Disinheritance due to Lottery win

getmore4less

Pollycat said:

GenieBoy said:

Mojisola said:

GenieBoy said:

Since winning the SFL Lottery last year I've recently learnt that I'm going to be disinherited from my Grandparent's Will with my share apparently going to my sister along with her current share.

Is it fair?

Originally 50% was going to my Uncle and me and my sister getting 25% each of the other 50%.

Perhaps your grandparent would reinstate your equal share of their estate if you give your sister half of your lottery win.

WOW This is one of the reasons why I so love the MSE forum. No one said there is family feud and I did say I was only asking for thoughts. I am not angry or ready to contest the Will.

I already have helped my sister and I'm buying out her equity in a property for far more than what it would be worth on the open market. And still expected to help her out and treat her in the coming future.

I also spent a large sum on the Grandparent at Xmas, way way more than I would ever have had due to income etc.

Now this just feels like a kick in the teeth and maybe I should stop the gifts and only pay the market rate for the property share.

This is the reason why you should share the full facts right at the start.
Instead of drip-feeding and dropping this ^^^ important information that shows you in a better light after you've received criticism.
It makes it sound like you're justifying the reason why you're not happy with your grandfather's will.
TBH, your first post sounds like a Money Moral Dilemma.

It's unreasonable to expect to post on a public forum "asking for thoughts" then complain when you get thoughts based on your sharing of initial information.

I'm glad you're not ready to contest the will.
Because it's only when your grandad dies that the will could be contested.
And that potential £230K may not even exist when that happens.

If I was your grandad I would be furious if I found out that an executor that I'd picked to perform a very important task after my death had divulged the contents of my will to a beneficiary.
I don't know if this is against the law but if it isn't, it should be.

It's really unfortunate that you feel like you've been 'kicked in the teeth'.
One hopes that your SFL lottery win will go some way to console you.

It's not and does not need to be.

There is no reason for a named executor to know the contents of a will(before death).

it's the testator choice who they tell( before death named executor(s) are just another person) and up to the testator to assess if they trust them to keep a secret.

getmore4less

Op is in urgent need of financial advice as they have a massive potential IHT liability a lot can be mitigated with some simple actions.

Pollycat

getmore4less said:

Pollycat said:

GenieBoy said:

Mojisola said:

GenieBoy said:

Since winning the SFL Lottery last year I've recently learnt that I'm going to be disinherited from my Grandparent's Will with my share apparently going to my sister along with her current share.

Is it fair?

Originally 50% was going to my Uncle and me and my sister getting 25% each of the other 50%.

Perhaps your grandparent would reinstate your equal share of their estate if you give your sister half of your lottery win.

WOW This is one of the reasons why I so love the MSE forum. No one said there is family feud and I did say I was only asking for thoughts. I am not angry or ready to contest the Will.

I already have helped my sister and I'm buying out her equity in a property for far more than what it would be worth on the open market. And still expected to help her out and treat her in the coming future.

I also spent a large sum on the Grandparent at Xmas, way way more than I would ever have had due to income etc.

Now this just feels like a kick in the teeth and maybe I should stop the gifts and only pay the market rate for the property share.

This is the reason why you should share the full facts right at the start.
Instead of drip-feeding and dropping this ^^^ important information that shows you in a better light after you've received criticism.
It makes it sound like you're justifying the reason why you're not happy with your grandfather's will.
TBH, your first post sounds like a Money Moral Dilemma.

It's unreasonable to expect to post on a public forum "asking for thoughts" then complain when you get thoughts based on your sharing of initial information.

I'm glad you're not ready to contest the will.
Because it's only when your grandad dies that the will could be contested.
And that potential £230K may not even exist when that happens.

If I was your grandad I would be furious if I found out that an executor that I'd picked to perform a very important task after my death had divulged the contents of my will to a beneficiary.
I don't know if this is against the law but if it isn't, it should be.

It's really unfortunate that you feel like you've been 'kicked in the teeth'.
One hopes that your SFL lottery win will go some way to console you.

It's not and does not need to be.

There is no reason for a named executor to know the contents of a will(before death).

it's the testator choice who they tell( before death named executor(s) are just another person) and up to the testator to assess if they trust them to keep a secret.

