Claim to absent fathers will

duesouthtwin2

Not sure if I can explain this very well but;
my parents had a bad divorce when I was 5 years old. I am a twin and my sister and I grew up in an unstable, abusive household with our mother but we eventually escaped to university at age 18 and have been financially independent since. My mum is in council housing, on benefits and we won’t inherit anything from her. Our father has mostly been absent and uncaring in our lives with no regular contact, a history of violence towards us etc. He basically left us when we were small and then took on another woman with young children and raised them. She died 2 years ago from what I hear but still has 3 adult children that my father takes care of. My query is that when my father dies what happens with a will/inheritance etc? I assumed my sister and I would get nothing from him but a solicitor acquaintance said that we could challenge any will. It’s never crossed our minds until now so we have no idea.

Flugelhorn

depends if he makes a will and who he leaves that to, if it is not you and you are not dependent on him them unlikely to be able to get anything from it - if he dies intestate then you and your sister would inherit (and also his stepchildren if he legally adopted them) 

duesouthtwin2

Intestate? Sorry - newbie to this. As far as I know he never legally adopted the kids. He own the house etc outright but they all just lived there growing up. 

comeandgo

Which country are you in?  Scottish children always have rights to moveable estate, even with a will.

duesouthtwin2

I’m in England now but we are Scottish and he is still in Scotland 

Linton

duesouthtwin2 said:

Intestate? Sorry - newbie to this. As far as I know he never legally adopted the kids. He own the house etc outright but they all just lived there growing up. 

He dies without leaving a will.  In that case default rules of inheritance apply.

duesouthtwin2

I guess I’m just wondering- never had anything from him, no CSA growing up etc - but another family benefited from his £££ and it will be sad if his grandchildren get nothing but another family inherits. 

Flugelhorn

duesouthtwin2 said:

I’m in England now but we are Scottish and he is still in Scotland 

Good point, in Scotland the rights are different: 

"

What are the legal rights of spouse and civil partners in Scotland?

The legal rights of a spouse/civil partner are either:

• one half of the moveable estate if there are no surviving children
• one third if there are surviving children

Spouses/civil partners who are separated will still be able to claim legal rights until divorce, or until their legal rights are discharged via a Separation Agreement.

What are the legal rights of children in Scotland?

Children are collectively entitled to either:

• one half of the deceased's movable estate if there is no spouse/civil partner
• one third if there is a spouse/civil partner

For deaths on or after 10 September 1964, adopted children can claim against their adopted parent’s estate, and have no claim to their natural parent’s estate.

If an adult child has died before their parent, their child (or a ‘remoter descendant’) can claim legal rights in place in of his/her late parent. Representation also applies to adopted children of the deceased."

I think moveable estate is cash and investments not property 

Intestate = dying without a will - there are specific people who inherit in these circumstances

74jax

duesouthtwin2 said:

I guess I’m just wondering- never had anything from him, no CSA growing up etc - but another family benefited from his £££ and it will be sad if his grandchildren get nothing but another family inherits. 

Not really as none of them know him. So don't know they are 'missing out' if that makes sense. 
The family he raised and benefited as you say, would most likely be in his will as he considered them family, harsh as it sounds.
That said in Scotland, other rules may apply, so you may well be able to contest.

TBagpuss

It may be sad, but no one is entitled to an inheritance, and generally peaking, you would only be able to challenge his will on very narrow grounds - for instance if he had been providing fincial support before his death but failed to include you in the will.

If he dies without making a will then as his biological children you would be entitled to a share of his estate, but the children he actually lived with and supported might be able to make a claim against his estate if he was still providing support at the time he died.

My understanding (but I'm not an expert) is that the 'moveable estate' mentioned in Flugelhorns post means everything except  land and property, so if he had savings or investments you might be entitled to a share of those , but you would not be entitled to the house 

buddy9

It is not a case of challenging or contesting your father's will, it is about claiming an entitlement.

If your father dies domiciled in Scotland, Scots Law will apply. 

Generally, if he leaves a valid will, regardless of its content, you and your sister are entitled to share half of the moveables (non-property) after funeral expenses and debts are settled. (as Flugelhorn post above). (This assumes that the will leaves you both no legacy, that there is no spouse or civil partner at the time of death, and that no children are adopted).

If he leaves no will, then you and sibling will inherit the whole estate (subject to the above conditions about spouse etc). Any house owned at the time may or may not be part of the estate, depends on title.

Explaining entitlement is one thing, ensuring that the executor abides by the rules is another matter.