Need advice on Scotland Inheritance law plz

MissHoolie666

Need some advice please forum members.

My Mum and Dad split up when I was a child back in 1969/70...I was 8yrs old and the oldest of 4. My father and I had sporadic contact over the years but didnt really reconnect till the joy of facebook, We kept in touch even though I was always aware his current wife did not approve (she was his 4th).

On my first visit to them she was very quick on the attack and made it very clear that if I was inheritance hunting I was getting nothing as the house was hers....I just wanted to see my Dad,

Over the years my Dad got very sick, it wasnt a quick sick, he deteriated over many years. He had dementia for a long time which made it hard to talk to him over the phone ( he lived in Scotland and I am in South England). When I rang he was always sleeping according to to her and any conversations we had was on speaker phone which she cut short if she didnt like where it was going.

He died in Oct 2020, mid pandemic. 

There was no air travel at that time so me and my sister couldnt attend the funeral. It was also made clear that we werent invited as there was a limit of 15 and only" true family" would be there.. The funeral was streamed and our names werent even mentioned!!!

I asked his wifes granddaughter (only nice one in that lot) for details of his will/solicitor etc and was messaged by her sister to back off. I did think he might have left us something but I mainly wanted my parents wedding album,,,which of course was nowhere to be found.

I had done some counting and I am pretty sure his bank account would have been £50k+ .I expected contact from someone saying me and my sister were entitled to some amount but nothing happened. I didnt chase it up as I was done with them all.  So how did she get away with not including us in the distribution of his monetary funds? It still bugs me.

Anyway she died June this year RIP

Interesting fact that has come to my attention searching for any information on this is that I dont think my parents actually got divorced!!!

Scottish people website has records of all 4 of his marriages, 2 divorces, but no record of my parents being divorced. I vaguely remember my Dad telling me about this many years that ago that he had not signed the final papers but dismissed it as him being bitter.

Does this give me a case for asking the courts to re-evaluate the situation? 

Pixie5740

MissHoolie666 said:

Need some advice please forum members.

My Mum and Dad split up when I was a child back in 1969/70...I was 8yrs old and the oldest of 4. My father and I had sporadic contact over the years but didnt really reconnect till the joy of facebook, We kept in touch even though I was always aware his current wife did not approve (she was his 4th).

On my first visit to them she was very quick on the attack and made it very clear that if I was inheritance hunting I was getting nothing as the house was hers....I just wanted to see my Dad,

Over the years my Dad got very sick, it wasnt a quick sick, he deteriated over many years. He had dementia for a long time which made it hard to talk to him over the phone ( he lived in Scotland and I am in South England). When I rang he was always sleeping according to to her and any conversations we had was on speaker phone which she cut short if she didnt like where it was going.

He died in Oct 2020, mid pandemic. 

There was no air travel at that time so me and my sister couldnt attend the funeral. It was also made clear that we werent invited as there was a limit of 15 and only" true family" would be there.. The funeral was streamed and our names werent even mentioned!!!

I asked his wifes granddaughter (only nice one in that lot) for details of his will/solicitor etc and was messaged by her sister to back off. I did think he might have left us something but I mainly wanted my parents wedding album,,,which of course was nowhere to be found.

I had done some counting and I am pretty sure his bank account would have been £50k+ .I expected contact from someone saying me and my sister were entitled to some amount but nothing happened. I didnt chase it up as I was done with them all.  So how did she get away with not including us in the distribution of his monetary funds? It still bugs me.

Anyway she died June this year RIP

Interesting fact that has come to my attention searching for any information on this is that I dont think my parents actually got divorced!!!

Scottish people website has records of all 4 of his marriages, 2 divorces, but no record of my parents being divorced. I vaguely remember my Dad telling me about this many years that ago that he had not signed the final papers but dismissed it as him being bitter.

Does this give me a case for asking the courts to re-evaluate the situation? 

Your parents' marital status should not prevent you from being entitled to some of your late father's estate. When someone who is domiciled in Scotland dies in Scotland there are forced heirship rules, known as legal rights, will apply regardless of whether the deceased died testate or intestate.  The children (collectively) of the diseased are entitled to one third of the movable estate, if there is a spouse/civil partner in the picture, as their legal right.

If your father's will made prevision for you then you have the choice to accept the prevision made in the will or making a legal rights claim for your share of the movable estate.  You can't have both.

If your mother was actually his spouse and not the "wife" who passed away in June then I think your mother would also be entitled to one third of his movable estate as his legal spouse as the marriage still stands in terms of legal rights until divorce or the legal rights are discharged under a separation agreement.  

 

buddy9

The childrens' entitlement to legal rights, explained by Pixie5740, is also called 'legitim'.

It can be a difficult area because it is common for executors, or 'family' members, to try to suppress legal rights.

You should try and establish whether your father's estate had an executor and who that was.

In some cases, an executor needs to apply to the Sheriff Court for a grant of confirmation, but that depends on the size and composition of the estate. The Commissary department of the local Sheriff court will be able to advise if there has been confirmation. Most estates don't require confirmation, but it is worth establishing this.

