Is my Mum or her Stepmum being unreasonable RE inheritance

[Nurserytastic]

Looking for some help with regards to an inheritance issue in Scotland.

My mums father passed away recently and he had been married to his last wife for a long time. My mum assumed any inheritance would be passed to her step mum and to be honest wasn't really thinking that way, more upset about her father passing away.

A few weeks ago her step mum came to visit and told her that her father had not drawn the will up 'properly' and that herself, my mum and her brother would all receive a third of his moveable assets. The house was her step mums as it was paid off. Her step mum then proceeded to ask my mum to relinquish her third and give it to her as should she take the money 'her standard of living would decrease' she said it was what my mums father would have wanted. This was not asked of my mums brother as 'he would take the money anyway'. So as not to drip feed or to indicate a 'poor old woman' , her step mother has her own business which earns well, a fully paid off house and car.

She told my mum that a letter would follow from the lawyers and this would offer my mum the undisclosed sum and she would really appreciate it if my mum gave her her third of the moveable assets.

My mum was at her asking at all. Who is being unreasonable? And as an aside could her step mum tell the lawyers that my mum doesn't want her third without my mum stating this?

Grateful for any advice and help!!

[SweetsForMySweet]

Mum. Verbally. Sorry about the typos!

[LittleprincessinGOLDrocks]

The step mum is being unreasonable. It is not your mums fault that the last will was invalid. There may be a lot of reasons why your mum has been left the money (maybe the will states for everything to be split and the step mum is trying to get round that?).
I think your mum needs to get herself a lawyer or some legal advice on this before she does anything else.
I also think she should keep the inheritance. The step mother is being selfish, and why should your mum and her brother be treated differently?
Your mum is not being unreasonable at all.

[prettybird]

It could be invalid simple because he tried to leave her everything in his will. That's not possible under Scots Law.

Although I'm not sure if that would make the whole will invalid - just that "leaving everything to his wife" would actually mean "leaving everything except for 1/3 of my moveable estate"

Caveat: I am not a lawyer and although I know about the fact that you can't disinherit in Scotland, I don't know the mechanics of how you write wills.

[Happybeard]

I would suggest that your grandad was very shortsighted to have done this - but as he did so, his wishes should be respected and your step gran shouldn't have asked.

[AMumInScotland]

If it was me, I'd be asking for a copy of this 'incorrect' will, and talking it through with a lawyer to try to work out what her father had actually intended. If he wrote what he thought was a valid will, but without legal advice, then I would probably try to meet what I believed his wishes had been.

As you said, she assumed before all this started that he had left everything to his new wife. If the wording of his will says that was what he wanted, then I would probably seriously consider handing over the money that I had never wanted or expected.

[BruthasTortoise]

I think your mum (and her brother!) should respect her DF's wishes. If he wanted to leave everything to his wife and it's only because of a legal balls up that it isn't going to happen then I think they should sign it over. If there's any doubt over his wishes i.e. your mum believes that he wanted to leave an inheritance to her and it's the SM being manipulative now then your mum should take it.

[Pastperfect]

Your mum should do what she believes her father wished.

I would feel very uncomfortable taking money by default

[HaremScarem]

I think your Mum should take the money. It doesn't sound like the step mother would be left destitute. I wouldn't automatically believe that your GF had written a will unless I had seen it.

[Rivercam]

According to who's opinion was the will wrong. The father may have fully intended for his will to be shared out, and so never changed it. I think your mum should take the money and enjoy it without a guilty conscious
. It was left to her legitimately.
.

[BruthasTortoise]

I'm confused - does the 1/3 of the estate include the presumably 50% of the estate that already belongs to your SGM? Does it include jewellery and furniture that is in your SGM's home?

[Vitalstatistix]

I wouldnt agree to that.it is very unfair to ask your mum to refuse while not asking the same of her brother. Can your mum discuss it with her brother? Just out of interest, is he also this womans step child or is he her biological child?

[deakymom]

if she was asking the other child too i might consider it but to ask one and not the other i would keep it to be a bugger

[Pastperfect]

Yes of course your mum need to make some enquiries but given the legal position in Scotland and the step mums claim that the will wasn't "drawn up properly" it seems very likely that he wanted to leave the money to his wife but fell foul of a technicality regarding disinheriting children.

[prettybird]

Under Scots Law, children have a right to a third of the "moveable" estate, which is just as it sounds: cash, jewellery, furniture, paintings etc but not the house.

[Happybeard]

Saying all of that, my DH had a will done and left half his estate to me and half to his dd. He thought that fair until I explained that if he died I'd have to sell the family home in order to give his dd her inheritance along with half of his pension and other savings and insurances etc. he realised his mistake but we haven't got around to changing it yet so should he die tomorrow, his will wouldn't reflect his actual wishes because he just got a quickie will drawn up without proper advice.

I don't think that adult children should have equal to a spouse as their lifestyle isn't entangled with their parent anymore whereas the spouses is.

[JenniferJo]

I'd want to see the new will that wasn't valid. Maybe your father knew exactly what he was doing and wanted the first will to stand.

[JenniferJo]

*grandfather

[BruthasTortoise]

So would that be a third of half the marital assets in this case then prettybird? Assuming the OPs grandfather and step grandmother had joint finances, would the OPs mum and uncle be entitled to 1/3 of half of any joint purchases they as a married couple made?

[prettybird]

Actually, thinking about it, both my mum and dh's dad's wils left everything to their spouses (in mum's case, including a trust for db and me, to mitigate inheritance tax she wasn't able to change the will after the inheritance tax laws changed ) without the explicit "one third of moveable estate must go to the children".

Didn't invalidate the wills though - it was just pointed out by the solicitors before we signed off the distribution of the assets (db and I were also executors of mum's estate).

Methinks that your mum's stepmum is at it Is there any particular reason that she only asked your mum and not her brother? Is it because she thinks your mum would be easier into guilting into this change and/or is more malleable?

[prettybird]

I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know. I would presume so, but wouldn't want to assume. I suppose it would depend on how her grandad and stepgrandmother had run their finances.

[lunar1]

I think the step mum is being unreasonable. If she was really untitled to it all she wouldn't let the brother have it she'd fight for it. She is seeing your mum as someone he can manipulate.

[Nurserytastic]

Sorry I am still here!

Thank you for all your helpful replies.

To answer a couple of questions my uncle is not step grandmothers child but a full sibling to my mum. And my mum is definitely the more malleable of the two. She also had a good relationship with her father whereas uncle did not attend the funeral

[prettybird]

Does your mum know who the executors are? She should make them aware that she is not relinquishing her share and wants to understand more about this will that was supposedly "not drawn up properly"

And in answer to your original question: your mum's Stepmum is the one who is being very, very unreasonable.

[museumum]

Your mum and her brother would be unreasonable to remove any furniture from their late fathers home while his wife still lives there. Just imagine how that would feel - to have your recently deceased partner's children come in and take items of furniture that have been part of your shared life together :(

I think they should both (your mum and uncle) speak to a solicitor and make a sensible offer. Personally I'd choose to honour the intention of the void will as it would be my fathers wishes that would be most important to me.

[Roussette]

What is a cock-up on the will? Wills are Wills and there won't be any sort of cock up at all as either a Will has been made out or it hasn't. I would imagine that step Mum is just making that up because she wants all the money.