Step-mother concerns re fathers money

sheramber

Your father cannot control what his wife does with her estate or what her estate consists of.

She can agree to anything he says but there is no  way to enforce it.

No poin tin your father distributing his estate on condition she did the same. He has no way of enforcing what she does.

Malthusian

Father is happy to do this as long as, in his words, “my children get a share of what you have”.

That is unenforceable and it is a waste of time trying to achieve it.

He needs to leave his own assets in a way that he would be happy with, on the assumption that his children received nothing from their stepmother (which would be entirely normal).

Re the £15k - a few years ago my father began to receive some very strange debt collection letters from Lowell and others, totalling an amount not so dis-similar to what she claimed to have received. It looks very likely to my siblings and I that she took finance out in his name and claimed this was inheritance. My father has no need for credit and has not looked at his credit file in 10+ years so he would be none the wiser if something were amiss here. We have no way to prove this but it looks very suspicious. My father brushes it off that “it must be a mistake” as we presume he doesn’t want to rock the boat with her. 

He has had letters from debt collectors, addressed to him, informing him he personally owes them five figures? And he thinks he can ignore it on the grounds of "it must be a mistake"? And you are going along with this? 

What do you mean by "he would be none the wiser if something were amiss here"? He's had letters from debt collectors! If he wasn't aware of something being amiss he is now. 

Even if the letters were an innocent error, he still needs to take it seriously, contact the debt collectors and the credit agencies and ensure they correct their records and his credit file. His wife does not need to be involved if it was an innocent error.

If he doesn't sort it out then an even bigger mess will eventually land in the laps of his executors, who will have to deal with the debt (after the passage of time has made it even more difficult).

Does he have Lasting Powers of Attorney in place?

turnitround

Does your father have the same initial as you? I ask because you say you had 9 creditors and 30 grand debt a few years ago according to your previous post. 
If you were still at the same address and both had J Bloggs as a name when you took out the credit then it is possible that your step mother is completely innocent and the debt which is yours is recorded on the wrong occupant.

gettingtheresometime

My husband died nearly 2yrs ago & I was talking to someone about who I'd consider dating in the future.
I said that I didn't mind if they had children but if they did, I'd prefer they were younger rather than older, adult children. 

Just saying.

retiringtoosoon

The vultures are circling….

comeandgo

gettingtheresometime said:

My husband died nearly 2yrs ago & I was talking to someone about who I'd consider dating in the future.
I said that I didn't mind if they had children but if they did, I'd prefer they were younger rather than older, adult children. 

Just saying.

I’ve no idea what you are just saying but children grow up.  My stepsons are now in their 30’s, they were once a lot younger.