Will advice

madlyn

I'm after some advice please regarding the will of my Fathers late sister.
This is not a money grabbing relative who is upset that they have not been left anything, this is genuine concern that something underhand may have gone on.
His sister passed away last september having spent the last 3 years of her life in a care home, before that she had ran a village store for many years and was very astute when it came to her finances.
A couple of years prior to her going into a care home, one of her other Nieces suddenly appeared on the scene, having not really had much contact for many years before.
We assume she was given power of attorney and was made executor of her will.
Since her death there has been no mention of her will and several other members of her family have also asked about a will.
My father does not want to ask the niece who dealt with everything as their relationship is not a good one.
 I've done a check online to search for a will and that has returned nothing. Is there a way of getting access to her will?   

flaneurs_lobster

Are you sure that the much-mentioned will does, in fact, exist?

Keep_pedalling

Well my first thought on this is that after 3 years in a care home her estate might be of quite low value so probate would not be required so her will would never become a public document. Not much you can do if that is the case.

madlyn

flaneurs_lobster said:

Are you sure that the much-mentioned will does, in fact, exist?

My Father does remember her talking about it.

Browntoa

If there was a will then there must be a probate 

Contact the probate office if you have concerns 

Keep_pedalling

Browntoa said:

If there was a will then there must be a probate 

Contact the probate office if you have concerns 

That is simply not correct. Probate / letters of administration is only required wher the deceased had assets that cannot be released without it, or an IHT return is also required. If at the time of death the OPs aunt owned no property or equities and did not have very large cash deposits then it is highly unlikely probate would be needed.

madlyn

Keep_pedalling said:

Browntoa said:

If there was a will then there must be a probate 

Contact the probate office if you have concerns 

That is simply not correct. Probate / letters of administration is only required wher the deceased had assets that cannot be released without it, or an IHT return is also required. If at the time of death the OPs aunt owned no property or equities and did not have very large cash deposits then it is highly unlikely probate would be needed.

Her property was sold about 18 months before her death, to help pay for the care home bill.

boingy

You mention that your father does not have a good relationship with the niece but how about you?
It's not unreasonable for you to ask her about a will and the estate. If you need a reason to ask then you could say that your dad is worrying about it, which it sounds like he is.

As for something underhand going on you may never be able to find out. Yes, it's possible the niece schemed to benefit from your aunt's last years but it's also possible that she turned up for another reason and ended up easing your aunt through those last years. You are not certain that there was a will or if the niece had POA or even if there were any assets left.

So if I were you I'd ask the niece about it but be prepared to just move on and encourage your father to do the same. 

sheenas

Don't quote me but I think ff someone dies without a will (dies "intestate"), their assets are distributed according to intestacy rules. These rules determine who inherits and how, prioritising certain relatives. A "Grant of Letters of Administration" is needed to formally distribute the estate. The person applying for probate must be the most entitled relative, as determined by the law. Therefore I would say there was a will.

Browntoa

Keep_pedalling said:

Browntoa said:

If there was a will then there must be a probate 

Contact the probate office if you have concerns 

That is simply not correct. Probate / letters of administration is only required wher the deceased had assets that cannot be released without it, or an IHT return is also required. If at the time of death the OPs aunt owned no property or equities and did not have very large cash deposits then it is highly unlikely probate would be needed.

The OP mentioned her being "financially astute" 

I assumed they may be assets as well as the property mentioned 

So technically In that situation there would be probate to liquidate those other assets .

If there is no other assets then you are correct that probate would not be required.

The original post didn't explain what her assets were , it's only in a later post that the sale of a property is mentioned 

caprikid1

"ran a village store for many years" did she own it ? 

Remember that many people who ran a village store did so as a community project long after it was profitable so combined with care home fee's there could be little left....