Can Step Mother Change Will

LULULU1

My father died 15 years ago and left everything in his will to his partner of 25 years (my step mother)

The will also stated that when she dies everything should be divided equally between her son and my brother and myself.

She has decided now to completely change the will and leave everything to her grand son.

Can she do this. 

Many thanks in advance for any help.

elsien

If he left everything to her absolutely, she can do what she likes with it.
If she was left a life interest in a property (for example) then your dad’s will may stand.
It depends on how the will was worded, and how any assets were owned between them when he died. Some may have passed to her outside of the will. 

Keep_pedalling

If your father left everything to her then yes she can make any changes she wishes. If you father actually left her a life interest in his assets then they don’t form part of her estate so she can’t leave them to any one the distribution on her death will be based on his will. This assumes the wills weren’t mutual wills which very few people make

Do you have a copy of your fathers will? 

p00hsticks

I think it's going to depend on the exact wording of your fathers will. If he just left her his estate in trust for use in her lifetime, then I doubt that she can. But if he left her everything absolutely then sh may well be able to change it. As previously discussed on this board, there are such things as 'mutual wills' which cannot be changed be either party after the others death, but these are rare. Your first step would be to find out exactly what your fathers will said - If it went to probate, then you can get a copy of it here https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills

LULULU1

Many thanks for your help everybody....

doodling

Hi,

One the face of it the first two sentences in the original post are  contradictory.

You need to read your father's will. Did it leave everything to your step mother, or did it leave some of his estate to you?

For example, it is not uncommon for someone to leave their share of their house to their children but with their spouse having a life interest in it. In that case, whilst the spouse has use of that share when they are alive, it reverts to the ultimate beneficiary on their death and therefore isn't covered by their will. 

Once you understand who your father left his money to then you can understand whether its ultimate destination will be determined your step mother's will.

Unless your father and step mother had mutual wills (mutual wills are very rare) then your step mother can do whatever she likes with her own assets (which may, or may not, include everything your father left) in her will and can change that as often as she likes.

Sea_Shell

LULULU1 said:

My father died 15 years ago and left everything in his will to his partner of 25 years (my step mother)

The will also stated that when she dies everything should be divided equally between her son and my brother and myself.

She has decided now to completely change the will and leave everything to her grand son.

Can she do this. 

Many thanks in advance for any help.

Like others have said, it depends on the exact wording.

It may be that you were named as beneficiaries if your step-mother had predeceased your father.

So an "if" rather than a "when".