Contested will

tkidcharlemagne

I'll be as brief as I can. I am the only child of a deceased couple. Mother died 14 years ago. Father passed away last year. I am the sole beneficiary of a trust that includes all assets. My solicitor has notified me an unknown son from my Mother's previous marriage has emailed him contesting the estate. My Mother divorced his Father in the fifties if he's genuine, which my solicitor seems to believe he is. This came like a bolt out of the blue. I had no idea he existed. He has never contacted the family before and is now quite belligerently attempting to make a claim though his details he gave in the email are all wrong and he appeared to be fishing for info. He claimed I was deceased for example. Probate has already been granted and assets are being released to me. From my understanding there's a 6 months after probate or twelve years (statute of limitations) after depending on what I've read moratorium after which you can't make any claim. Both of which have obviously passed but my solicitor says he is claiming he was unaware of my Mother's death. This chap has never been mentioned in any will. He is also of course a half sibling and my Father was the breadwinner anyway my Mother essentially working as a Housewife apart from some periodic part time low paid work. My solicitor is stating he has a slim to zero chance of making a successful claim on my Mother's estate ie half of the house. A deed of appointment was granted in 2008 transferring my Father's half (all assets) to myself and my Mother's half to my Father. It is indeed a funny old world. I am a bit of a worrier and this has left a rather sour taste in the mouth. Should I be concerned.

tkidcharlemagne

To clarify. When I wrote ' Probate has already been granted and assets are being released to me.' - From the Trust/entire estate/Father's probate.

tkidcharlemagne

From the research I have done it seems pretty clear cut.

Claims to personal estate

Claims to receive a beneficiaries interest in a deceased’s personal estate, being under a Will or Intestacy, must be brought within 12 years of the right to the interest arising. This is a claim where the party already has the interest in the estate, and is not an argument over whether they should be given an interest/entitlement to share in the estate.

Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 Claims

Claims for provision from an estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 are subject to a much tighter limitation of six months from the date of a Grant of Probate, or Letters of Administration, being issued. This tighter limitation period means that timely investigation and advice must be taken, or there is a risk that the right to bring the claim may be lost.

Keep_pedalling

I would just ask you solicitor to reply pointing out the legal position with regards any claim being out of time.

He has no chance of succeeding but that does not stop him trying. Hopefully any solicitor he approaches will tell him that.

poppystar

I’d be a little suspicious here. He didn’t know mother was deceased, thought you were and yet somehow found out your father had just died and who the solicitor is. Sounds odd. Have you thought of checking the register of births to check if your mother did have a son? Might be worth spending a few pounds on a copy if there is an entry to that effect. 

Brie

Is there any way you can make discrete enquiries to older family members? 

Siblings of your mom or even your dad, or cousins that might have been told something a few decades back??  It may be as simple as a "that explains why she didn't go on holiday in 1952!" 

Sounds like a split of the estate won't happen but I'd be wanting to know more if I had a potential sibling.  

tkidcharlemagne

Brie said:

Is there any way you can make discrete enquiries to older family members? 

Siblings of your mom or even your dad, or cousins that might have been told something a few decades back??  It may be as simple as a "that explains why she didn't go on holiday in 1952!" 

Sounds like a split of the estate won't happen but I'd be wanting to know more if I had a potential sibling.  

To be honest his attitude has put me off getting to know the guy. My Mother hadn't kept in touch with anyone really so no one left to referee. I just want my solicitor to get him to back off. I cared for both my Mother and Father in their last years.

tkidcharlemagne

poppystar said:

I’d be a little suspicious here. He didn’t know mother was deceased, thought you were and yet somehow found out your father had just died and who the solicitor is. Sounds odd. Have you thought of checking the register of births to check if your mother did have a son? Might be worth spending a few pounds on a copy if there is an entry to that effect. 

I think he must have got a copy of my Mother's will and then started searching random people with my name (which isn't particularly unusual) in the death records. I have no intention of helping the guy out. My solicitor is going to send me a draft of the letter. This situation hopefully is not going to add up to a hill of beans. It's the added solicitor costs and the idea of this guy claiming he's owed that has got my goat.

Grumpelstiltskin

You don't say which country your parents lived in.

Assuming England or Wales you can check if there is a birth reference for him.
FreeBMD - Search

If it is England or Wales he has less than zero chance of claiming anything

Brie

I think you are being sensible about the solicitor dealing with it - especially if you have no interest in getting to know him.  

tkidcharlemagne

Keep_pedalling said:

I would just ask you solicitor to reply pointing out the legal position with regards any claim being out of time.

He has no chance of succeeding but that does not stop him trying. Hopefully any solicitor he approaches will tell him that.

Yeah he's going to draft a letter and pass it by me before he sends it. That'll be another 100 quid.