Inheritance & nosy parkers

[MenopauseSucks]

I'm applying for probate on my mother's estate.
Once it has been granted, I know the will can be viewed online.
Does this mean that people can see the value of the estate as well?

There are plenty of her old school 'friends' that are calling me asking if I've applied for probate.
I know they're loving the gossip about her death as an email was sent inadvertently to Mum's email (school reunion mailing list) & they don't realise I can still access her emails.
I don't know why they're relishing it so much as they're all in their 80s & they'll be the chosen topic soon enough!

Her will is simple & to the point so nil gossip value there but I'm cringing at the idea of them being able to discuss my mother's finances amongst themselves.

just ignore! or lean into it and put a photo of yourself having a nice glass of champagne on the facebook group to annoy them.

Perhaps they were offering condolences? One of my older relatives talks al to about her friends dying, I don’t think it’s gossip more just the fact lots of people they know are dying & what it means for them.

don’t know re will, never looked one up myself.

Once probate is granted then yes it is available to see online, but to get any finer details you have to pay to see it. From memory it's about £1.50-£3? Hope that helps x

So they WILL be able to see how much her estate is worth once probate is granted?

I don't care about people seeing the will - the beneficiaries are the usual suspects so there's no surprises.
I just don't like the idea of people knowing how much she was worth. It's the sort of thing that would spread like wildfire amongst them.

Mum was such a private person. She had dementia which had already robbed her of her dignity & she'd hate the idea of being an object of gossip.

They were offering 'mock' condolences. None of them had seen her for years as they all disappeared once she had a dementia diagnosis. Again, they don't realise I've been seeing her emails so I know what they're like.
Once all her affairs have been wrapped up, I'll delete her email account but it has proved useful for contacts.

The friends she had in her adult life have been fantastic, visiting her all the way through her decline & we've celebrated her life together.

One of the small satisfactions of my grandmother's later life, even among much wondrousness, was reading the obituaries in The Times every evening and enjoying outlasting the people she knew who had died "Oh I see X has died" she say of a cousin or close friend etc. If she'd been able to look at the Wills she might have done that too. It was really just something which allowed her to feel she was foing a bit 'better' in spite of her rheumatism, feebleness, need for help in basic tasks etc.

I suspect that your mum's friends are doing something like this.

Once Probate is granted it is possible to download a copy of the will and grant for £1.50. I believe it shows the gross and net values of the estate.

So people who hadn't seen your mum for years are phoning you up? And you are answering their calls and engaging with them in discussions about probate? I think I can see an easy solution to this...

This is how the papers find out how much celebrities leave, personally I don’t think it’s right that someone can see publicly what someone has left, but I suppose it’s for family members or people left some money from someone’s Will, so they can check what was left.

Oh bollocks, so the gossip will continue then...
Maybe I should delete her email account sooner rather than later but it has been handy for contacts.

I've stopped engaging with them now.

They had all become reasonably close again after a 50th anniversary school reunion & there was quite a lot of contact. She used to see the ones that lived in the South East a few times a year then Poof!!!
The dementia diagnosis in 2015 & they all disappeared...

One guy who lived less than 30 miles away was winding up an awkward conversation by asking about the funeral.
He'd said just after her diagnosis that he didn't want to see her with dementia as he wanted to remember as she was.
The obvious question was 'if you didn't want to see her when she had very mild dementia, why would you want to see her in a coffin?'
I've never heard from him again!

It is quite an intrusion.
I mean you don't broadcast your salary, etc to all & sundry so why should you be able to find the details after someone's died!

If they pay £1.50 and download the will and grant, yes they definitely will be able to see the full amounts unfortunately. If you're feeling self conscious about them knowing about an inheritance, I'd just answer something like "yes I've applied, there won't be much left after everything's paid off unfortunately."