English Will Scottish domicile query

bazneol

Hi I am new to this forum but reading through there is some very useful advice. My father recently died whilst domiciled in Scotland and left an English will which he wrote whilst living in Scotland. My father since remarried in Scotland. Now in England marriage invalidates a will but not in Scotland the will remains valid. My question is would a will that is not considered valid in England still be valid in Scotland? Is a will proved valid at the point it was made for confirmation or is it the case that it became invalid at the point of marriage? We are using a solicitor but I think even he is confused! Anybody had any experience of this? My father has lived in Scotland for 18 years and never lived in England since before he made the will.

The will being valid doesn't change things too much, I just believe it will be easier to distribute as an executer rather than an intestate estate.

Keep_pedalling

What do you mean by an English will? As far as I know a Scottish will will look very much like an English one but either would be subject to the laws of your residency so in this case will be subject to Scottish law.

buddy9

If your father was domiciled in Scotland and wrote a will while domiciled in Scotland, how does the will become an English will? 

bazneol

My father used English law however it was signed on every page which is a Scottish requirement.  Maybe the English solicitor made it valid for both?

theoretica

Sounds to me like Scottish law is relevant. 

While the will may not mention his current wife, in Scotland she has 'legal rights' to a portion of his estate.

bazneol

Fully appreciate his wife has rights under Scottish law. It is just about the easiest way to deal with Confirmation without totally relying on a solicitor.  The estate falls under Scottish Law either way.  The Scottish solicitor says he need to send the will to an English solicitor who will confirm if it was legally executed before he can use it for confirmation. Just wondered if it is valid asit wouldn't still be in England.

buddy9

The will being valid doesn't change things too much, I just believe it will be easier to distribute as an executer rather than an intestate estate.

Unless there is something unusual about the will, why would a Scottish solicitor not be able to determine its validity?

You will want to avoid intestacy. It requires a petition to the court for appointment as executor dative and there is an agreed order of eligibility. And unless it is a small estate or the spouse inherits everything, then there is extra insurance cost and legal cost due to insurance company insisting on the executry being dealt with by a solicitor.

Keep_pedalling

Unfortunately the complexities of Scottish inheritance laws make things far more complex than the rest of the UK, which makes a nice little earner for Scottish solicitors.

bazneol

This will certainly be a nice earner for a Scottish Solicitor and will need to be handled by a Solicitor.  The added complications are neither him or his wife have completed tax returns for at least 8 years and have moved large sums of cash abroad.  I think if he was alive he may be looking at a prison sentence.  The worry is his wife will become the one who administers the estate and she is foreign and her English is not good and I just think it will turn in to a complete mess! She is just as involved in not declaring her income and it is her name on the cash transfers abroad to a bank account in her name.

bazneol

Can anybody recommend any good legal forums that I may get advice from Solicitors?  I have tried Leagle Beagle but I would be interested to know if there are any others?  I am very nervous of Scottish Law and if the will doesn't hold up then the person dealing with the estate will be my father's wife.  I have signed a contract with a Scottish solicitor on the basis the will is valid (that is not in the contract)but if it is not then I would be eligible for the Solicitors bills so far and at £200 an hour it is quite scary.