In that case, the grandad made a pretty poor choice of executor - unless of course he wanted his grandson to know he was getting £0.00 and didn't want to tell him himself.

BungalowBel

I expect your grandparents feel that you are already set up financially, so wanted to redress the balance a bit by leaving more to your sister.

It would have been nice if they had told you themselves though and explained why they were doing it..

Perfectly legal, and imho, under the circumstances, perfectly fair.

Gavin83

Honestly this is an extremely cowardly approach from your grandfather. They clearly don’t wish to tell you they’ve disinherited you because they don’t wish to deal with the fallout of that decision, whatever that is. Instead they’d prefer the rest of their family to deal with it after their death. This is the kind of thing that destroys families, especially when the discovery of that information coincides with a period of grief.

Of course someone is free to leave their assets to whoever they wish. However if you leave someone out of your will who would reasonably expect to inherit the least you can do is tell them and explain the reasons why. 

Who should and shouldn’t inherit based on need is an interesting moral debate. Personally I’m not sure why someone should lose out just because they’ve more money than a sibling, especially when in 99% of cases it’s down to better life choices.

lisyloo

bobster2 said:

GenieBoy said:

Since winning the SFL Lottery last year I've recently learnt that I'm going to be disinherited from my Grandparent's Will with my share apparently going to my sister along with her current share.

Is this normal practice? Is it fair?

Originally 50% was going to my Uncle and me and my sister getting 25% each of the other 50%. The estate is probably worth approx £230K.

Just looking for thoughts really.

So you have won £10,000 per month for 30 years (£3.6 million) and you are moaning about missing out on £57,000??

I'm speechless really.

I think you're missing the point.
I think the OP is upset about not being considered worthy of consultation and would gladly help their family.

Sea_Shell

The other interesting dynamic in this situation is how far "helping family" goes.

There is a risk that they think they no longer have to worry, or take personal responsibility, as there will always be OP to bail them out, if things go pear shaped for them.

Just one more £...

Gavin83

Sea_Shell said:

The other interesting dynamic in this situation is how far "helping family" goes.

There is a risk that they think they no longer have to worry, or take personal responsibility, as there will always be OP to bail them out, if things go pear shaped for them.

Just one more £...

That's one disadvantage of being seen as wealthy by friends and family, whether that's true or not. Some will believe such wealth should be shared among family or at the very least believe that any poor financial decisions should be supported by the 'richer' relative/friend should things go wrong. I expect this expectation is one of the reasons it's common for relationships to fail when one party comes into a lot of money.

I've got one friend who's a multimillionaire, which is a recent development. Previous to this he was always comfortable but certainly more in the realms of everyone else wealth wise. Currently it doesn't appear to have dented any friendships but then again no one has of yet found themselves in a difficult financial situation. Hopefully the friendships continue.

bobster2

lisyloo said:

bobster2 said:

GenieBoy said:

Since winning the SFL Lottery last year I've recently learnt that I'm going to be disinherited from my Grandparent's Will with my share apparently going to my sister along with her current share.

Is this normal practice? Is it fair?

Originally 50% was going to my Uncle and me and my sister getting 25% each of the other 50%. The estate is probably worth approx £230K.

Just looking for thoughts really.

So you have won £10,000 per month for 30 years (£3.6 million) and you are moaning about missing out on £57,000??

I'm speechless really.

I think you're missing the point.
I think the OP is upset about not being considered worthy of consultation and would gladly help their family.

First nobody needs to consult potential beneficiaries when writing a will. 

Second - the OP clearly asked in their first post about whether not getting any money was fair. Was clearly asking about not getting the money - rather than not being consulted.

Marcon

GenieBoy said:

Also I wasn't to be told about this and I'm only meant to find out after the event but the executor thought it was only right that I was told. Although the Grandparent doesn't know that I know.

Why? The executor clearly correctly guessed how you'd react, so it's hard to see why they would tell you other than to make trouble. Now you've won the lottery, you certainly don't need to re-plan your life just because a potential inheritance of £55K won't be coming your way.

It's none of their business to disclose the contents of the will (many executors don't have a clue what's in the will until the testator actually dies), and doing so has certainly rocked the boat, spoiling your relationship with your grandfather in the remaining years of his life.