not, I would edit/delete any post that may land you in trouble if you can be identified from what you have posted here.

Please don't waste my time with such tedious irrelevance, I have enough problems to sortt out here without that sort of infantile attitude.
If I had named individuals of an individual organisation then perhaps you could consider that as defamation but I deliberately have not.

As your post has gone on, there's so many twists and turns I'm not even sure you are aware of the facts.

Your attitude to posters trying to help you with putting together a claim is apawling.  Try paying for legal advice and see how that turns out. 

Throwing your toys out of your pram and letting a close loved relative lie in a funeral home morgue rather than arrange a burial because you weren't left anything is up there with one of the strangest posts I've read.

EDITED TO ADD the forum rules guide.  If you are new it's useful to read. There's a section on the  legal aspect that Pollycat was talking about. It might help understand a little of what you can and can't post. 


https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/site/forum-faqs/?_ga=2.161060852.817006482.1612306654-1050174610.1524670890 

74jax

RomfordNavy said:RomfordNavy said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

But you specifically said that the family friend who arranged the solicitor had been asked to be an executor?

You posted this at 6:43pm on 05 August (sorry - can't quote from different pages so that is why I have given date and time - to allow you to find the quote):

"...A close friend arranged the Solicitors to visit to do the will as the deceased was apparently being pressurised by the Nurses to get a Will done.  This close friend by the way was not gifted anything in the Will but was listed as a reserve Executor.  Seems strange to ask someone to be an Executor but give them nothing for their trouble...".

Semantics, guess I should have said "Seems strange to list someone as an Executor".  Is that better.

Manxman_in_exile said:

But you specifically said that the family friend who arranged the solicitor had been asked to be an executor?

You posted this at 6:43pm on 05 August (sorry - can't quote from different pages so that is why I have given date and time - to allow you to find the quote):

"...A close friend arranged the Solicitors to visit to do the will as the deceased was apparently being pressurised by the Nurses to get a Will done.  This close friend by the way was not gifted anything in the Will but was listed as a reserve Executor.  Seems strange to ask someone to be an Executor but give them nothing for their trouble...".

Semantics, guess I should have said "Seems strange to list someone as an Executor".  Is that better.

We have no idea if that's 'better' or not.

Is it the facts?

If so then yes, facts are better than making something up, obviously.