Complicated intestacy.
Silvertabby
Forumite 8.2K Posts
You may want to make yourselves a brew before starting to read this one....
My friend, who lives in Oz, lost her mother last year. She and her brother, who lives in the UK (as did mum) were her sole beneficiaries, and each received £80K. Probate etc was dealt with by solicitors, as the brother has mental health problems. So far, so easy...
The brother died 4 months ago, without leaving a Will.
Seems he married some years ago, but his wife, who had her own mental health and substance abuse problems, left him after just a couple of months and hasn't been seen since.
The brother had a son from another relationship, and then that son went on to have a daughter, my friend's brother's granddaughter. However, the (estranged) son pre-deceased his father.
The brother's estate, being the bulk of the £80K left to him by his mother, is being handled by the same solicitors who handled the mum's estate.
As it stands at the moment, the solicitors are trying to track down the brother's wife, but no trace so far - not even a death registration. If she has died, then my understanding is that this £80K (or what is left after debts/funeral expenses/legal fees) MAY go to the granddaughter.
My friend, however, has other ideas. I've told her to forget that the money originally came from her mum as that link has been broken. I've also told her that the solicitors will do everything they can to find the wife before distributing the remaining assets, because if they get it wrong then they would be financially liable.
I've told my friend to forget about the money, as it's unlikely to come to her. However she is obsessing about it as, in her mind, the wife probably overdosed long ago, and the granddaughter shouldn't get a penny of (my friend's mother's) money because her brother never even met her.
Every time we have a (long!) conversation about this, and I think I've finally got through to her, she ends with saying that she's going to get on to the solicitors, as it shouldn't take this long to pay her 'her' money.
Possibly crystal ball time, but any ideas how long the solicitors will wait before giving up on finding the wife - or is it possible that they will refuse to disburse the funds without proof of her death? And, if she has died, would the granddaughter still automatically inherit, given that there may not be any documentary proof of her relationship to my friend's brother (ie, father's names on her and her father's birth certificates)?
My friend, who lives in Oz, lost her mother last year. She and her brother, who lives in the UK (as did mum) were her sole beneficiaries, and each received £80K. Probate etc was dealt with by solicitors, as the brother has mental health problems. So far, so easy...
The brother died 4 months ago, without leaving a Will.
Seems he married some years ago, but his wife, who had her own mental health and substance abuse problems, left him after just a couple of months and hasn't been seen since.
The brother had a son from another relationship, and then that son went on to have a daughter, my friend's brother's granddaughter. However, the (estranged) son pre-deceased his father.
The brother's estate, being the bulk of the £80K left to him by his mother, is being handled by the same solicitors who handled the mum's estate.
As it stands at the moment, the solicitors are trying to track down the brother's wife, but no trace so far - not even a death registration. If she has died, then my understanding is that this £80K (or what is left after debts/funeral expenses/legal fees) MAY go to the granddaughter.
My friend, however, has other ideas. I've told her to forget that the money originally came from her mum as that link has been broken. I've also told her that the solicitors will do everything they can to find the wife before distributing the remaining assets, because if they get it wrong then they would be financially liable.
I've told my friend to forget about the money, as it's unlikely to come to her. However she is obsessing about it as, in her mind, the wife probably overdosed long ago, and the granddaughter shouldn't get a penny of (my friend's mother's) money because her brother never even met her.
Every time we have a (long!) conversation about this, and I think I've finally got through to her, she ends with saying that she's going to get on to the solicitors, as it shouldn't take this long to pay her 'her' money.
Possibly crystal ball time, but any ideas how long the solicitors will wait before giving up on finding the wife - or is it possible that they will refuse to disburse the funds without proof of her death? And, if she has died, would the granddaughter still automatically inherit, given that there may not be any documentary proof of her relationship to my friend's brother (ie, father's names on her and her father's birth certificates)?
0
Latest MSE News and Guides
Replies
I doubt if the solicitor will not be able to trace the missing wife, but if she can’t be found they have option in how to handle the estate.
https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/media-centre/articles-jan-apr-2017/what-happens-if-a-beneficiary-cant-be-found/
Still not sure about the granddaughter, though. It's all a bit muddled, but it seems that the brother and the mother of his son weren't together at the time of the birth, ditto the son and the mother of the granddaughter. If either/both fathers weren't listed on the birth certificates, then what else could be used to prove eligibility?
that is when it does all get mighty complicated, some of it comes down to acknowledgement that the children are the children of the parent (assuming they haven't been adopted by anyone else in the meantime) in the absence of being on a birth cert etc - need some specialist advice -presume some might used DNA these days but it doesn't sound like there is anyone who would take a test to prove the link (assuming your friend won't )
Can see this dragging on for some time yet...
I wonder how much of the estate will actually be left after the solicitors have taken their pound of flesh
Just had a google and seems executors who can't trace beneficiaries can withold disbursement of funds for 12 years just in case they pop up. Am not going to tell her that!
If I were you I’d probably be getting to the stage of just telling her you don’t want talk about it anymore.
Time to invest in an answering machine and screen your calls!!