Advice MIL died without leaving a will

RAS

www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

Assuming MIL died in England or Wales

Savvy_Sue

Of course it's easy for me to say, but ... "dear sis, if Mum had wanted anything other than a 50/50 split she had ample opportunity to sort that out. The law says that the estate must be split equally between the two of us: what we each do with our share is up to us." 

Has she actually obtained Letters of Administration yet? And it's just the distribution she's dithering about? If not, I'm not sure he couldn't apply himself and get it all sorted. 

Is there a house involved? 

theoretica

It isn't exactly a secret that a will is how you say what happens to your money after your death! 

(Of course if both children get half each, and all grandchildren get nothing - as intestacy says - then all grandchildren are being treated equally, and both children are being treated equally...)

Spendless

paul2louise said:

this is what she sent to my OH
"i think mum would be happy if all the grandchildren were treated equally and so are you and me. If we just did a 50/50 split then your son would benefit so much more than any of the others and mum would turn in her grave if that happened. "

It really upset him. i really appreciate all your help xxx

What a load of nonsense from her. You might not treat your child to anything from your husband's 50% share and if she's thinking of way into the future   then so many variables such as what if your son died before you, whereas hers all outlive her, what if you end up in a care home and any money swallowed up in nursing fees and she doesn't, want if you decide to leave anything of yours to a cats home and she never needs one and her kids are left whatever she has.

I would suggest a polite but factual response that states that without a will the law leaves 50/50 to both her kids, nothing to grandchildren. 

Flugelhorn

she just needs to get on with the 50:50 and stop faffing about. We had an intestate estate in the family  and one of the stems was 6 children while another was 1 child - each stem got the same amount.  There was never any discussion - the estate was divides exactly as it should have been and that is what should happen here 

paul2louise

Spendless said:

paul2louise said:

this is what she sent to my OH
"i think mum would be happy if all the grandchildren were treated equally and so are you and me. If we just did a 50/50 split then your son would benefit so much more than any of the others and mum would turn in her grave if that happened. "

It really upset him. i really appreciate all your help xxx

What a load of nonsense from her. You might not treat your child to anything from your husband's 50% share and if she's thinking of way into the future   then so many variables such as what if your son died before you, whereas hers all outlive her, what if you end up in a care home and any money swallowed up in nursing fees and she doesn't, want if you decide to leave anything of yours to a cats home and she never needs one and her kids are left whatever she has.

I would suggest a polite but factual response that states that without a will the law leaves 50/50 to both her kids, nothing to grandchildren. 

yes OH doesnt really want to give our son much tbh, he already has a ISA and savings account that we pay into for when he is 18. His other Gran my mum saves up for him too. My OH has known a lot of people work too long or not reach retirement. He wanted to retire last year but couldnt afford it so dropped his 45 hours to 30 as it was starting to affect his health and was overtired. 

Nelliegrace

FIL has a will giving half each to his two children. They have both been involved in the long term care of their remaining parent. He is now confused much of the time and frail.
The son with power of attorney wants the inheritance to go directly to the grandchildren. He has more children. I think he is worried about his children’s future inheritance tax. 

DH wants no fuss. He is not planning to give his inheritance to our child.  
I say the will cannot be altered. The person knows this, but is trying it on. He wants a double portion for his family.
Surely the two offspring have to have an equal amount as it says in the will, and then they can decide if they want to sign their share to their children. 

GrumpyDil

Nelliegrace said:

FIL has left a will giving half each to his two children. They have both been involved in the long term care of their late parents. 
The son with power of attorney wants the inheritance to go directly to the grandchildren. He has more children. I think he is worried about his children’s future inheritance tax. 

DH wants no fuss. He is not planning to give his inheritance to our child.  
I say the will cannot be altered. The person knows this, but is trying it on. He wants a double portion for his family.
Surely the two offspring have to have an equal amount as it says in the will, and then they can decide if they want to sign their share to their children. 

Can I suggest starting your own thread if you are asking for advice on your own situation as mixing questions/discussions from different users invariably ends up in confusion.

user1977

allconnected said:

Any arrangement to alter the distribution under the intestacy ruled must be entered into within two years of the death.

Only for tax purposes, surely? It doesn't sound like there are any Inheritance Tax implications here.

Though it's kind of academic as a variation requires the parties to agree in the first place!

tetrarch

paul2louise said:

this is what she sent to my OH
"i think mum would be happy if all the grandchildren were treated equally and so are you and me. If we just did a 50/50 split then your son would benefit so much more than any of the others and mum would turn in her grave if that happened. "

It really upset him. i really appreciate all your help xxx

What a disgraceful message to have been sent. No wonder your husband is upset.

This is where one person's definition of "fair" (coloured by her own choice of circumstance) is at odds with what the law states. In intestacy, it's not about "fair", it's about the law.

IMO, as other posters have said, your husband needs to get involved in the process. First thing is to check whether his Executor rights have been waived - this is somethig he would have to have signed to relinquish, so this first hurdle determines what can happen next. This puts you in a very invidious position of being the "evil" sister-in-law and "wicked" Auntie, but your husband's peace of mind needs sorting now and this will come to a head at some point. You should encourage him to grasp the nettle but offer your full support to help him through it and the inevitable fallout.

I have just finished a provbate application and it is a pain in the proverbial, but niothing to be afraid of. Wishing you the very best of luck

Regards

Tet