Told father didn't leave will? How do I find out if he did?

theoretica

p1psqueak said:

Marcon said:

I wonder why you're enquiring now, several decades after the event. Has something come to light to make you question matters?

Yes.

I'm enquiring now, several decades after the event, because a friend's mother has recently died - 22 years after her father died- and her solicitor is asking to see her father's will to "prove" he left her mother his half of his estate. As you have mentioned, my mother would automatically inherit my father's half of his estate when he died in 2000. This is what I've always believed. Now my friend telling me this has made me doubt everything, hence my question.

I agree - this sounds like a solicitor working out the transfer of inheritance tax - and if there is a will to see it will make that simple, but if there isn't it won't be the only way of going about things.  Just the first and easiest thing for the solicitor to ask.

TBagpuss

Yes, as others have said, it's most likely an IHT issue. You do also get situations where there was a will but no one applied for probate because they didn't think it was necessary - it's not uncommon, particularly where the first will leave the property to the other or gives them a life interest, and it only becomes a practical problem when the second owner dies or wants to sell the property .

Flugelhorn

My father died at about that time too - he left a will and it is still sitting in the filing cabinet here.

It was not needed as the house he and my mother lived in was jointly owned and all other assets were left to her anyway, his own personal finances (as opposed to joint) were small and did not require any further documentation to access them, hence never went to probate .

this is quite a frequent occurrence for married couples with probate only being needed on the death of the second