Witnessed a will payment dilemma

[justasking111]

Husband was asked to witness a neighbour will as was another neighbour.

Neighbour had a solicitor draw it up, signed it then passed it to another neighbour then my husband to sign. He did this, other neighbour signatory then said that the will neighbour had given them some money as a thank you. Husband said no you keep it. Neighbour said thanks they'll buy a bottle of wine. Well it turns out that the elderly neighbour gave £200 as a thank you.

We're in a quandary now because husband didn't witness the elderly neighbour signing, nor did he take any money for signing as a witness.

The neighbour who told us about the payment is a recipient in the will so no reason to doubt her.

Could we be in trouble. I ask this because the person whose will it is has disinherited a child because he's been caught emptying accounts of hers.

Would he have grounds to drag us into this mess if he finds out he's getting nothing?

Who gave the will to the first neighbour? The carer?

It all sounds very fishy to me. There have been plenty of carers who have ripped off the people they are supposed to be caring for.

They don't answer the door. The carer has a key I presume. They're on their last lap of life now I'm not going round to distress them because they wouldn't know me from Adam.

So get off your high horse

OP has been on MN for years.

This does sound more and more concerning. I don't believe he would be in any legal trouble at this stage for declaring that he witnessed the will signing when he didn't (though it's still very wrong and deeply troubling, particularly in the circumstances as described).

But - if it goes tits-up, is contested/challenged/whatever and the OP's DH doubles down through stubbornness/bloody-mindedness/etc., and continues to assert, even in a court, that he is a genuine witness to it, then I think I'm correct in saying that this may be viewed as perjury, with the attendant sh*tstorm that that would rightly bring.

Well, the carer doesn't sound too responsible either. I have signed countless documents over the years as a result of my job. I've never been given even a bottle of wine for it, let alone £200 which is entirely excessive. Is the carer a beneficiary?

typo

Okay

Oh dear, if the will is contested (and a disinherited son would likely be rather cross) your dh would have to testify that yes it’s his signature, yes he was present when the deceased signed, yes she was sound of mind not coerced etc….. all of which is untrue and is a major legal issue. You really make it a priority to sort this out for the old lady’s sake.

Then report to someone in authority that you are concerned.

This is how vulnerable people end up getting abused financially or otherwise. Because no one bothers to do anything even when red flags are flying.

Not going to report it either then, or have you got an answer for that too?

I'd stay on my high horse all day if it meant you'd get off your arse and do something.

No idea if the carer is a beneficiary my husband didn't read the Will

If they don't know you from Adam, probably best you don't offer to be a witness in the future as suggested earlier

If it's any consolation OP your husband isn't the only idiot. So is the other neighbour, who signed the will 'passed on' by beneficiary neighbour!
Since you know the solicitor - doesn't matter who they're related to - you can easily ring up them and/or their firm and report this.

BTW if said solicitor is turning a blind eye to this illegal behaviour they deserve to be struck off (or whatever it is that makes them unfit to practise).

Make sure your concerns are made known as widely as possible. And the will retracted before 'D' (d is for dim!) H finds himself hauled into court!

You HAVE to report this. There could be massive fraud going on here. And carers manipulating the very elderly is sadly terribly common. It happened to my grandparents' friend. A new will was made just a month before she died, leaving her considerable wealth to her carer.

There's two neighbours who Pop in to see them regularly. We're new to the area compared to most living here and decades younger. Covid meant getting to know the newer neighbours was delayed. They've a relative who visits every few months.

We're not responsible for the whole road. We do favours for immediate neighbours when asked.

The neighbour who told us about the payment is a recipient in the will so no reason to doubt her

Well may not be a reason to doubt that the other signatory was paid £200, but a very good reason to worry about what is going on here. How well do you know the beneficiary neighbour?

So the carer is withdrawing large sums of money from the account of someone who is on their last legs?

And passing that money on as a sweetener to witness something that neither neighbour has witnessed?

How do you even know the carer hasn't written the will and forged the signature?

Do you know anything about the son or is that a story the carer has spread?

There are countless cases of abuse of elderly and vulnerable people by carers whether related to them or not.

You really have to report this. Call the Adult Safeguarding team for your area - Google will bring it up.

We're not responsible for the whole road. We do favours for immediate neighbours when asked

That is no reason not to raise concerns. It all may be perfectly above board, but there is no harm in getting someone to check things out. Paying someone to witness a will is really iffy.

Do you have a PCSO in your area? You could give them a call and then they could contact the relevant people.

Not that only that it protects OP's husband from needing to go to court if the will is contested.

Very worrying, he needs to flag this up now he's done it wrong.
If this elderly neighbour has been forced to sign it or unknowingly signed it to the benefit of a carer or neighbour whatever it may well end up being contested.
Basically would your husband rather own up now or be willing to own up or lie in court that he witnessed it.
I personally couldn't deal with all the worry of it coming back up again, it needs sorting now.

Excellent post- this smells fishier than the market on a Sunday. Passing wills around with large sums of cash to sign without legally witnessing the elderly person do it with a career driving it. Please call the adult safeguarding.
and I’m sorry, you may not want to be involved or responsible, you may not know her much, but you are now intrinsically involved by your dh signing the potentially fraudulent will and this could end in court so it now has become your responsibility.

You must do something OP. Your husband has done nothing wrong, just been a bit daft. But the potential for abuse here is real and serious.

You don't sign to witness a signature that you didn't witness.

I don't know what to suggest that you do next to be honest.