Claim to absent fathers will

Pollycat

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. 

I grew up in the same position.
The family that my Father spent his time with were his family.
The fact that I and my sister were his biological family and they weren't so we were entitled to his money never occurred to us.
We moved on with our own lives.

turnitround

duesouthtwin2 said:

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.

Those 2 lines say everything.  No, you may not inherit anything from your mother but inheritence is not a right or a given for any of us. The fact that your father has raised the other children and has had no regular contact with you is very sad but if he was abusive then you were probably better without him in your life.

elsien

I broke contact with my father some years ago, although he was present during my childhood and was a good father then.
I do not expect anything from him - why should I? It’s his money to do with as he wishes. 

I realise the law in Scotland is different, but generally speaking you shouldn’t have any sense of entitlement from someone who is basically a complete stranger to you.

duesouthtwin2

Not asking for life advice but thanks for all the judgemental comments. I just need the legal advice- anyone able to assist? 

martinbuckley

Are you planning to build bridges with your father or wait until he dies to see if there's anything to inherit?

Thrugelmir

duesouthtwin2 said:

 I just need the legal advice- anyone able to assist? 

That's been provided. Little you can do but wait until the time arises and the facts are known. 

GSS20

Legally as your father is domiciled in Scotland then rules of Scotland apply. Even if he writes a Will leaving everything to his partner’s children you and your sibling can claim your legal rights of one half of a half therefore a quarter each of your father's moveable estate after all debts have been paid. If he has a will then the executor is legally bound to inform you of your rights else the executor will be personally liable should you make a claim after they have distributed the estate.

74jax

duesouthtwin2 said:

Not asking for life advice but thanks for all the judgemental comments. I just need the legal advice- anyone able to assist? 

So why are you asking on here? You never said you only wanted legal advice, for that I would highly recommend you pay for legal advice.
Saying in court Username xyz on the MSE forum said I could claim, won't hold much weight. 

Marcon

duesouthtwin2 said:

Not asking for life advice but thanks for all the judgemental comments. I just need the legal advice- anyone able to assist? 

The solicitor acquaintance who first put the idea into your head is surely the obvious candidate to provide the advice?

duesouthtwin2

Marcon said:

duesouthtwin2 said:

Not asking for life advice but thanks for all the judgemental comments. I just need the legal advice- anyone able to assist? 

The solicitor acquaintance who first put the idea into your head is surely the obvious candidate to provide the advice?

Thanks but I never said he wasn’t