Keep_pedalling

If he made a will and confirmation has been obtained then it is now a public document and you should be able to obtain a copy from the Edinburgh Sherrif court.

https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/the-courts/court-locations/edinburgh-sheriff-court-and-justice-of-the-peace-court

if you are not mentioned in the will you would still be entitled to claim from his movable estate, but as it is very easy to hide any moveable estate or run it down to zero before death so it would be an up hill struggle to obtain your rights if you have no evidence there was anything.

MissHoolie666

Pixie5740 said:

MissHoolie666 said:

Need some advice please forum members.

My Mum and Dad split up when I was a child back in 1969/70...I was 8yrs old and the oldest of 4. My father and I had sporadic contact over the years but didnt really reconnect till the joy of facebook, We kept in touch even though I was always aware his current wife did not approve (she was his 4th).

On my first visit to them she was very quick on the attack and made it very clear that if I was inheritance hunting I was getting nothing as the house was hers....I just wanted to see my Dad,

Over the years my Dad got very sick, it wasnt a quick sick, he deteriated over many years. He had dementia for a long time which made it hard to talk to him over the phone ( he lived in Scotland and I am in South England). When I rang he was always sleeping according to to her and any conversations we had was on speaker phone which she cut short if she didnt like where it was going.

He died in Oct 2020, mid pandemic. 

There was no air travel at that time so me and my sister couldnt attend the funeral. It was also made clear that we werent invited as there was a limit of 15 and only" true family" would be there.. The funeral was streamed and our names werent even mentioned!!!

I asked his wifes granddaughter (only nice one in that lot) for details of his will/solicitor etc and was messaged by her sister to back off. I did think he might have left us something but I mainly wanted my parents wedding album,,,which of course was nowhere to be found.

I had done some counting and I am pretty sure his bank account would have been £50k+ .I expected contact from someone saying me and my sister were entitled to some amount but nothing happened. I didnt chase it up as I was done with them all.  So how did she get away with not including us in the distribution of his monetary funds? It still bugs me.

Anyway she died June this year RIP

Interesting fact that has come to my attention searching for any information on this is that I dont think my parents actually got divorced!!!

Scottish people website has records of all 4 of his marriages, 2 divorces, but no record of my parents being divorced. I vaguely remember my Dad telling me about this many years that ago that he had not signed the final papers but dismissed it as him being bitter.

Does this give me a case for asking the courts to re-evaluate the situation? 

Your parents' marital status should not prevent you from being entitled to some of your late father's estate. When someone who is domiciled in Scotland dies in Scotland there are forced heirship rules, known as legal rights, will apply regardless of whether the deceased died testate or intestate.  The children (collectively) of the diseased are entitled to one third of the movable estate, if there is a spouse/civil partner in the picture, as their legal right.

If your father's will made prevision for you then you have the choice to accept the prevision made in the will or making a legal rights claim for your share of the movable estate.  You can't have both.

If your mother was actually his spouse and not the "wife" who passed away in June then I think your mother would also be entitled to one third of his movable estate as his legal spouse as the marriage still stands in terms of legal rights until divorce or the legal rights are discharged under a separation agreement.  

 

I think she probably would have lied and said he had no children as no one ever contacted me and she knew my address. Does anyone check up on these things or would her statement be taken as word?

I feel she would have gotten advise on how to make sure we got nothing...thats the kind of woman she was.

My mother died 6 years ago so that is not an avenue we can explore but Thank You for your advice and taking the time to respond.

MissHoolie666

buddy9 said:

The childrens' entitlement to legal rights, explained by Pixie5740, is also called 'legitim'.

It can be a difficult area because it is common for executors, or 'family' members, to try to suppress legal rights.

You should try and establish whether your father's estate had an executor and who that was.

In some cases, an executor needs to apply to the Sheriff Court for a grant of confirmation, but that depends on the size and composition of the estate. The Commissary department of the local Sheriff court will be able to advise if there has been confirmation. Most estates don't require confirmation, but it is worth establishing

Hi buddy9

How do I go about this?

Do I write to the Sheriff Court? I cant find an email link to request this information.

Thanks for your help

MissHoolie666

Keep_pedalling said:

If he made a will and confirmation has been obtained then it is now a public document and you should be able to obtain a copy from the Edinburgh Sherrif court.



if you are not mentioned in the will you would still be entitled to claim from his movable estate, but as it is very easy to hide any moveable estate or run it down to zero before death so it would be an up hill struggle to obtain your rights if you have no evidence there was anything.

Thank you for helping.

I clicked on the webpage you gave but tbh I am a bit confused. Do I ring the phone number or should I be clicking on one of the links?

She told me (though I dont know if anything she said was true) that my fathers bank account was monitored in some way and that she took £100 a week to cover bills...she said he liked the heating up high even in summer

I dont know who he banked with or if its an option but is there some way I can request his final bank statement?

I hear what you say. This is probably not going to end how I would like it to but it would make me feel better to give a little kickback and say I tried for my kids.

buddy9

A phone call to the Sheriff Court commissary dept. might be the easiest. From the SCTS website  establish which court covers the location where your father lived. Most have a repurarion for being helpful.

An alternative, as suggesred by keep pedalling, is the Commissary Office at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Keep_pedalling

It’s a lot easier to access probate records in England and Wales as you can do it on line, but I think you need to call the sheriff court to ask how you get a copy.

There is a good chance confirmation was not required. If everything was held jointly then that will be the case, so if you find no record of confirmation then I think that is the end of the road.